Meat and Three Heritage Radio Network

For many people, the word “farming” connotes food production. A means to an end; plant the seed so we can later eat the harvest. While food yield is, no doubt, an important part of agriculture, this week we look toward the bi-products of the process itself. That is, the various healing elements the experience of farming and gardening bring.

We first look at how farming and gardening provide moments of solace and reprieve for those currently and formerly incarcerated. Natasha Kimmel looks at how The Insight Garden Program uses agriculture programs in prison to teach everything from leadership and communication to respect and empathy. Hannah Fordin talks with Ironbound Farm about their regenerative farming program which aims to foster social development and provide employment for chronically underemployed groups. We then travel to Thailand where Emily Kunkel talks with Radical Grandma Collective, a group of grandmothers using farming to fight against a toxic goldmine threatening their bodily health. Finally, Lisa Held, host of The Farm Report, talks with an Alabama teaching farm about their transition from an after-school program to a community produce provider in the face of Covid-19.

Since the first coronavirus infections hit the US in January, the nation has changed dramatically. Stores and restaurants closed as students and employees transitioned into remote work. We are shut inside, wear masks and stand six-feet apart when at the store. This is the new normal – at least for now. This week we will dive deep into a world of change, from preparing for a post-pandemic future and the evolving habits of composters, to learning from history to make way for a better future.

We hear from Stephen Satterfield, co-founder of Whetstone Magazine. Bryce Buyakie reports on how two restaurants from two different states are preparing to reopen. Will Hartman learns about the benefits of composting and how quarantine has changed the way people recycle food waste. Kevin Chang Barnum takes us to California where an antiquarian gastronomy bookseller has experienced customers’ newfound interest in food writing up to seven centuries old. Finally, A Taste of The Past host Linda Pelaccio explores the history of soup kitchens.

In March, HRN began producing all of our 35 weekly shows from our homes all around the country. It was hard work stepping away from our little recording studio, but we know that you rely on HRN to share resources and important stories from the world of food each week. It’s been a tough year for all of us, but right now HRN is asking for your help. Every dollar that listeners give to HRN provides essential support to keep our mics on. We've got some fresh new thank you gifts available, like our limited edition bandanas.

Keep Meat and Three on the air: become an HRN Member today! Go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate.

COVID-19 is the biggest public health crisis since the early days of the AIDS epidemic some thirty years ago. The fear, isolation, and economic devastation surrounding this pandemic has been physically AND emotionally overwhelming for many of us. This week, we delve into the unseen effects of the pandemic on our emotional well-being. 

At the top of the show we hear from Darcel Dillard-Suite of Full Circle Health in the Bronx. Then Bryce Buyakie reports on shifting perceptions of body image during the pandemic and Tash Kimmell explores the experience of eating alone in isolation. Matt Patterson and the hosts of Processing, Zahra Tangorra and Bobbie Comforto, discuss how Covid-19’s toll on the service industry has affected the mental health of restaurant workers. Jenny Goodman, co-host of Opening Soon, speaks with Steve Palmer, the co-founder of Ben’s Friends about how the support group is helping people in the restaurant industry stay sober in increasingly challenging times.

The Food & Wine Pro Guide to Mental Health and Sobriety

HRN's COVID-19 Coverage and Resources

This week on Meat and Three, we’re sharing a special episode that addresses recent police violence and revisits HRN’s tribute to Philando Castile, a school cafeteria worker who was killed by a police officer on July 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. We also had the privilege of speaking with Philando’s mother, Valerie Castile, who provides an update on the work she’s doing through the Philando Castile Relief Foundation to support families who have lost loved ones to gun violence, pay school lunch debts, and enact police reform.

HRN will be donating 10% of our membership drive proceeds from today until June 15 to the Philando Castile Relief Foundation, to support the important work being done by Valerie Castile and her family. Visit heritageradionetwork.org/donate to make your gift

This week, on Meat and Three, we’re revisiting our kitchen joys, to bring a bit of levity to life during lockdown. While we’re witnessing an explosion of quarantine-friendly food trends, many are also experiencing fatigue from all the time spent in the kitchen. We’ll explore a few ways to introduce greater joy into your culinary routines, learn how to master the “quarantini,” hear how some cooks are combining food with an outdoor adventure, and discover how food media is keeping up with the demand to produce more recipes than ever.

From farms and processing plants to restaurants and grocery stores, the pandemic has disrupted the food system and put food policy at the forefront of national discourse. Grassroots organizers, labor strikes, and rallying cries are beginning to influence new regulations surrounding essential businesses, government relief efforts, and creative solutions to save independent restaurants.

This week, we’re diving into the nuts and bolts of various policy initiatives, to understand who has received federal loans, how independent restaurants have coalesced to demand greater support, why the bailout of the United States Postal Service could benefit small food businesses, and how a pilot program allowing SNAP recipients to shop online could negatively impact independent grocers.