Food Dignity Podcast

In this special Candid Clancy episode, Clancy Harrison shares the lessons she's learned from more than 13 years of challenging hunger, food insecurity, and the systems designed to address them. She introduces the four-phase framework she now uses to help organizations rethink, build, and strengthen local food systems across the country.

Today, Clancy speaks with Liz Krug, owner of Endless Roots Farm in northeastern Pennsylvania. Liz shares what it looks like to grow food regeneratively, support local communities year-round, and build relationships between farmers and the people they feed. From food access and food rescue to trust, advocacy, and sustainable farming, this conversation explores the deeper connection between agriculture, community, and dignity.

Today, Clancy sits down with Leah Smith, Organic School Food Procurement Consultant at Friends of the Earth. In this episode, they unpack what it really takes to get better food into schools, making local, organic, and climate-friendly meals possible for students.

Today, Clancy speaks with Becca Tuholski, a farmer, regional food systems leader, and public health advocate working at the intersection of agriculture, equity, and community resilience. Becca is the co-owner of Tuholski Produce and serves as a Farm to Food Access Manager at the Northwest Indiana Food Council. In this episode, they discuss how regional food systems, partnerships, and community-driven programs can improve food access while supporting small farmers.

In this episode, Clancy sits down with Gerardo Martinez. He is a Marine Corps veteran, farmer, and founder of Wild Kid Acres Farm in Maryland. What began as a small homestead during the COVID-19 pandemic has grown into a thriving community-centered farm, welcoming nearly 60,000 visitors a year. From agritourism and regenerative food production to large-scale aggregation and national advocacy, Gerardo shares how food, culture, and community are deeply connected and why the next generation of farmers is at the heart of everything he builds.

Today, Clancy speaks with Dana Hudson, Coordinator of the Vermont Farm to School and Early Childhood Network. With more than 25 years of experience in farm-based education, Dana has worked in classrooms and on farms, supported farmers entering the school food arena, and helped build practical tools that connect students to local agriculture. In this Food as Power series conversation, Dana shares how relationships, education, and community demand can shift food systems from the ground up.

In this episode of the Food Dignity Podcast, Clancy is joined by Denee Bex, a Registered Dietitian and CDCES from the Diné (Navajo) Nation and the founder of Tumbleweed Nutrition LLC. Together, they explore how food sovereignty, representation, and lived experience shape nutrition work in Native communities and why listening, humility, and cultural respect must be at the center of food and health conversations.

In this episode of the Food Dignity Podcast, Clancy sits down with sisters Stephanie and Hayley Painter, co-CEOs of Painterland Sisters. Raised on a fourth-generation dairy farm in Northern Pennsylvania, the sisters share how their farming roots, community values, and commitment to nutrient-dense food led them to build a national organic skyr yogurt brand.

In this episode, Clancy speaks with Dr. Veronica L. Womack, Executive Director of the Rural Studies Institute at Georgia College and Professor of Political Science and Public Administration. A scholar, advocate, and storyteller of the Southern Black Belt, Dr. Womack shares why rural communities, land, and foodways matter deeply, not just to the South, but to the health and dignity of the entire country.

In this episode, Clancy speaks with Kristin Heltman-Weiss, Executive Director, and Hamadi Ali, Deputy Director of Providence Farm Collective in Western New York. Together, they share the story behind a grassroots farming collective that emerged from the lived experiences of refugee and immigrant communities seeking land, food sovereignty, and dignity.