Lunch Agenda – Details, episodes & analysis

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On this episode of Lunch Agenda, guest host Alexya takes a deep dive into one of the largest student-run food justice organizations in the country. In 2011, several students from the University of Maryland, College Park organized to recover leftover food from the campus dining halls to deliver it to community members in need and to reduce food waste. Today over 230 chapters of Food Recovery Network operate across the nation, powered by student action. Yuzhu Shi, current president of the inaugural chapter at University of Maryland, sits down to discuss the origins of the student-powered non-profit, the impact FRN has on the community and for food waste, and about youth leadership and activism.

DC Central Kitchen is one of the city's most impactful organizations. Not only does the nonprofit provide food access through a variety of programs, DCCK also recognizes the systemic link between food access, poverty, and economic empowerment. Now in its 30th year of operation, DC Central Kitchen has launched the DCCK Cafe, located on Mississippi Avenue SE. Listen to this interview with Alexander Moore, Chief Development Officer of DC Central Kitchen and Angelo Thompson, production lead at the new Cafe. We talk about DCCK's job and culinary training programs, the impact the organization has on Wards 7 and 8, and why intergenerational intervention is a huge key to solving hunger and poverty in the District.

Though Wards 7 and 8 are home to over 150,000 DC residents, there are only three grocery stores open in these neighborhoods, causing a food access issue that must be addressed. This episode marks the first guest host spot on Lunch Agenda. Join Alexya in discussion with Clarice Manning and Raul Edwards, board members of the upcoming Community Grocery Co-op to be located east of the river. Through the Co-op, they hope to not only provide affordable, healthy foods to residents but to also uplift the community's voice and build bonds. Learn all about the history of cooperative business and about what food access really means in this episode!

Beyond the public safety and public health impacts of inadequate nutrition in correctional facilities, the food served there affects the emotions, relationships and aspirations of those on the inside. Kiko learns about issues of food environment from Leslie Soble, an ethnographer with Impact Justice. The series ends on a high note in conversation with Seth Sundberg, an entrepreneur whose mission-driven nutrition bar company began during his five years in federal prison. Stick through the end of the episode, when Kiko reveals two guest hosts who will be your Lunch Agenda dates over the summer during her maternity leave!