Small food suppliers like oyster farmers and cheesemakers are really who set restaurants apart. In most cases, a majority of what they produce is sold to restaurants. But with the pandemic, many restaurants have closed -- and when restaurants close these small businesses are left without a market. Tom Colicchio talks to Peter Stein of Peeko Oysters and Mateo Kehler of Jasper Hill Farms about how they've changed their business models.

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In this stripped-down episode, Tom Colicchio talks to Gerardo Reyes Chavez of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers about the work leading towards systemic solutions to end modern-day slavery and put a stop to crimes against growers across the food system.

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Tom Colicchio talks to Dr. Angela Stuesse (Scratching Out a Living: Latinos, Race, and Work in the Deep South) and investigative reporter Alissa Zhu about the largest single-state immigration enforcement operation in our country's history, and the conditions workers in poultry processing plants often work in.

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Tom Colicchio and Ian Urbina of The New York Times talks about the people behind the fish on your plate and the stories in his book, The Outlaw Ocean.

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In this no-frills episode, Tom Colicchio hands the mic over to two guests whose experiences collecting MRE's in so-called food lines have lead them to careers on the front lines of disaster relief.

First, we hear a first-person account from Blaine Fisher, a Louisiana native and former paramedic who now teaches Emergency Management at Tulane University. We also hear from Keron Bascombe of Tech4Agri, a Trinidad and Tobago-based social enterprise aimed at providing "AgriRecoveryKits" to people who are food insecure due to natural disasters and the pandemic. But first, we pick up where we left off in Part 1 with Nate Mook of World Central Kitchen to talk about government's role in disaster preparedness,

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Who's making sure people eat during times of disaster? In part one of our episodes looking into disaster relief, World Central Kitchen CEO Nate Mook joins Tom to examine how our governments respond with food aid in localized catastrophes like we saw in NYC after 9/11 and in global emergencies like COVID-19. They also discuss how to incite lasting change with the FEED Act.

Resources

• H.R.6700 - FEED Act
• World Central Kitchen

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Sure, Chef Tom Colicchio is an Emmy-winning restaurateur but he’s also a food advocate on a mission to improve our food systems. In this first episode, Tom talks about his vision for the show and the way the pandemic has highlighted the delicate and inflexible nature of the American food web.

Tom calls up friend and food policy go-to, Dr. Marion Nestle (Food Politics) to outline a few of the major issues we'll look into this season. 

Resources

• “Table For None: Tom Colicchio Explains What Restaurants Need To Survive,” Fresh Air
• “In the Face of COVID-19, State Legislators Push for Federal Support of Local Food Systems,” Civil Eats
• A Place At The Table, 2013 documentary

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Tom Colicchio has issues with food! This podcast is about what we eat, where and who it comes from, and the politics, decisions, policies and people that shape our food system – with the goal of turning curious listeners into more informed, engaged citizens. Led by restaurateur and Top Chef host Tom Colicchio, the podcast delves into policy, labor, hunger, democracy, sustainability, farming, health, social justice, technology and the restaurant business. Of particular concern is a post-coronavirus and covid-19 world. Each episode Tom takes a deep dive into an issue by interviewing experts, journalists, food producers or others to tell an engaging and topical story about an aspect of our food system that the general public may not know, connecting the dots about how our food system really works, really doesn’t, and outlining its impact on our society – all while remaining positive and presenting attainable solutions to some of the biggest food issues out there.

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