>> LIDIA BASTIANICH: As the food landscape evolves rapidly around the world, I'm setting out to meet Americans who are changing the way we think about food.

(laughter) >> Being able to grow some more of our culturally relevant foods can give us so much more nutrition.

>> LIDIA: Entrepreneurs striving to increase sustainability.

>> Caramel popcorn with crickets.

>> LIDIA: And you just crunch on it?

>> Pop it in your mouth.

>> LIDIA: Mm.

(crickets chirping) >> Crickets require 2,000 times less water than cows.

>> It's good.

>> They're delicious, they're nutritious, and they're sustainable.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Hello, everybody.

>> Hi... >> LIDIA (voiceover): Homegrown chefs reviving our connection with the land.

>> I was feeling disconnected from food.

People are seeing food as it comes off the truck, not out of a field.

>> LIDIA: This is like a Picasso.

>> (laughs) >> LIDIA: Community leaders working to change health outcomes.

>> Good, healthy, organic food really changes the health disparities.

It's good to go.

>> LIDIA: Mm.

Nonprofits improving food access.

>> I can spin around in a circle and find lots and lots of fast food, but have a hard time accessing fresh fruits and vegetables.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Who's the chef here?

>> I am!

>> LIDIA: So that we, each of us... >> Looks beautiful.

>> LIDIA: ...might be inspired to move to a more sustainable future together.

Your... keep on doing this, this is great.

>> We're trying to do something to set the stage for making massive change that's going to be good for all of us as we move forward.

>> LIDIA: Show me, show me what you've got here.

(chicken clucking) ♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: My journey this year features changemakers.

Changemakers are born out of passion, a consciousness.

They want to make a difference.

>> Problems can be overwhelming, but I think it's important to realize that you weren't created to fix it all.

You were created to do your part.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: You say, you know, "What can I do?"

>> When we could start a business to improve our environment, protect the planet, we jumped into it.

We just went for it.

>> LIDIA: Begin with yourself.

What do you love to do?

What do you know how to do?

What can you share?

♪ ♪ >> I have a five-year-old named Benji and a three-year-old named Nola, and I want them to know where their food comes from.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): Share a recipe; share your knowledge; share love.

>> This is a seed that we've planted, but this is just the first.

Like, this is our first seed as we're ready to grow out across North America and eventually all over the world.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): Look for places where you can give of yourself, give your two hands.

Look where you can make a difference and give.

♪ ♪ >> I kept going to really find the answer to how I can help my community live longer and have a better life.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): In today's world, we depend ever more on each other.

>> But when we all do our part, all those things come together cumulatively and make something really amazing.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: My trip across America starts at the Global Midtown Market in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

♪ ♪ Here, you can enjoy flavors from faraway lands.

♪ ♪ And from cultures that have been right here all along.

Hi.

>> Háu anpétu wasté.

>> LIDIA: How are you doing?

>> I'm doing very well, how are you?

>> LIDIA (voiceover): A young man named Dakota suggests what may sound like an ordinary lunch order.

>> I would do the chili with the bison birria on top of it.

Depending on how hungry you are, I would add, like, maybe the Native Salad on the side with pulled turkey.

>> LIDIA: So, I'll take the chili... >> Gotcha.

>> LIDIA: ...bowl, not too big.

And the salad you recommended.

>> And then I'd do the juneberry vinaigrette on... >> LIDIA (voiceover): But the meal at the Indigenous Food Lab itself is nothing short of extraordinary.

>> Can I grab a name for the order?

>> LIDIA: Lidia.

>> Lidia, perfect.

>> LIDIA: Okay.

(voiceover): Sean Sherman, a chef who began the Indigenous Food Lab, grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

He's on a mission to restore the food pathways that nourished Indigenous people for centuries.

>> I want to change the way we think about food access.

Growing up on a reservation, we had one grocery store to service an area the size of Connecticut.

And we had no restaurants.

And we just had access to a lot of government foods like Commodity Food Program, which is canned meats, canned vegetables, canned fruits, and no nutrition.

Things packed in sugars, things packed in salts, and not good for you.

>> LIDIA: When he left Pine Ridge and started working in restaurants in Minneapolis, he had a realization that would become his life's work.

>> A few years into my chef career, I just realized the absence of Native American foods.

>> I got a chili and salad for Lidia.

>> LIDIA: Thank you, Dakota.

>> Pidámaya k'a tóksta akhé.

>> LIDIA: I'm looking forward.

>> I love to hear that.

>> It kind of became a passion of mine to really try to understand what was my heritage food, and what were my ancestors eating?

What were they harvesting, what were they growing, who were they trading with?

>> LIDIA (voiceover): As a chef, Sean wants America to recognize these Indigenous flavors, these Indigenous products.

He wants Indigenous culture to really be part of the American table.

Very good, nice and spicy.

(voiceover): After lunch, I meet Sean in downtown Minneapolis at Owamni-- an upscale restaurant showcasing the fruits of Sean's labor.

♪ ♪ >> This is a white sweet potato, grilled and seared, topped with our maple chili crisp oil and fresh scallions.

♪ ♪ >> So, we have things like this true wild rice that comes from Minnesota.

We have a wonderful hominy and bison stew.

We've got some tepary bean dip.

We've got fresh-made tostadas that we make ourselves from native corns.

We've got some roasted bison.

And just a whole bunch of ingredients-- everything from crickets to puffed rice to sauces, to wild foods that are right outside the window.

>> LIDIA: So nutritionally, this is really balanced... >> Absolutely.

Becoming a chef, I learned Italian cuisine, I learned Spanish, I learned French, I learned all these things, but I realized at a certain point that these are all colonial food bases, and I really knew nothing about my own heritage food, because our foods were taken from us in the colonial history.

So I wanted to try and showcase that there's so much beautiful bounty here in North America to talk about that's not European influenced.

>> LIDIA: Food is culture, food is who we are.

>> Absolutely.

>> LIDIA: And food tells a story from the way back.

>> Why don't we just put together a couple of these tacos 'cause this might look like what you might call Mexican food, but Mexican cuisine, it's way more Indigenous than it is European influence, because we have things like the nixtamalized corn tortillas, and we have things like chilies and beans and squash.

And then I'm just going to build a couple of little tacos for us.

So this is a chili and maple sauce.

>> LIDIA: Chili and maple sauce?

>> Yep.

>> LIDIA: And what are you putting on now?

>> This is some braised bison that's cooked with cedar... >> LIDIA: Wow, that's a lot of bison.

>> And then this is just a little bit of fresh cedar, too.

So I like to just put a little tiny bit... >> LIDIA: So you-- like us Italians, we use a lot of fresh herbs... >> Mm-hmm.

>> LIDIA: And bay leaves and rosemary, little bushes.

>> Me too.

>> LIDIA: You're using the cedar in the same fashion.

>> Yeah.

Let's take a quick taste of this.

>> LIDIA: Absolutely.

>> Okay.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Delicious.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> LIDIA: A nice spice.

They... there's some nice acidity.

>> Some crunch.

>> LIDIA: Mm-hmm.

>> we're not trying to cook like the past.

We're not trying to cook like it's 1491, we're not a museum piece, you know?

We're trying to showcase what's possible for the future, what's possible for now, moving forward.

And so we want to get this food directly out to the Indigenous communities to help curb a lot of the health epidemics that are out there with high rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes.

Some of our communities have upwards to 60 percent type 2 diabetes because of the poor nutrition that's out there.

And the restaurant's just a place to help move this food, to create jobs and skills for people to develop, to create more restaurants and more workers in the industry, and to just, you know, try to figure out how do we create more food distribution, more education around this food.

>> LIDIA: What should I taste next?

>> This is a tepary bean spread-- a really cool bean, because it's drought-resistant and it grows wild... >> LIDIA: That's a tepary?

>> Tepary.

As we're going through a lot of water crisis in North America... >> LIDIA: Uh-huh.

>> This could be a crop that could be really important to us.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Delicious.

The sensibility, you know, as a chef, you know, like it mellow, you like it acidic, you like it sweet, you like it-- the texture, crunchy.

>> (voiceover): We're creating something new.

You know, we're creating something that should already be here, but we're doing it for the intention of this next generation.

So when this next generation grows up, they're going to see it being normal to see Native American restaurants out there, to see Native American food products.

And being able to have access to eat them and knowing what their body feels like when you're eating this healthy, beautiful food.

And we're trying to do something to really set the stage for making massive change that's going to be good for all of us as we move forward.

>> LIDIA: How does the average American respond to your offerings?

>> We've actually been sold out since we've opened, all of our reservations have been filled since we opened in July of '21.

And we did win the James Beard Award for best new restaurant in the U.S. in 2022.

So it's been a very, very positive response.

Because we're doing something different, but it's also unfortunate because we should have these Native restaurants everywhere featuring the land, the history, and the foods, and all this diversity that we have all across North America.

>> LIDIA: You are identifying your culture with the products of the tradition.

>> Absolutely, we're using food as a language.

>> LIDIA: Food connects.

>> Absolutely.

>> LIDIA: Food is love, food is message, so let's eat together.

>> Absolutely.

♪ ♪ How's it going?

>> Good.

>> Good.

We're living in a weird world where people are starting to wipe away Indigenous histories in, in school systems.

That's the wrong direction.

We should just be learning history for what it is, because it doesn't go away.

And we should be understanding how we can be better humans moving forward.

>> LIDIA: Salute.

>> Salute.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: My next stop is just across town, where hundreds of people have gathered to celebrate insects.

♪ ♪ (indistinct chatter in background) >> They are Madagascar hissing cockroaches, native to Madagascar.

As a defense mechanism, They hiss.

It is no harm to us, it's just them kind of throwing a hissy fit.

(laughs) >> Male dung beetles will use the dung to impress female beetles.

>> So we've got some tobacco horn worms here, and they will turn into this moth over here.

>> LIDIA: Oh, so they turn ultimately into a moth.

>> Yeah.

(indistinct chatter) >> LIDIA (voiceover): I'm here to taste them.

What have we got here?

Is this something to taste?

>> This is something to taste.

Caramel popcorn with crickets.

>> LIDIA: Caramel popcorn with crickets.

>> Yes.

>> LIDIA: And you just crunch on it?

>> Pop it in your mouth.

>> LIDIA: Mm.

That little crunch of the cricket, you really sort of add like a little... umami or a mushroom or butter.

>> Yeah.

>> LIDIA: It's... And there's a nice crunch.

It's good, it's delicious.

>> Yea, delicious.

>> LIDIA: Absolutely.

(voiceover): Here on a mission to introduce crickets to the American palate are Claire and Chad Simons, founders of 3 Cricketeers.

So tell me about crickets.

>> Yes.

>> LIDIA: Do you raise them?

Do you... >> We do.

We have a farm in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, an urban farm.

>> LIDIA: It all began when their son Chase was eight.

>> I came home with a cricket cookie from school and I showed it to them, and they were like, "oh, that's a good idea.

We should do that."

>> LIDIA: A cricket cookie.

>> Yes.

>> LIDIA: And so, you guys said, "Ha-ha!"

>> Let's do this.

The next day.

>> LIDIA: You had a vision?

>> We had a vision.

We started in our basement.

>> LIDIA: According to food policy experts, eating insects is a crucial part of a more sustainable future.

Food, like everything else, evolves.

And we have to adapt, we have to look to the future.

You know, will there be enough food two generations from now?

Though insects have long been part of food cultures around the world... ♪ ♪ ...getting Americans to jump on board means overcoming the ick factor-- one taster at a time.

>> The kids that come to the Minnsect Show are definitely bug enthusiasts.

>> It's good.

>> They're definitely Cricketeers.

They come up to our booth, and they are excited to try.

>> What I love about the kids is they are fearless.

They jump right in and then they come back for more.

They love to try our products.

The future of food really is about the kids, and so far it's been wonderful.

>> LIDIA: You produce these products, you sell them.

What else do you do?

I am curious.

You know, I'm a chef, and so this could be interesting.

>> I've heard.

Yes, we do.

We are trying to make different products as well that people could eat in their meals daily.

Something like maybe pasta, maybe... >> LIDIA: You do that?

>> We can, we'd love to.

>> LIDIA: Maybe we should get together.

>> That would be amazing.

>> LIDIA: Yeah.

♪ ♪ (voiceover): I head to the 3 Cricketeers commercial kitchen to join as they test a recipe for cricket flour pasta.

Okay.

Now we're going to put it right here to cut.

(voiceover): With cricket pesto.

Cricket pasta, cricket... pesto.

>> Pesto.

(laughing) >> LIDIA: So, the water is boiling.

Why don't you throw in some pasta?

Why pasta?

>> Pasta makes it easy to eat crickets.

It's not as scary that way.

>> I think it's bringing crickets into everyday meals.

You're the perfect person to let us know if we're on the right track.

>> LIDIA: So I think it's done.

>> Originally, we thought we would be able to sell frozen crickets next to the frozen shrimp at the grocery store, and people weren't really ready for that yet.

We did realize, and our business changed, that we had to do the education and we had to make the products, show people how easy it is to work with crickets and see how delicious it is.

And it's like any other protein or grain that you eat.

>> LIDIA: So we made the pasta.

Your cricket pasta.

>> Yes.

>> LIDIA: And now you want to come up with the sauce.

>> That's right.

>> LIDIA: To dress your cricket pasta.

Pesto.

>> Pesto.

>> LIDIA: Pesto and pasta, made in heaven.

You have basil here, you have arugula here.

>> I was an environmental lawyer before this, and I was always interested in doing as much as I could to improve our environment, protect the planet-- save the planet, really, if I can even do that.

♪ ♪ When Chase came home with a cricket cookie, it really hit me that we can eat an efficient form of protein, and really do our bodies a favor and the planet a favor.

And I looked into it and sure enough, just a few years before that, the United Nations had issued a report on food insecurity, and insects were at the top of the list.

I just jumped into it, built a terrarium in the basement, started growing crickets.

They hatched.

>> So, when we were able to grow them I started sneaking it into the boys' food, and they loved it.

When I started looking into the benefits of the crickets, it actually is an anti-inflammatory.

It heals your gut with prebiotic fiber, high protein.

And more and more research that's coming out right now, we're realizing that it's the missing link to our gut health.

>> LIDIA: These little guys.

>> Yep.

>> LIDIA: What do you think they will add to this pesto?

>> They have a nutty flavor.

>> LIDIA: My reputation is at stake here, you know?

>> (laughs) >> LIDIA: But yours is building.

Good.

Let me taste this.

Mm.

Very good.

I like the crunch.

Okay, put the garlic right in there.

Pistachios, toasted pistachio.

Salt.

Okay.

And now these little crickets go in there.

How much do we put in?

>> Virtually all the bowl.

>> LIDIA: The whole bowl you want?

>> Sure, why not?

>> LIDIA: That's a lot.

Okay.

>> It's a lot.

>> LIDIA: Let's put that on and let's get going.

Let's put some oil in there.

♪ ♪ (blender whirring) >> (voiceover): The way this all fits in to food security and stability is cricket powder has a really long shelf life.

It's a complete protein, so it has all the essential amino acids.

It has B12, it's a prebiotic fiber.

It has more iron than spinach, more calcium than milk.

So, really, it's a superfood.

>> It's vitamins in a bag.

>> It's... (laughs) >> LIDIA: Put it on.

Maybe another.

Uh-huh... >> Mm, it smells good.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: This looks pretty good.

Do you want cheese?

>> Sure.

>> LIDIA: Okay.

What are you going to put on top of that?

>> A little bit of cheese, please.

>> LIDIA: Yeah.

And?

>> Maybe a few crickets.

>> LIDIA: Oh, you do your cricket thing, I have... >> I want crickets, too.

>> LIDIA: You're-- okay.

>> Yeah.

>> LIDIA: All right, let me taste first.

>> Okay.

>> Okay.

>> LIDIA: I will tell you my opinion.

>> Okay.

>> LIDIA: Then you can go.

♪ ♪ Delizioso.

Taste it.

♪ ♪ >> Mm.

>> Mm.

>> LIDIA: It's really good.

>> Pesto, you talk about, you know, basil, little garlic, parsley, and pine nuts.

Crickets and pine nuts, crickets have that kind of nuttiness when they're dry and they also certainly have that crunchiness, so they're parallel.

We could make a great pesto with some crickets.

Call me next time you're testing.

Okay?

>> Mm-hmm.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: One of Claire and Chad's customers owns a restaurant nearby.

At Oro by Nixta, chef Gustavo Romero incorporates crickets and other insects into the daily menu.

>> This dish is a large tostada.

Refried beans, melted cheese, salsa tatemada, a little bit of pico de gallo, avocado, beef, salpicón.

And we're gonna finish it with these delicious crickets from our friends from 3 Cricketers.

>> I don't think that anybody went to the fields and they will look at insects and be, you know, "These, these are delicious, let's eat them."

I think it was something that came out of necessity.

like a lot of the things that happened around food.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA (voiceover): Chef Romero celebrates his Mexican heritage-- one that includes many different insects.

>> So, we're just gonna make what we would call ensalada mixta, Finish it with jumiles; jumiles is a type of beetle, crunchy, salty, almost cheesy taste like.

That's why we like to put it on salads, I feel like they complement pretty well.

(voiceover): Insects have a very specific flavor that is nothing like any other item.

That's the part that I enjoy the most.

They're worms that live in the biggest agave plant in Mexico.

Going to add a little more in here because they're delicious.

I like to bring flavors that people don't recognize because they're different and new.

Ant larvae.

The larvae has been cooked in butter.

Acociles are tiny lobster-looking-like insects.

They're delicious, very bright in color.

Nice, crunchy, earthy.

Chicatana ants, a lot of flavor.

>> LIDIA: He invited me to taste.

♪ ♪ Exciting table.

What's the first course?

>> The first course.

This is called infladitas, which means... >> LIDIA: Infladita-- oh, it's inflated.

>> It means, it means puffed.

And then for the insect, we use escamoles, which are ant larvae.

This is one of the favorite dishes of mine because of the complexity on flavor and the complexity on how you can get them.

Ants get very, very mad when you're trying to take the eggs.

>> LIDIA: The ants get mad at you.

>> The ants get mad, yeah.

(laughter) They start, they start, they start biting and poking.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): We think of eating as flavor, aromas, it looks beautiful.

But the crunchiness, the texture, especially us Italians-- the al dente-- we are very sensitive to that in your mouth.

Inside and just bite in, huh?

(crunching) Mm!

The taste is delicious.

It's like-- almost like a little caviar.

>> Caviar, yes.

>> LIDIA: Creamy.

With the avocado, very good.

(voiceover): He played, he incorporated insects, dried insects, into beautifully decorated and prepared foods.

♪ ♪ What is the next surprise?

>> Our next dish is tlayuda.

It's a traditional dish from Oaxaca.

Here we present a open face, almost resemble a pizza.

>> LIDIA: What... so what's in here on top?

>> Crickets from our friends at 3 Cricketeers.

>> LIDIA: Uh-huh.

>> Really nice people.

>> The best crickets.

(laughter) >> LIDIA: Indeed, indeed.

Your crickets on here, I see them, I see them.

And the crickets make it crunchy... okay.

>> Yes.

Crunch, salt.

A little bit of chili, a little bit of lime.

>> LIDIA: Crunchy from the top because of the crickets, crunchy from the bottom.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> LIDIA: And that softness of the avocado, the everything else in between.

Really, really good.

>> In our first instinct when we see bugs is, is to feel a little resistance to it.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Chef, what's next?

>> The beetles, a type of beetle.

>> LIDIA: A beetle.

>> I like to use them in salads because of their crunch.

To me, they almost taste like... >> LIDIA: A flavor between butter and oil and maybe a little bit of cheese, yeah?

>> It's like a healthy crouton.

>> I love seeing the reaction on their faces when they eat something they like, and the smile on their faces.

And then you realize you just did something.

♪ ♪ This is my hometown on a plate.

♪ ♪ >> It's the house of the barbacoa.

So we're going to start with a little bit of pipian negro, charred eggplant sauce.

>> LIDIA: Uh-huh.

>> Then we are going to do a little bit of garbanzo.

>> LIDIA: Okay.

>> Some of this lamb... >> LIDIA: Shank.

>> Shank.

>> LIDIA: Mm, this looks great.

>> And for this one, we have chinicuiles, which is gusano de maguey.

>> LIDIA: Uh-huh.

>> The maguey is the biggest agave plant we have in Mexico.

So these little worms, they grow inside of the leaves and then they eat the leaves, so they taste exactly like the plant.

>> LIDIA: Ah-- mm, I just tasted a smokiness, there's smokiness, something... >> Yep.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): People have been using insects as a nutritional form for centuries in other cuisines... Mm, layers and layers of flavor.

(voiceover): We have to be a little bit open-minded towards a more environmentally friendly source of food.

Thank you, chef, thank you very much.

(voiceover): And that's what the future needs.

Salute.

>> ALL: Salute.

>> LIDIA: Salute, everybody!

Cheers.

>> Cheers.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> LIDIA (voiceover): Next, I head south to a small town in the heart of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley to meet Kari Rushing.

Hello, everybody.

>> Hi.

>> LIDIA: Hello.

>> Nice to see you.

>> LIDIA: Pleasure, pleasure.

(voiceover): A restaurateur on a mission to change America's perception of Appalachian cuisine.

Show me, show me what you've got here.

(chicken clucking) >> There was a campaign in the '60s by LBJ, where... he talked about the war on poverty.

>> And this administration declares unconditional war on poverty in America.

(applause) >> And they sent photojournalists out into Appalachia to take pictures.

♪ ♪ >> The program I shall propose will help more Americans escape from squalor and misery.

>> And painted a image of Appalachia that has really stuck and really damaged the region.

(children chattering) >> LIDIA: Oh, love them.

They're so cute.

So who's your favorite?

>> Bacon.

>> LIDIA: Yours is Bacon?

>> Yeah.

(laughter) >> We're not impoverished.

You know, we're resourceful.

You want to give 'em some apple cores?

>> LIDIA: You recycle everything.

>> I was formally trained in a French culinary school, and learning that French onion soup exists because a half-rotten bag of onions was the last thing left at a market and they had to figure out how to make it nice... >> LIDIA: Look at them go.

>> Just really resonated with me, because we're so good at using every single part of everything.

That is so much of what we do with this cuisine, is go, "Okay, well, we've got catfish, "so let's make catfish and let's make it something really exciting."

>> LIDIA: They like cabbage, too, you know?

>> Yeah.

>> Just because we're rural and we eat the things we eat, which, you know, you might have an idea about the way we eat or the way we live, doesn't mean that we aren't educated or that we don't have palates, you know.

(laughs) >> LIDIA: Dog, pig, rabbits, what else?

>> Chickens.

>> LIDIA: Chicken, correct.

(chickens clucking) (goose honks) (machine whirring, coffee bubbling) ♪ ♪ (insects chirping) >> People out here forage and they hunt.

What we can find here is a lot of really special ingredients that people don't have elsewhere.

We have pawpaws, fiddlehead ferns, and redbud trees, and morel mushrooms.

If you're not looking for those things, you're going to miss it.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA (voiceover): I head to Kari's restaurant to see how she marries the resourcefulness of Appalachia with the refinement of fine dining.

♪ ♪ At Vault and Cellar, the menu focuses on seasonality.

>> During the summer, we do a lot of pickling curing, smoking, salting, and putting things away so that we are able to pull out elements and bring them to the winter plates.

But yeah, the winter menu is very heavy on root vegetables and cabbage and cream sauces and things like that.

>> LIDIA: You go to a supermarket, it's always one season.

Everything is there all the time.

But you go to these different chefs that connect with what the land offers.

They have to work seasonally.

>> There are a lot of people that come in here, and they're not sure what to expect, which I really enjoy.

All right, we have four catfish, rabbit, venison medium.

And especially with the rabbit dish, the two things I hear are either, "I haven't had rabbit since I was a kid," or "I've never had rabbit before."

And either one, you're either coming at it with nostalgia or you're coming at it with an open mind and a sense of adventure and trying something new and being open to a culture you haven't experienced previously.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Kari, I'm in your kitchen.

Thank you for having me.

>> Thanks for coming.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): I join her in the kitchen to make a dish she calls "Rabbit Food."

>> It's kind of our signature dish here.

And the accompaniments that go with it sort of started as an inside joke.

'cause we thought, okay, well what do rabbits eat?

They eat greens, um, so we have some braised greens with it.

They eat carrots; everybody knows rabbit love carrots.

So we, uh, have roasted carrots with it.

And we call it "Rabbit Food."

>> LIDIA: I love rabbit.

I grew up with rabbits.

I used to feed them How do you make it?

>> So first we have actually brined it, just a quick salt and pepper to let it sit overnight.

Then we're gonna use, um, all this thyme and some bay leaves and lots of peppercorns.

>> LIDIA: Mm.

>> And some garlic.

>> LIDIA: Mm-hmm.

>> And then we're gonna grab this oil back here and just cover them.

And then we're gonna confit them nice and slow at 250 for about three hours.

♪ ♪ >> So we're gonna make cabbage steak.

So you have this really nice hardy, uh, you know, knife and fork sort of situation.

And we're gonna make sort of a sweet and sour agrodolce.

>> LIDIA: All right, show me how.

>> Yeah, of course.

We're just gonna oil, salt, and pepper these and then throw them on the flattop to sear.

>> LIDIA: Okay.

>> (voiceover): Every family around here has had cabbage steak for dinner because... (laughs) ...if you have a garden, you probably have cabbage in it.

(flattop sizzling) >> LIDIA: That's gonna get a nice caramelization on each side.

>> So, yeah, we're gonna make sure it gets a nice sear on both sides, and then we'll cover it and hit it with some water to steam the insides of it.

>> It's maybe not the most special vegetable to a lot of people, but it can withstand the temperatures here, which flex terribly.

(laughs) And it holds well in cold storage, like in root cellars.

♪ ♪ >> And then this is our confit leg out of the confit.

We're just warming this back up in here and just a reflection of those same flavors that were in the confit.

We're gonna throw a little more thyme in.

Minced garlic.

Our roasted carrots are going in the oven.

(cabbage sizzling) See how they're doing.

Oh, yeah.

(voiceover): When I think about a lot of world cuisines and specifically, like, you know, French or Italian food, the things that we think of for the nice high-end celebration dinners.

I've always wondered why the food that I grew up with couldn't be that.

>> LIDIA: In Italy, we make plenty of agrodolce.

It's a question of sweet and sour.

>> Yeah, just kind of drape it across the bottom of the cabbage, and then you can pull as much into each bite as you like.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): You know what I saw in Kari?

I saw pride in elevating that simple local food.

"Why can't it be like French food?

Why can't it be like Italian food?"

And that's the pride that each chef takes with the understanding of the flavors of the region, the products of the region.

They want to highlight their own little world.

You know, I took a look at your menu, and I saw all kinds of good things.

Hunting, fishing, foraging.

That's wonderful.

This is really being connected to the environment and seasonality, (pan sizzling) >> So we're getting some nice brown butter action.

(voiceover): You don't need a lot of space to grow a garden or, you know, raise rabbits or have a worm bin for composting, all of these things just to, to make your lives a little more environmentally friendly.

Uh, but I definitely think the pandemic played a huge role in getting people back to being concerned about where their food comes from and how it's handled, um, and just finding a deeper connection to their food.

(vegetables sizzling) >> LIDIA: And I think as a chef, it's just exalt those natural flavors, and you've got it.

That's your philosophy, right?

>> Absolutely.

We've got our sauteed greens going down, a little of those pan juices.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): You have to use the knowledge, collaborate with the earth, with the people and go back to the resources.

What I do, I have a collection of a lot of the flavors from my grandmother, whatever.

And when I go to a stove, I reconstruct those flavors.

And I saw that Kari was doing that with a certain elegance and with lots of pride.

>> LIDIA: I'm waiting.

>> All right.

Here's the cabbage.

>> LIDIA: This is like a Picasso.

>> (laughing): Thank you.

>> LIDIA: Look at those colors.

How should we start?

What would you say?

>> I'll let you take the lead.

>> LIDIA: I'm gonna have a little bit of cabbage first.

Okay.

>> All right.

>> LIDIA: And a little piece of rabbit.

So let's taste.

Mmm.

Really delicious.

>> (voiceover): People seem to think that this food isn't maybe worth elevation, but you absolutely can.

It's about the love and the labor that goes into it.

And, you know, it's, it's completely worth pulling out the fine china for.

It's in the presentation, it's in the experience of it.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: 2,700 miles west, I meet Patricia Miller, who is building a community of farmers in Stockton, California.

Patricia!

>> Hello, Miss Lidia.

>> LIDIA: Heaven, this is your heaven here.

Show me, show me what you're doing here.

>> Yes, yes.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): When I visit in the spring, Patricia's backyard garden is just seedlings.

>> What I grow are the staples-- the lettuces, beets, turnips, strawberries.

>> LIDIA: The earth, God gives us this gift.

>> Yes, yes.

>> LIDIA: I mean, there's nothing more beautiful than to see something sprout out of the ground.

>> From one seed.

>> LIDIA: From one seed.

♪ ♪ >> When I first came here, I worked in church pantries.

Everyone was giving away food.

And I thought it was a good thing.

Until I saw what was in these bags.

It was sugar and salt-laced foods.

But no vegetables.

In my neighborhood, South Stockton, we had five times more liquor stores than we did stores that sold produce grown right here in the San Joaquin Valley.

♪ ♪ This Central Valley is the largest agricultural space within the state of California.

Every weekend I got on my bicycle, and I rode around to see the farms, to see what was being planted, every kind of vegetable and fruit there was to see.

And during the summertime, there were truckloads of all types of food.

It was not going to South Stockton.

They transported 80 to 86 percent of the world's agriculture.

And there was so much of a disparity, so much poverty.

I said, "It can't be.

This..." >> LIDIA: So, so, so the people here, the local people, were involved, working the land.

They got none of the benefits.

>> Absolutely.

>> LIDIA: It all went away.

>> Absolutely.

(camera shutter clicks) >> LIDIA: As a community police officer, Patricia spent a lot of time asking questions.

>> It was principle policing.

"What does the community really need?"

>> LIDIA: Residents needed access-- to fresh food and to education.

>> I said, "I must be that voice.

"I must be the person that, I come humbly, but can we change some of these outcomes?"

(camera shutter clicks) >> LIDIA: She started small.

>> My first garden was at a elementary school.

I built eight of them.

But in the summertime, when the bounty was full, did those children get to take that food home?

>> LIDIA: Ah.

>> No.

>> LIDIA: What did you do?

>> I got very angry, and there were policies and rules that I couldn't change myself, but with parents' help, we now... children have school gardens where they grow, they eat what is in the garden.

They take food home to their families, and they learn.

Almost every person that I know, they have agriculture in their, in their generations.

Let's get that started again.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA (voiceover): She moved from school gardens to large farms.

>> The first community farm was Boggs Tract Community Farm.

We had six acres, and we knew we needed to be in that neighborhood because of it being a food desert.

>> LIDIA: All the while, building up the local growing community.

>> You can be a farmer, but you can also be a seed keeper.

You can be a scientist, you can be an engineer.

There are other pathways within agriculture.

>> LIDIA: She sells both seedlings and produce from her backyard garden from early spring to late fall.

>> It took a while, but I'm still here after three decades of growing food and building more teams of people, allowing people to come into my space, to put their hands in the soil, and to work the land.

That's where our roots are connected.

>> (cheers) She's ready.

Hey, girl.

You're so beautiful, honey.

Hi!

>> I can teach people how to grow that carrot.

One seed.

>> Oh, my gosh.

>> If you start early enough with a child, that child will nurture it, will watch it grow, and when it's ready to be picked, they're taking that carrot home to their family.

When our children taste these, you know what they say.

>> "It doesn't taste like the store."

>> Mm-hmm.

(voiceover): I just want us to be healthy.

I want us to throw away all of those pills.

Pay a farmer to grow your good food, and not give it to your doctor on a prescription.

>> LIDIA: Now I'm curious about your hothouse.

Wow.

Oh, you have the strawberries?

>> Yes.

That's the strawberries.

Please pick one.

>> LIDIA: Yeah?

Pick, I'll pick the biggest one.

>> Yes.

Do like this.

(blows two quick bursts of air) And it's good to go.

>> LIDIA: Good to go.

>> Good to go.

>> LIDIA: Mmm.

Delicious.

>> Yes.

>> LIDIA: And then you're gonna teach me how to make some good ice cream with this, right?

>> Yes, I am.

>> LIDIA: Okay.

(camera shutter clicks) >> My grandmother was always teaching me something that related to food and family.

And that always stuck with me.

Those are the strawberries from my backyard.

>> LIDIA: Mm-hmm.

>> Okay.

(voiceover): With all of the great fruits, growing up, my favorite recipe... >> LIDIA: Okay, here we go.

>> (voiceover): ...was strawberry ice cream.

>> Heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla extract and sugar.

Yes.

>> LIDIA: Okay.

>> And then we're going to add the strawberry.

>> LIDIA: Just like that?

>> Mm-hmm.

(voiceover): Every cousin that I had, we churned that ice cream, and it seemed like six hours.

Pour in our ice cream maker.

>> LIDIA: Uh-huh.

>> No churning like when I was a child.

(voiceover): My grandmother would tell us what the flavor would ultimately be when it was finished.

>> LIDIA: Delicious.

>> Strawberry.

>> LIDIA: Very strawberry berry.

>> yes, yes.

The little seeds that are around the strawberry, you can taste those when you bite into them.

Juice runs down your mouth.

And you see that the juice gives it the extra little pink color.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): Food is best seasonally.

In Italian, we call them "le primizie."

Primo, first, the first of the season.

Whether it's the first wild asparagus, this first spinach, the first fava beans, the first porcini mushrooms and so on down the line.

It's, it's kind of an anticipation, but it also reflects-- reflects the terroir, the climate.

♪ ♪ >> Being able to see the abundance of food, how it grows, what it really tastes like, and be nurtured with food.

>> LIDIA: Five minutes, and we're done.

>> Five minutes, and we're done.

Those were the things that my grandmother gave me.

>> LIDIA: Buon appetito, as we say in Italian.

(voiceover): Patricia's son Isaiah joins to taste.

>> Yes.

>> Oh, yeah.

That's good.

>> LIDIA: Delicious.

>> Grandma Lily, this is for you.

>> LIDIA: Ah, okay.

>> This is, this is her recipe.

>> LIDIA: Grandma.

Grandmas are the best.

>> Mm-hmm.

♪ ♪ Next, I head to Southern California where Nicole Steele sees a different problem-- how to get a surplus of food to the communities who need it.

>> I don't think I set out to be a changemaker.

I just wanted to do the right thing by people.

>> LIDIA: At the Social Justice Learning Institute in Inglewood, she runs the Food Equity Program.

>> Inglewood, California, is an amazing city, about nine miles wide, a little over 100,000 residents.

And this is one of the communities that have been historically divested from, communities of color.

We can't walk into, you know, a nutrition class and be like, "You need to be eating fruits and vegetables."

And everybody's like, "I can't afford them because I'm gonna pay my rent."

>> This area is what we call a food swamp to where there's a lot of access to food, but it's all fast food, and unhealthy snacks in every store.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Paul Terry is a part of Nicole's team aiming to change the narrative.

>> What I do is I handle, coordinate, and also deliver fresh produce to the community.

>> LIDIA: Paul heads to the warehouse of an organization called Food Forward.

>> Food Forward has relationships with farmers markets, the big produce distributors down at the produce district, even local backyard growers where they can go and harvest their excess from their fruit trees, and they bring that all to their refrigerated hub.

>> LIDIA: The rescued produce is redistributed throughout Los Angeles and Southern California.

>> A lot of people don't have access or the resources to get to, let's say, a farmers market or Trader Joe's or stuff like that.

♪ ♪ So it was a need for us to bring more produce to this community.

>> LIDIA: Paul brings thousands of pounds of fresh produce back to SJLI's office in Inglewood.

>> Thank you for coming to Inglewood.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): I join Nicole's team to redistribute today's delivery.

A lot of food is being distributed.

>> Yeah.

>> LIDIA: And tell me, all these cars, waiting like this, they're gonna be all filled with your product?

>> Yes.

So, this is where all of the bagging happens.

And I'm gonna introduce you to Tony, who heads up this part.

He's our community engagement coordinator.

>> LIDIA: Hi, Tony.

>> Tony, meet Lidia.

>> LIDIA: How are you doing?

>> Good, how are you?

Welcome.

>> LIDIA: And these are all your assistants?

Hi.

>> Since March of 2019, we have been doing this every single Friday for our community, making sure that they know there is a consistent place where they can come and connect with these types of foods that sometimes are hard to get from your local food bank or other giveaways where shelf-stable foods are more, um, readily available.

♪ ♪ Every single Friday, we're getting 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of produce and giving it away to our community, to local seniors, and to other agencies, who then take it to their church or their mutual aid organization and serve their community.

>> LIDIA: So I see all these trucks line up here.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> LIDIA: They come and pick up the different communities.

You advise them?

>> Exactly.

>> LIDIA: And they come and pick up.

>> They come and pick up.

>> LIDIA: But then you also deliver.

>> We do.

Throughout the week, we deliver to schools, we have programs with local clinics where, just like with my family, when the doctor says, "Oh, you need to eat healthier," then the doctor can say, "And every Wednesday, you can come right back here to the clinic to pick up fresh produce."

We do giveaways at local LA County parks.

We do giveaways at high schools.

We do fun community days.

Any place where we can get to people to give them this food, we're gonna, we're gonna be there.

These are heavy.

So I want to put them on the bottom.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): What I really related to was the sharing part.

You know, I grew up like that.

A little small town where my grandmother was, I think there was 20 houses, and you thought nothing.

You know, "Go down to Josepina "and ask if she has a head of garlic or if she has a piece of bread or if she has some salt."

It was common, and, you know, it wasn't measured, "Oh, she's gonna return it to me."

it was kind of, sort of an exchange.

Together, the whole community survived.

>> We envision a world where the people in our community can use their agency to change circumstances for themselves and those around them, and that's what we're seeing.

>> LIDIA: Think about 35 percent of the food that is produced in America goes to waste.

>> That's right.

>> LIDIA: And yet, there are neighborhoods, there are communities that absolutely have no access to this kind of fresh service.

>> Exactly.

About 40 percent of the food grown by agricultural businesses is thrown away for really silly reasons.

The apples weren't quite red enough.

They want to control the prices so inventory needs to go out.

We are able to give away that food before it goes bad, before it gets spoiled.

>> LIDIA: As we work, I can't help but think about what I would make with these ingredients.

There was zucchini, there was cabbage, there was mushrooms.

I immediately thought of one of my simple recipes.

If we can connect some of the ingredients that you have, and I can come up with the recipes, would you share them... >> Absolutely.

Yes.

>> LIDIA: ...in these bags?

Do you think that's a good idea?

>> I think that's a great idea.

I know our community would love that.

>> LIDIA: I had my office send it to me.

I modified it to exactly the products that they had.

And, uh, we did it in English and in Spanish.

Look at the line-up.

At 1:00, the distribution center becomes a free produce market for all.

This is one of my recipes.

>> Ooh, it sounds good.

>> LIDIA: Oh, it is good.

>> All right, well, thank you.

>> LIDIA: All right.

This cycle of food not being thrown away in the garbage but ending in somebody's home as food on the table was so rewarding to see.

>> You're the lady from the cooking class on the, on the show.

>> LIDIA: You watch me?

And I was recognized by some of them-- was, was fun.

Thank you for watching.

>> Thank you.

>> LIDIA: Here's a ricetta.

And enjoy.

Keep on cooking.

>> Yes.

>> LIDIA: Thank you.

Bye-bye.

>> Bye-bye.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: You're sold out.

You keep on doing this.

This is great.

(voiceover): That was my quest, to visit people that really make a difference.

Tony, how about a hug?

>> Of course.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): Because they are what America is all about.

Get closer.

(voiceover): Since 2019, Nicole's small team has distributed roughly four million pounds of produce and inspired community members to further the food equity mission.

>> When we hear that our community has benefited from policy that we've been able to enact because of their voices, or they're able to, you know, think very differently about how they feed their children and their family, or they're able to band together and start a local walking club.

And these are all examples of things that have happened.

They're able to band together and talk to the nutrition services folks at their schools about what's being served to their kids.

That's what we see as success.

>> LIDIA: So who's the chef here?

>> I am.

>> LIDIA: All right!

>> We just want to keep going with that.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: It's been a heart-warming journey across America that will finish right where it started.

>> Yeah, when we were moving into this, so we talked to the park board about putting all the indigenous plants back in.

♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: So this is wonderful.

You just come out here?

>> Yeah, we wanted to be able to showcase a lot of these plants so people can see... >> LIDIA (voiceover): Sean introduces me to Linda Black Elk, a botanist and a member of the Lakota tribe who is helping to revive indigenous edibles.

>> LIDIA: So, this is it.

>> Beautiful, glossy, shiny black fruits.

>> LIDIA: Mmm, let me taste.

>> Yeah.

Yes.

Tomatoes and the sweetness of the blackberry.

>> Right.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): I'm a forager at heart, you know, I used to go with my grandmother.

Springtime, we went out there: wild asparagus, nettles, dandelions.

That was all part of the, the meal.

>> The Dakota name-- taopi pezhuta-- literally means "wound healer."

It's a fantastic medicine.

It has such an interesting flavor to it.

As a chef, how would you describe that?

>> I use... it's kind of a delicate flavor, but it's got a lot of herb, herb, herbal to it, you know?

>> LIDIA: Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> So I've used it with, like, fish and vegetables and stuff like that, in oil.

>> LIDIA: In the fennel family.

Isn't it a little bit like in the fennel family?

A lot of those herbs we use across the ocean.

Two cultures that are oceans apart still with nature, uh, within the same climactic situation.

We used to pick this as kids.

We liked the, the acidity of it.

They cooked dandelions.

My great-aunt cooked dandelions.

>> This whole hillside, at one point, like, there was nothing growing on it.

But Sean had a vision in which he wanted to see Indigenous foods and medicines all along this hillside.

Um, and as you can see, we have realized that vision.

>> It's beautiful.

>> Yeah, it's beautiful.

>> It's, it's healthy.

>> LIDIA: Fantastic.

>> Vibrant.

>> Yeah.

Yeah.

>> LIDIA: And it's educational.

>> Oh, yeah.

>> LIDIA: I see you have signs all over.

>> Yeah, we wanted people to walk around, to learn the names of the plants and the true Dakota name, which would be the true name of that plant in this soil.

Then you'll see a little English name, a little descriptor, and people can learn about this, some of the flavors that they might find inside the restaurant.

>> LIDIA: Wow.

And your restaurant is right up here.

(voiceover): I wanted the last dinner to be at Owamni, because Indigenous people were the basis of the American soil.

♪ ♪ How do you like that for hand work?

♪ ♪ All right?

Can I work a side job here?

>> Absolutely.

(both laugh) ♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Changing traditional products to sort of big business products... Beautiful table.

(voiceover): ...the values change, the appreciation, the cooking, everything changes.

So he's bringing it back, and I, I admire that very much.

Una bella tavolata.

>> Una bella... >> LIDIA: Tavolata.

>> Tavola >> LIDIA: Tavola is table.

>> Bella tavola, oh yeah.

>> LIDIA: Tavolata means table.

>> Amazing.

>> LIDIA: Hi, Nicole.

How you doing?

Welcome, welcome.

>> Thank you.

>> LIDIA: Thank you.

Welcome, welcome.

Hi, Linda.

Nice to see you again.

>> You too.

>> LIDIA: Hi, how you doing?

>> I'm good.

How are you?

>> LIDIA: Nice to see you.

>> Nice to... >> LIDIA (voiceover): At the end of the journey, I was very proud.

Because I felt, this is the greatness.

These people are genuine, honest, diversified, each respecting their own culture, working towards society.

All right, how you doing?

All right.

>> So good to see you.

>> LIDIA: Pleasure.

Pleasure seeing you again.

Hi, Nicole.

Welcome.

>> Nice to see you.

>> LIDIA: Okay.

>> All right, so I just wanted to welcome all of you guys to Owamni.

So this is a really, uh, big statement to be able to have a Native restaurant featuring Native food from Native food producers.

You know, you could find food from all over the world in most cities, just not the food from the land that you're standing on.

We have some wonderful dishes that our chefs selected for you guys today.

>> LIDIA (voiceover): You know, sometimes change might be objectionable.

But in that group, change was positive.

It was bringing some of the tradition and all the knowledge and customs to change America to something better and new.

♪ ♪ >> I don't even know what to start with.

>> Want to try the bison?

>> Thank you.

>> Wild rice is just basically an aquatic grass.

>> We use a lot of sunflower oil.

>> To California, sunflowers, they grow wild, all along the freeways, the highways.

>> Never had crickets before.

So that was new.

(laughs) It's, it's really unique.

>> LIDIA: These... what did you say this little... >> Maple chili crisp.

>> LIDIA: Delicious.

The squash is delicious.

>> The way that it's cut, the way it's cooked, it's really good.

>> LIDIA: Do you want some more is the question.

(laughs) >> Yes.

>> LIDIA: Okay.

♪ ♪ At the bottom of it, food is the connector.

It was all about one message, the importance of food, of everybody having enough food.

♪ ♪ >> I was always interested in doing as much as I could to improve our environment, protect the planet.

♪ ♪ >> I don't think you can move forward without reflecting on your past, without looking to what's been done.

>> It's important to think about how can we take steps to start to regain some of that control over our own food system.

>> We all have a right to eat healthy food.

>> So, yeah, I'm excited for the future.

We have quite a bit of work to do, but it's really thrilling.

(laughs) >> LIDIA: Well, thank you all for coming.

And, you know, as we do say in Italian, tutti a tavola a mangiare, we are, but also a good salute.

Salute.

>> Salute.

>> LIDIA: Cheers.

>> Cheers.

>> LIDIA: So it was a great food message, and that's what I've been doing all my life.

Message through food, cooking, and, ultimately, eating.

>> Cheers.

>> Cheers.

(glass clinking) >> Cheers.

>> Cheers, cheers, cheers.

♪ ♪ >> For recipes, video, behind the scenes photos, and more, go to pbs.org/lidia.

"Lidia Celebrates America: Changemakers" is available with PBS Passport and on Amazon Prime Video.

♪ ♪