Edible Activist Podcast

Fresh-pressed juice is for everybody, literally. We all need nutrients and vitamins from leafy greens, citrus, and fruits, it's nature's medicine. In this episode we sit down with DC native, Najee Ellerbe, who is a certified juice therapist and owner of Everybody's Juice, a delivery company that offers juice subscriptions to customers. In 2016, Najee contracted the flu and came across juicing while he was bedridden. Little did he know, this lifestyle change would cure his illness, and eventually Everybody's Juice was born. Tune in! Powered and distributed by Simplecast

What does land mean to you? And if you inherited it, how would you steward it? This episodes continues conversations from last week's episode, Reflections of the Land, with host Melissa L. Jones and guest co-host, Jeremy Carry. The top of the episode starts with farming ninja, Jay, sharing how he would cultivate the land if he inherited five acres, then segwaying into stigmas that many black people and people of color have about farming. We also spotlight The Atlantic's piece: The Great Land Robbery. Tune in! Powered and distributed by Simplecast

In this episode, host Melissa L. Jones takes time to share reflections of the land, along with guest and farmer, Jeremy Carry. Land has been a significant topic for the Edible Activist podcast and at two recent events attended by the hosts. Tune in to hear Melissa's personal view of what land means to her and Jeremy's perspectives on how people should be stewarding nature's grid.  Powered and distributed by Simplecast

DMV Black Restaurant Week is building bridges in the black hospitality world, while paying homage to black mixologists, chefs, and restaurateurs that came before us. With a 60 billion dollar food industry, African-American/Black restaurant owners and managers only represent a small piece of the pie. In this episode we explore the statistics around ownership in the food and beverage industry, creating intergenerational wealth, and DMVBRW's upcoming conference that's sure to educate hospitality professionals. Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Powered and distributed by Simplecast

FishScale restaurant owner, Chef Brandon Williams, wants future generations to enjoy the "fruits of the sea." Oceans plagued by environmental waste and overfishing cause harm to our eco-system that many consumers don't feel the affects of. In this episode, Chef Brandon breaks down wild caught vs. farm-raised fish, how his mom influenced his mouth-watering fish burger concept, and the stereotypes he faces as a black restaurant owner who is source-conscious. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Rob "Veggies" Horton wanted more gardens in the hoods of Nashville, TN and not trap houses where profits for drugs take place and other illegal activities. There were no grocery stores for neighbors to get real food, a scene that reminded him of his hometown in St. Louis, Missouri. Taking matters into his own hands, literally, with a shovel, dirt, and a few good volunteers, he established Trap Garden. Rob's organization is a non-profit social enterprise that provides a sustainable source of healthy, high quality foods and offers innovative solutions to the physical, financial, and educational shortcomings in food insecure communities. His incredible tribe of volunteers are the wheels that keep this mission in motion to provide fresh food to low-income neighbors. Tune in as we unpack the beginnings of Trap Garden!

Mothering and farming is not easy, yet Violet King manages to make it happen. As a mom to three kids, she is tearing down any misconceptions about being able to conquer both. Violet learned a while back that black folks need to be more self-sufficient and began growing her own food. There was even a period during her pregnancy that she feared not being able to feed her daughter and drew concern about her health. In this episode, we talk about Violet raising farm babies, why we need more people of color in food policy, and how agriculture helped her to understand her ancestry, especially as an adopted child into a white family. Screen reader support enabled.

Chef Anu Green is very familiar with the flavors of the land and living off of it. Though growing up in Brooklyn, she spent a lot of her youth travelling to different islands in the Caribbean, thanks to her stepfather in Jamaica where she lived for one year while imbibing on the agriculture landscape. As a food therapist, Chef Green heals people through medicinal herbs and sound therapy, releasing the trauma that has been done to their internal systems. Tune in as she debunks myths behind disease being hereditary and why real food matters for our health.

After a month of holding it down as the host of the Edible Activist podcast, Chris Riddick of Afro Beets leans in on some of the biggest take-a-ways from his time on the show. Tune in as he passionately shares some gems on how to channel your inner edible activism and his urge for every person of color in the food and agricultural space to keep letting their light shine. Chris is forever family here at the Edible Activist podcast. And no worries, he'll be back in the near future dropping more "beets" for us!

Harley White aka @theeplantdaddy is a indoor plant mastermind who started his journey building natural enclosures for various amphibians and reptiles when he was a child. In today's episode we dig deep into how his love for plants helped him through both health issues and alcohol addiction. Tune in to find out how growth mindset and synergy with the earth around you can create a paradise of your own design.

Farming Ninjas LeVan Anderson and Jeremy Carry are back to talk on why growing your own food is cool and necessary, especially for men of color. Using their years of experience in the entertainment industry and taste for the culture we break down what it's going to take to create a more sustainable community. We already have the hustlers mentality, so why can't we disrupt the urban farming industry for our good? Anything's possible when we create our own narratives that connect us back to the land.

Entrepreneurs Nana, Maame, and Nina are the force behind Dine Diaspora, an agency based in Washington, DC that amplifies the influence of African food culture around the world. As Ghanians, these women embrace their origins and have positioned themselves to create the linkages between those of the diaspora to African food cuisine. In this episode, Nana, Maame, and Nina share a bit of their Ghanian roots and what it was like coming to the states as a youth, their urge to launch Dine Diaspora to create authentic experiences that reflect African food culture, and uncover some of the things that decedents of Africa have gotten away from.

Starting a business isn't easy, even if this episodes guest makes it look that way. What started off as a classroom assignment during her undergrad time at FAMU, blossomed into a thriving holistic plant-based food brand here in DC. Kendra Hazel of Green Things Work focuses on creating colorful and nutrient-dense foods at various pop-ups and catering events across the city. It's not uncommon to see Kendra collaborating with edible activist alumni such as Chef Lauren Van Der Pool and the City Blossoms organization. Keep your eyes and ears on this one, she's making a splash here in the DC food space. This won't be the last time you hear of Kendra Hazel.

Chef Veronica Velasquez has gone from cooking corn tortillas in her mother's kitchen, to presenting award-winning oyster mushroom street tacos. She creates Latinx inspired dishes that remind people pursuing a vegan lifestyle doesn't mean giving up the culture you grew up with. When a dog adorably named "Hot Sauce" shifted Chef V's perspective on where our food comes from, her food became her activism. Now she creates plant-based masterpieces in pop-ups around the DC area, while never forgetting her Salvadorian roots.

Kimora Brock is a triple threat of healing, entrepreneurship and edible activism. But, what happens when a pre-med graduate gives up the corporate world to pursue a life of natural medicine and passion? From living in her car in California to growing her own raw/organic snack food business, Malibu Trail Mix, Kimora has beaten the odds. Now she teaches others to live a more electric and sustainable life, so that they too can achieve radical self-love.

Growing with dad is something we don't see too often, in the since of being out in the garden, but Ronnie Webb of The Green Scheme has made it a priority to engage his beloved son, Josh , into every aspect of his work. Ronnie founded this organization that works with D.C. youth to teach them basic gardening skills and the value of healthy food. And you can find his son by his side ready to put in the work, even calling himself the Junior Boss. In this special episode, that pays tribute to this past Father's Day, Melissa sits down with Ronnie and his son to discuss the fun in gardening together, how this space has impacted his son, and how he is building good soil so that Josh has strong principles (planted by dad) to fall on.