Feeding People

Liz Abunaw, the founder and owner of Forty Acres Fresh Market in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, joins Amy to talk about everything that makes grocery stores great—including “grocery theater,” the music that’s played, and the ideal size of shopping carts. Liz shares her journey of starting Forty Acres Fresh Market, which broke ground last year and will be the Chicago’s first Black female-owned grocery store. In this episode and in her work, Liz challenges the standard narratives around which neighborhoods can support grocery stores, and how Forty Acres can provide neighborhoods like Austin with good food for all.

Eliana Pinilla, Director of Partnerships, Great Lakes Region at The Common Market, discusses with Amy Dolan the need to "connect communities to good food grown by sustainable family farmers." She explains that when institutions get more of their food directly from local farms, the quality of food they serve—and the health and wealth of the entire region—get better. Eliana breaks down how The Common Market helps make it all happen and the vision she has for future generations.

Laurell Sims, Co-Founder and former Co-Executive Director of Urban Growers Collective, talks with Amy Dolan about her journey to creating an eight-site urban farm in Chicago, what it will take to address the problems in the current U.S. food system, and all of the ways local food and farming build community.