Chef Lidia Bastianich traveled across America meeting chefs, farmers, and entrepreneurs who are hard at work trying to change not only what kind of food is available, but the way Americans see and think about food in the future. Her latest special Lidia Celebrates America: Changemakers, produced by GBH, premiered last month and is available to stream here. Lidia met people who are increasing local access to produce, creating communities that teach people to grow vegetables, reviving Indigenous ingredients for healthful Native cuisine, and introducing the American palate to sustainable ingredients such as insects.
Lidia traveled from Minneapolis, MN, and Stockton, CA, to Inglewood, CA, and Middletown, VA, visiting those who work hard to change the availability of healthy food in their communities and alter how we perceive food in America. “In Changemakers, I met with inspiring and passionate Americans who are trying to improve our lives by helping us attain better access to nutritious food, and by re-connecting us with nature and our environment,” she said.
Born in Pula, a small city on the southern tip of the Istrian Peninsula in present-day Croatia, Lida grew up in a poor community where food was scarce. When it came to cooking and eating, she and her neighbors demonstrated a remarkable spirit of ingenuity and of sharing. Resourcefulness remains a fundamental part of who Lidia is today, a chef bolstered by the belief that food is increasingly being wasted, and scarce. Lidia Celebrates America: Changemakers follows her on her 13th journey across the country as she meets up with everyday Americans who are reimagining the future of food.
“Our approach to food needs to be increasingly rooted in using local and available products, cooked with less waste,” she said. “With 1.3 billion tons of food going to waste each year, that’s enough food to feed two billion people.” She is determined to share the critical message that when we waste food, we also waste all the energy and water it takes to grow, harvest, transport, and package it. “We need to take steps toward ensuring a more secure food future for everyone, and we need to do it now.”
Some of the stories featured in the special include a meeting with James Beard award-winning chef and restaurateur Sean Sherman at his most recent undertaking, The Indigenous Food Lab Market – a teaching kitchen and market for indigenous foods. Lidia also meets Claire and Chad Simons who strive to make edible insects more accessible to the American palate with their company, 3 Cricketeers. Insects represent sustainable protein and are consumed by 2 billion people worldwide. After stopping by the popular “Great Minnsect Show” at the University of Minnesota, Lidia visits the 3 Cricketeers’ test kitchen to taste-test a new pasta made with cricket powder and cricket pesto. She also volunteers to distribute fresh produce with the Social Justice Learning Institute, which strives to improve access to healthy foods across Inglewood by delivering free produce to pop-up markets, schools, and medical clinics.
“We feel privileged that such forward-thinking individuals shared their stories, their passion, and their vision for change with us. Together, they are united in charting a new path for the future of food, and inspiring others to do the same,” said Laurie Donnelly, GBH executive producer of National Lifestyle Programming.
Lidia is intent on getting out the critical message that we need to be more adventurous with what we’re willing to eat and mindful of the energy and water it takes to grow, harvest, transport, and package it. “We need to take steps toward ensuring a more secure food future for everyone, and we need to do it now.” As she says in the film, “Food is culture. Food is who we are. Food tells a story.”
