From Navy chef to farmer, food justice educator and advocate, TEDx speaker, and health-at-every-size nutritionist, Liesha McKinley brings a powerful, multifaceted lens to how we feed our families and ourselves. In this episode, she talks with Emma and Dimity about raising kids with autonomy in the kitchen, navigating “picky” eating with empathy, and the deep impact of food access—especially in communities affected by food apartheid.

Liesha shares stories from the garden, classroom, and her own experience raising and feeding her children, reminding us that food can be a joyful tool for connection, healing, and justice. We cover her work with programs like The Edible Schoolyard Project, after-school snacks, growing your own food, and why “yucky” isn’t a fair word at the table. You’ll walk away inspired to rethink how food connects us all.

Learn more about Liesha:

• TikTok: @ChefLiesha
• Instagram: @theoaklandgirl
• Substack: The Oakland Girl

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Credits

• Produced: Dinner Last Night & REP Studio
• Edited: REP Studio
• Music by: ⁣Emerson ‘Longstory’ Bartlett, lyricist/songwriter/philosophizer
• Saxophone: Drew Martin