Kathleen Merrigan was the United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture from 2009 to 2013 and is now the Executive Director at Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University. She is an advocate for organic farming, worked with former First Lady Michelle Obama on the Let’s Move campaign, and while working at the USDA she shaped the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative. Not only is Dr. Merrigan the person with answers on how food is regulated, she also is the person who knows the right questions to ask - including some involving chocolate cake.

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Welcome back to Citizen Chef! After wrapping last season, Tom Colicchio has been working tirelessly with the Independent Restaurant Coalition to lobby for funding to help save our restaurants. This week, catches up with one of the key allies of the bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. They discuss why the money is necessary to revitalizing the restaurant industry and how it will help our neighborhoods bounce back from losses due to the pandemic.

Resources: Restaurant Revitalization Fund https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/restaurant-revitalization-fund

Follow Tom on Instagram and Twitter @tomcolicchio and tell us what food policy stories you care about with #CitizenChef.

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Chef Tom Colicchio (Top Chef) is back with conversations about the policies that shape how the U.S. food system works. Join Tom as we head into the summer with fresh takes on the future of farming, the restaurant industry and access to nutritious food during a pandemic.

Follow Tom on Twitter and Instagram @tomcolicchio and share what you want to hear with hashtag #CitizenChef.

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Citizen Chef will be back soon!

Chef and food activist Tom Colicchio and executive producer Christopher Hassiotis catch up on the long year behind us and the work ahead.

Follow Tom on Instagram and Twitter @tomcolicchio and tell us what you want to hear with #CitizenChef.

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Hey, Citizen Chefs! In case you missed it, here's a replay of Tom's guest appearance on iHeartRadio's Why I'm Voting podcast. Take a listen and don't forget to vote on election day 2020!

If you want to change, preserve, or build a better America, there’s one easy way to make your voice heard: Vote. This year, iHeartRadio is teaming up with over 20 incredible celebrities (plus a handful of our most popular podcasters) to get the country excited to go vote, broadcasting the personal, emotional and heartfelt stories behind why showing up to the ballot box means so much-- not just as individuals, but for our entire nation.

Thank you to our partners AXE, Knorr® & Seventh Generation

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In early March, slim pickings on grocery store shelves, news of meat plant shutdowns, skyrocketing demand for food bank services, predictions of supply chain breakdown and food shortages drove many Americans to do what we haven't collectively done since WWII: plant home gardens. Tom checks in with journalist Morgan Levey about the boom in seed sales and interest in home gardening.

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Tom Colicchio talks with "Free for All: Fixing School Food in America" author, Dr. Janet Poppendieck about the history and future of school lunch programs.

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What do chefs and the food industry owe black Americans? Tom Colicchio talks with chef and historian Michael Twitty about the effects of racist systems on American foodways and how food and culinary history could be addressed through the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act.

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Americans aren't hungry because of drought or famine. Some say Americans are hungry because there isn't political will to make sure everyone is fed. How did we get here? In this episode, Tom Colicchio adds a chapter in his food policy primer season. He's joined by Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, who provides a short lesson in U.S. nutrition assistance programs and the future of fighting food insecurity in America.

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Tom chats with food and agriculture journalist Leah Douglas about the role of corporate concentration in the food system. Since April 2020, Douglas has mapped outbreaks of COVID-19 among workers at meat packing and meat processing plants across the nation. They discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has brought longstanding concerns around health and safety in meat processing plants to light.

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