Add Passion and Stir

Why would anyone cut 7,000 employees to save 0.06% of the budget from one of the most important agencies in the federal government? That's the question Congressman Tom Swasey asked at town hall with former Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley. Over the past few days, O'Malley has warned that the 89-year streak of Social Security sending monthly benefits could come to an end.That is why we are reprising this important episode of Add Passion and Stir featuring O'Malley who talks with Billy and Debbie Shore about how Social Security is lifting kids out of poverty, and what more it could be doing. “Social Security is the difference between almost a million kids living above the poverty line or below it,” he says. During this conversation, O'Malley and Share Our Strength commit to a renewed partnership to help reach eligible children who are not currently enrolled in Social Security benefits. O'Malley also debunks some common myths about the program. “The other big myth is that Social security is going bankrupt. Totally false. Social Security cannot go bankrupt because Social Security is a pay as you go program, which means that so long as Americans work, Social Security pays benefits.” Listen and be inspired.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the very special episode of Add Passion and Stir, we revisit or conversation with chef, food writer, food critic, and author Ruth Reichl. Ruth discusses the transformative power of food and culture. “One of the great things to me about food is that you have the ability to touch these moments of grace throughout the day simply by biting into a perfect peach and going, ‘oh my God, I'm glad I'm alive,'" she marvels.Her new book, "The Paris Novel,” explores the connection between food and joy. Reichl's love of food and culture and food writer background shapes the book's main character, who travels to Paris and rediscovers herself through food, art, and other cultural experiences. She also talks about the recent changes in the restaurant industry. “Food has always been my way of seeing the world. I have always looked at the world food-first,” says Reichl.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this very special episode of Add Passion and Stir, we reprise an episode from May 2024 with two powerful leaders of the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger. The Mayors Alliance is a bipartisan alliance of almost 400 mayors from across the country.In this time of turmoil, local leadership is all the more important to protecting and helping those in need. Mayors Sharon Weston Broome of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Mattie Parker of Fort Worth, Texas are committed to feeding hungry kids in their jurisdictions and setting an example for mayors in every corner of our nation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a new conversation, Jimmy Chen, founder/CEO of Propel and Ofek Lavian, founder/CEO of Forage, return to discuss current trends in using technology to ensure more people can access government food benefits. “As of January 27, 2025, at least, our plan is to continue to invest in the things that we have confidence that are not going to change over the 20-, 30-, 40-year time horizon, while we stay nimble and adapt to what might change in the next few weeks or months,” says Chen. “EBT funding is influenced significantly because of macroeconomics, probably to a greater extent than the actual policies of the administration of the White House,” Lavian predicts. Listen to hear about the latest technology trends.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In an episode originally aired in 2018, restaurateur, entrepreneur and author Rose Previte and former Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera talk about leadership, public service, and how diversity is our greatest strength. “As long as we're true to our principles of equality, and people can develop their talents through education and contribute something, then that's what we need to do,” says Caldera. Previte's three DC-area restaurants (Compass Rose, Michelin-starred Maydān, and Kirby Club) are a celebration of diversity inspired by her upbringing with a Lebanese mother and Sicilian father and her own extensive travels. “Street food is the great equalizer. It's where everyone, whether rich or poor… come together over food,” she says. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alex Amouyel, President and CEO of Newman's Own Foundation explains the foundation's unique approach to creating impact. The foundation's mission is to nourish and transform the lives of children who face adversity through innovative philanthropy. “Our foundation owns the food company and the licensing business, so a hundred percent of the profits and royalties from the sale of Newman's Own products go to the foundation in service of our mission," says Amouyel. "We're an incredible unicorn of a company.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Caree Cotwright, Director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity at the Food and Nutrition Service at the US Department of Agriculture, explains the concept of nutrition security on a new episode of Add Passion & Stir. “Nutrition security is everyone in our country having consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable food, but also food that is optimal for their health and wellbeing,” she says. “If we want to achieve health equity and make sure that everyone has a just opportunity to be as healthy as possible, we have to focus on [health] inequities and disparities so that everyone can thrive.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Partnership for a Healthier America President and CEO Noreen Springstead discusses how to make America healthy again through high quality food and empowered communities. “Is the food system broken, or is it designed in the way that it's supposed to be operating today, which is around profit?,” she posits. “There is data that suggests if the food supply is healthier, it's available, it's affordable, it's accessible, we can actually change this. Apathy does nothing.” Listen to this conversation between two powerhouses in hunger and food security.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Poverty researcher Kathryn Edin talks about the insights from her new Book, The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America. “I'm realizing that you can't really understand anything about a place without knowing its history,” she says. A new public data set revealed the crushing poverty in rural areas without the supportive infrastructure of urban places. “Rural is not monolithic. Rural is really multidimensional… we illuminate that rural America holds both the most disadvantaged and the most advantaged places in America.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this very special episode, we re-visit our conversation with award-winning Chez Panisse chef and cookbook author Alice Waters who discusses the value of real, regenerative food for our children and our society as a whole. “Once you love nature, you can't make the wrong decision about anything. You don't want to do things that are really destroying the planet. You want to take care of her. Until we feel that way, we will never be able to make the right decisions,” she says.Waters founded Edible Schoolyard, an experiential learning program at a Berkeley middle school that deepens students' relationship with food, gardening and cooking skills, and capacity for critical examination of the food system, more than 25 years ago. “The kitchen classroom became a place to teach world history. It's a way to reach a person through all their senses and those are pathways into our minds,” states Waters. “We decided to put our money behind our values to educate the next generation to change the world. I so believe that education is the deep place where we can make systemic change.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

ASPCA's Matt Bershadker and VOW for Girls' Clay Dunn made an impact at Share Our Strength, and now they are making impacts for animals and girls worldwide. “If you're going to create big change, you need to take big swings. My time at Share Our Strength taught me to take big swings, and it taught me to feel the work deeply,” says Bershadker. He started at ASPCA in 2001 and has been President and CEO since 2013. Dunn chose an international cause, becoming the first CEO of VOW for Girls in 2019. “Across communities it is just the unfortunate truth that girls' lives and choices are valued less than boys' lives and choices. I think that's underpinning this issue globally in every community,” he says. Listen to hear how they took lessons from fighting child hunger to these critical missions.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Originally recorded in December 2020, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nicholas Kristof and Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health Co-Director Allison Barlow discuss the struggle for social justice in Native American communities.“The Bureau of Indian Education schools only have a 53% high school graduation rate! We are failing them way before they fail us,” suggests Kristof. “One of the greatest prides for parents on a Native reservation is to celebrate their child's high school graduation. If children there aren't graduating from high school, it's because of generations of trauma on top of a really ineffective education system,” Barlow says. “We as a country have had this narrative that when people struggle, it's because of a lack of personal responsibility and bad choices. When a child born in a certain county has a life expectancy shorter than that of Cambodia, that's not because that infant is making a bad choice. It's because we as a society are making bad choices about healthcare, education and jobs,” adds Kristof.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Albertsons Companies Foundation President and Executive Director Christy Duncan Anderson talks with Billy Shore and Lillian Singh about what the grocery chain's foundation is doing to fight hunger in neighborhoods across the country. “We asked our neighbors and our customers what change they would like to see in their neighborhoods. The data came back and it was really astounding: people cared about a whole bunch of different issues, but hunger rose above all of them,” says Duncan Anderson. The Nourishing Neighbors initiative is a partnership between the foundation, Share Our Strength, and local food banks, soup kitchens, and community organizations to help get food to at-risk children, adults, seniors, and families. “[We need to] move the understanding of the issue of food insecurity beyond the feeling that, ‘I've put a can in a bin, and so therefore I've solved hunger.' Food today is not necessarily a solution for tomorrow.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O'Malley talks with Billy and Debbie Shore about how Social Security is lifting kids out of poverty, and what more it could be doing. “Social Security is the difference between almost a million kids living above the poverty line or below it,” he says. During this conversation, O'Malley and Share Our Strength commit to a renewed partnership to help reach eligible children who are not currently enrolled in Social Security benefits. O'Malley also debunks some common myths about the program. “The other big myth is that Social security is going bankrupt. Totally false. Social Security cannot go bankrupt because Social Security is a pay as you go program, which means that so long as Americans work, Social Security pays benefits.” Listen and be inspired.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this very special encore episode of Add Passion and Stir, interior designer and philanthropist Charlotte Moss and Darren Walker, the former president of the Ford Foundation and the newly announced president of the National Gallery of Art, discuss the importance of ending child hunger. Moss selected No Kid Hungry to be the beneficiary of her book, Home: A Celebration . Home is an ode to Edith Wharton's The Book of the Homeless, which was a 1916 fundraiser to help refugees and children during WWI. Home features 120 artists, poets, chefs, designers, photographers, and writers offering personal reflections on the essence of home. Contributors include Drew Barrymore, Candice Bergen, Tory Burch, Seth Godin, Renee and John Grisham, Bianca Jagger, Annie Leibovitz, Jon Meacham, Bette Midler, Joyce Carol Oates, Al Roker, Gloria Steinem, Darren Walker, and Fanny and Alice Waters.“This is really philanthropy at its best, when people come together for a single cause and give of themselves - in essence sharing their strength - is what you're all about and what this book is all about,” says Moss. Walker was compelled to write the book's foreword. “It was a moment when we were all experiencing deep anguish in this country over the impacts of COVID which we immediately recognized as compounding the already deep inequality we have in this country… Charlotte used her privilege to raise awareness and consciousness of the conditions of poverty, particularly child poverty, which is the most difficult and pernicious poverty that we have in this country… Charlotte reminded us that there are far too many Americans who live without the dignity of shelter, of food, of nutrition, and particularly the most vulnerable among us, our children,” he says.All royalties from book sales support No Kid Hungry's essential mission to help end childhood hunger.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The sisters-in-law behind fashion brand Veronica Beard, Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard, talk about entrepreneurship and giving back. “Women are the same everywhere: we all want to look good, we all want to feel good, and we all want to do good,” says Miele Beard. The sisters give back to one nonprofit a quarter through deep engagement. “Our legacy is going to be bigger than the fashion that we designed and produced. It's going to be about the community that we created,” predicts Swanson Beard. Their brand-building experience also makes them supportive of other entrepreneurs. “It's not like [the fear] goes away, but I think if you've got passion and you have an idea and you have vision and you have drive and you have a dream, then go for it,” Swanson Beard says.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As a former elementary school teacher and school principal, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona knows about how hard it can be for hungry kids to learn. In the last episode of our Food Is the Most Important Food Supply series, he shares how he and his department are advocating for school meals. "The days of our schools just focusing on reading, writing, and arithmetic are long gone,” he reports. ”It's critical to recognize that the role of the teacher and the role of the school has evolved to providing food for many of our students." He sees this as a challenge worth meeting. “If we cannot prioritize and address with urgency the needs of our youngest, our most vulnerable, then we have to do some soul searching as a country… The public education system, in my opinion, is the best tool that we have to not only help our children succeed, but continue to help our country prosper.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Back-to-school time can be difficult for the over 13 million kids in the U.S. that are living with hunger. However, people all over the country are working together and sharing their strength to feed kids in their communities. Hear some moving examples in another episode from our 2022 series exploring why food is the most important school supply. Chef Lorena Garcia describes how her nonprofit Big Chef, Little Chef works in schools to help kids and families build better relationships with food. 2022 No Kid Hungry Youth Ambassadors Jason Ezell and Tansy Huang tell us about how they use their lived experience and recent college coursework to ease food insecurity in their communities.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are over 13 million kids heading back to school this month in the U.S. that are living with hunger. Please be inspired by two episodes from our 2022 series on Food is the Most Important School Supply. Hear directly from kids affected by hunger and teachers and school administrators witnessing hunger in the classroom, as well as changemakers from federal, state, and local government that are making sure kids get fed at school. These changemakers include:Dawn Amano-Ige, the First Lady of HawaiiDr. Sara Bleich, Director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity at the USDADr. Miguel A. Cardona, United States Secretary of EducationJohn Giles, the Mayor of Mesa, ArizonaJennie Gordon, the First Lady of WyomingLevar Stoney, the Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, andTom Vilsack, United States Secretary of AgricultureWe hope you are moved and inspired to fight childhood hunger. Go to nokidhungry.org to learn more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ashley Graham, Development Director at New Orleans' Preservation Hall Foundation, and Rhonda Jackson, Louisiana Director for the No Kid Hungry Campaign, describe the path from deep social inequities to Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans' recovery and resurgence. Graham talks about Share Our Strength's role in sparking collaborations and initiatives to support the rebuilding efforts, including bringing delegations of supporters into areas of need. “Those delegations were interesting because they are people who might not otherwise be sitting around a table together, but we put them on a bus and tried to show what was working in the recovery and try to find ways to get engaged either financially or through their talents… there were lots of amazing ripple effects from those trips," she says. Jackson outlines the ongoing challenges of combatting childhood hunger in New Orleans, despite the city's rich culinary culture. “It was even hard to convince schools and principals and administrators that childhood hunger was an issue. Yes, I know we have all of this wonderful food around us, but for every day, kids aren't getting meals.” No Kid Hungry recently helped the state's summer EBT legislation get passed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chef, food writer, food critic, and author Ruth Reichl discusses the transformative power of food and culture. “One of the great things to me about food is that you have the ability to touch these moments of grace throughout the day simply by biting into a perfect peach and going, ‘oh my God, I'm glad I'm alive,'" she marvels.Her new book, "The Paris Novel,” explores the connection between food and joy. Reichl's love of food and culture and food writer background shapes the book's main character, who travels to Paris and rediscovers herself through food, art, and other cultural experiences. She also talks about the recent changes in the restaurant industry. “Food has always been my way of seeing the world. I have always looked at the world food-first,” says Reichl.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this very special encore presentation of Add Passion and Stir we will revisit our conversation Pierre Ferrari, the former President and CEO of Heifer International, and Matt Bell, chef and owner of South on Main restaurant in Little Rock, as they share insights about creating value in poor communities. Since the first airing of this episode, Pierre has now retired and is writing a book about ending rural hunger around the world.Ferrari speaks about the success Heifer International has had in poor agricultural communities throughout the world by driving social psychological change before anything else. “We work with communities that could almost be described as clinically depressed...the despair is so deep…they feel condemned to this situation,” he says. Heifer uses value-based training to demonstrate to people their own ability and capacity to make change. “Without that psychological shift, nothing we do, no animal, no training will actually catch hold,” he notes. Bell has first-hand knowledge of the success of this model in Arkansas. He sources his chickens from Grassroots Farm Cooperative, a cooperative of 10 formerly struggling small farms in Little Rock that was formed with the help of Heifer International to meet the demand of the growing market. “My understanding of Heifer at the time was you buy a cow and someone somewhere gets a cow. I didn't understand this small business component. I didn't understand it could happen in Arkansas,” says Bell.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Activist, author, and nonprofit founder Sam Daley-Harris has been using and training people on transformational advocacy for almost 50 years and is optimistic about America's future. “With transformational advocacy, you're trained, encouraged, and succeed at doing things as an advocate you never thought you could do, like meeting with a member of Congress and bringing them on board to your issue,” he explains. Advocates he works with are making big changes on issues like hunger and climate change. “I'm optimistic because I have my eye on volunteers and what volunteers are doing. If I had my eye on the news, I would be pessimistic.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michael Schlein, President and CEO of Accion, talks about how his nonprofit is providing access to financial systems for people all over the world who currently do not have access to tools like bank accounts, loans, or digital financial transactions.“Two billion people are left out of and poorly served by the global financial system. Their lives are so much harder than they have to be, and we're trying to change that,” he says. Advances in technology like satellite imaging have made it possible to reach many more business owners. “I think this is a ‘once in a lifetime' moment, and we're trying to seize this moment to really change the world,” he believes.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mayor Sharon Weston Broome of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Mayor Mattie Parker of Fort Worth, Texas are Chair and Vice-Chair of the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger, a bipartisan alliance of almost 400 mayors from across the country. “I think the first thing that the Alliance capitalizes on is a firm understanding that the most powerful thing Americans can use is their bully pulpit to any cause,” says Mayor Parker. Mayor Broome agrees. “There are a lot of best practices that we can hone in on and we can work together to advocate for legislative measures at the federal, state, and local levels.” Listen in to learn about some innovative ideas that have already been shared among the mayors in the Alliance and how these initiatives are reducing childhood hunger in their communities.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

India's children are hungry. Gauri Devidayal, Co-Founder and Director of The Food Matters Group,and Pankaj Jethwani, physician and Executive VP at W Health Ventures, are working to solve that problem. Devidayal is using her platform to draw attention and funding to the cause while Jethwani is helps run holistic nutrition programs. “I think India's one of the greatest nations when it comes to hospitality. It's just something that comes innately to people,” says Devidayal. “That's ridiculous, as a child, to go through eight hours in the morning before a first meal and still expect to learn, still expect to thrive,” Jethwani believes. “We've served 400,000 children. It's a drop in the ocean. It's not even a drop in the ocean - it's a micro-drop in the ocean.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Charles Watson, CEO of Tropical Smoothie Café, talks about how the restaurant industry is uniquely positioned to make a difference on child hunger. “The American consumer is demanding and one of the things that they're demanding - which is good - is purpose,” says Watson. “[They'll] give you their money… but [they] also want to see that you're giving back and that you're doing something positive.” He proposed a "CEO Pledge to End Hunger" which aims to raise funds to support summer food programs, potentially preventing millions of children from going hungry. “We need sunshine, we need happiness, we need taking care of one another,” he concludes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jamila Robinson, the new Editor-in-Chief of Bon Appétit, discusses her vision for the magazine and more broadly how food can be a powerful force for good in the world. “I'm very curious about how other people experience food and how food drives culture for other people, and that curiosity allows for other people to feel seen, and so it also changes the way that we approach stories,” she says. She wants the magazine to cover food culture for everyone along with sustainable food practices. “I do think it's important that we think about where our food comes from, who's producing it, and the impact that it might have on our environment.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well before the school year ends for American children , advocates like USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Stacy Dean and Hawaii-based consumer advocate and substance abuse counselor Zahava “Zee” Zaidoff are planning how to feed kids over the summer. “The experience of hunger, in and of itself, is a terrible thing. But hunger amongst children is so much more devastating... They don't need food just to maintain, but also to grow and thrive,” says Dean. Many layers of government, organizations, and individuals are ensuring that kids get access to meals during the summer months. “This is not just about the kids that we're trying to feed. This is about - fortunately and unfortunately - systemic change that has to happen around the entire system,” Zaidoff emphasizes.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Food and culture writer Alicia Kennedy and chef advocacy trainer and Table81 founder Katherine Miller discuss food justice and how we can make important improvements in our food system. “We operate with this idea that we should be able to have any [food] we want whenever we want it, at whatever price that we wanna pay for it,” says Miller. “It's an artificially constructed system that keeps our food affordable in certain places and makes it unaffordable and unattainable in other places.” Kennedy writes about food justice, food sovereignty, and food apartheid. “Food justice is not merely the ability to access fresh food. It is the space, time, energy, and ability to cook it and serve it in a way that provides a nourishing, complete and aesthetically pleasing dish according to one's cultural standards,” she states.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Daron Babcock, CEO of Bonton Farms located in a low-income neighborhood in South Dallas. Bonton Farms is one of the largest urban farms in the United States and its programs are addressing a variety of barriers residents face including housing, education, nutrition, and economic self-sufficiency. “[Systemic inequity] is built on the faulty idea that there's this American dream that everybody can access and if you don't, then there's something wrong with you,” says Babcock. “My new neighbors just happened to be born into a place that had very little to offer them, and their human potential got squashed in the process… The bad news is yes, we designed that and we have to own up to it. But the good news is, we can redesign our future - it doesn't have to stay that way.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jimmy Chen, founder/CEO of Propel and Ofek Lavian, founder/CEO of Forage, explain how they are harnessing the power of technology to ensure more people can easily access government food benefits. “We believe that well-fed people have many problems, but hungry people have only one,” saysk Lavian. Both companies make it easier for people to access and maximize benefits online and through apps. “We build technology because we see it as the tool that is underappreciated and underutilized in this sector to create the outcomes of… safety net programs meeting their promise for Americans,” says Chen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The pain and suffering children in poverty endure, is a choice. NOT their choice, not their parents' choice, but a policy choice made by politicians in Washington DC. In this very special episode of Add Passion and Stir, we will examine the plight of the millions of American children who live in poverty and struggle with hunger. We provide a 360o view of the issues from many perspectives. Including those of Author and Child Advocate David Ambroz;Congressman Jim McGovern;Second Harvest Food Bank executive director Rhonda Chaffin;New York Times' senior writer Jason DePerle; Research scientist Dr. Renee Ryberg;Harvard Professor Dr. Jack Shonkoff;Pediatrician Dr. Kimberly Montez; andAmerican Academy of Pediatrics CEO Mark DelMonte See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this very special episode of Add Passion and Stir, we are going to talk about challenges and solutions in the fight for equity in America. We found three incredibly compelling stories that address the solvable problem of inequity in all its forms in the United States. We will hear from Bonton Farms CEO Daron Babcock, Investigative Journalist Aldore Collier, and Dr. Michael McAfee, President and CEO of Policy Link; three visionaries who saw past obstacles that others found too daunting and are now sharing their strength to create z more equitable America for all of its citizensSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special encore presentation, we re-visit our conversation with CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp, who shares her perspectives on the current events in the Middle East, her own mental health challenges, and ending child hunger.“Stand up for your friends, because they're hurting right now, and they need every voice they need, every hug they need, every text or email or call you can make,” she says about the war between Israel and Hamas.“Problems like hunger and poverty are not going to be solved at an international or even a federal level, they're going be solved at a community level.” These issues are interconnected.Listen in to learn how to help kids here and abroad.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jack Shonkoff, director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, talks with us about the science around trauma and toxic stress in child development. “I never talk about toxic stress or excessive stress activation without also talking about adaptation and resilience and the fact that you can build resilience against that,” he says. “There's huge variability and sensitivity to these kinds of traumas… the early experiences shift the odds, but they don't determine exactly what's going to happen.” Shonkoff also shares broader insights about how science can be helpful to the public.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp shares her perspectives on the current events in the Middle East, her own mental health challenges, and ending child hunger. “Stand up for your friends, because they're hurting right now, and they need every voice they need, every hug they need, every text or email or call you can make,” she says about the war between Israel and Hamas. “Problems like hunger and poverty are not going to be solved at an international or even a federal level, they're going be solved at a community level.” These issues are interconnected. Listen in to learn how to help kids here and abroad.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dan Pallotta talks with us about the conversation he ignited with his 2013 TED Talk about the way nonprofit organizations are funded. “We want the nonprofit sector to solve huge problems. We want the nonprofit sector to be able to dream gigantic dreams,” he says. However, there are still many problems with how nonprofits are evaluated and how people and other entities choose to fund them. “I would say that that conversation is where gay marriage was in… about 1945. We have a long way to go.”Pallotta's new feature-length documentary UnCharitable, featuring stories from figures like Edward Norton and Darren Walker, exposes the dark side of philanthropy with a call to action for a radical new way of giving.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Aldore Collier, former editor at Ebony and Jet magazines, speaks with Billy and Debbie Shore about his recent expose article about the racist roots of health problems in Metcalfe Park, Milwaukee, WI. “Residents talk about being stifled by an “invisible net” that blocks advancement and makes it nearly impossible to maintain good health,” Collier wrote.He describes the inaction by local and state governments. “It's not unique to Milwaukee, but I think the difference is they did not try to come up with solutions to replace what was lost.” However, Metcalfe Park residents are activating and Collier's article helped bring attention to this critical situation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Daron Babcock, CEO of Bonton Farms located in a low-income neighborhood in South Dallas. Bonton Farms is one of the largest urban farms in the United States and its programs are addressing a variety of barriers residents face including housing, education, nutrition, and economic self-sufficiency. “[Systemic inequity] is built on the faulty idea that there's this American dream that everybody can access and if you don't, then there's something wrong with you,” says Babcock. “My new neighbors just happened to be born into a place that had very little to offer them, and their human potential got squashed in the process… The bad news is yes, we designed that and we have to own up to it. But the good news is, we can redesign our future - it doesn't have to stay that way.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

James Beard Award-winning food writer Mark Bittman talks about the relationship between food and critical issues like climate change, public health and social justice. “You can't fix any justice issues, environmental issues, nutritional issues without fixing food. Food is at the center of just about everything,” claims Bittman. “It's not going to happen from the top down. The push has to come from lots and lots of ordinary people. That push needs to be focused on food, but it also needs to focus on racial justice and gender equality and so on down the line,” he says. Join us for an important conversation with one of America's foremost food writers about why fixing our broken food system can help solve many other critical problems we face.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Children's advocate and social justice icon Hubie Jones and Sweet Home Café (at the National Museum of African American History and Culture) executive chef Jerome Grant discuss their perspectives on race in America and commitment to living purpose-driven lives. “On to the stage came Dr. King and he went into this oratory that absolutely blew me away... By the time I left Jordan Hall, I felt that I was levitating,” Jones recalls about a night in 1956. Grant shares a similar experience about opening Sweet Home Café. “Walking in that cafeteria the day before opening and seeing these murals on our walls, seeing these awesome quotes, the picture of the Woolworth dine-in boycott… You see the resiliency of us as African Americans and what we contributed to American society. There's no feeling like that at all,” he says.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Congressman Marc Molinaro (NY-19) describes how he is helping to build an impactful, compassionate government that truly helps people. “There are too few [politicians] who care about the results; they care more about making a point than making a difference,” he laments. He is vehement about how government does its work. “We need to be purposeful in that what we offer in aid and assistance needs to be about helping people get from where they are to a position of empowerment and independence.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti talks about local government solutions to problems like hunger and poverty in President Biden's hometown. “We're working really, really hard to improve quality of life and to prove the case to people, to families, whether they've been here for generations or whether they're first generation that the American dream is alive.” Mayor Cognetti is an active participant in the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger, a nonpartisan coalition working in partnership with Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign to ensure that every child has the healthy food they need to thrive.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

While this conversation first aired in 2018, the issues it explores about food equity and access remain unsolved in America and in many ways were exacerbated by the pandemic. In this episode of Add Passion and Stir , poverty expert and author Kathy Edin ($2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America) and Washington, DC-area social entrepreneur Tom McDougall of 4P Foods illustrate how our current systems – political, social, economic, geographic – keep poor people from succeeding. They argue for more equity in social programs and a more dignified way of serving the poor. Kathy shares stunning statistics and poignant stories from America's impoverished families with whom she has worked and reminds us that, "When it comes down to it, what people seem to want more than anything else is dignity. … but a lot of our social policies deny people that.” What remains true today is the call-to-action to address and fix America's broken food system that as Tom notes can't be fixed "...unless we talk about money and politics… subsidies… institutional racism…If we move the needle just a tad on food equity, it means we're moving a lot of other needles along the way.”Hear recommendations from two thought leaders in food equity on what we can do as individuals and as a nation to improve these dire circumstances for the poor in America.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As school years end for America's children, hunger champions like Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) and food bank executive director Rhonda Chafin focus on providing summer meals. “There are some things you can live without. Food is not one of them,” McGovern says. He is working in Congress to extend school meal and SNAP benefits to ensure kids are fed year-round. At Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee, Chafin oversees the delivery of summer meals to thousands of children living in very rural places. At Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee, Chafin oversees the delivery of summer meals to thousands of children living in very rural places. “It is a variety of stories and unfortunate situations that put the child in the center of everything, and they just don't have the resources they need…They just don't have access to food. So that's the challenges and the scope. The scale of what we serve is about 3,000 square miles of some of the most mountainous rural areas in northeast Tennessee.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chef, entrepreneur, and Food Network host Robert Irvine was appalled at the rate of food insecurity among US military families. “It is incomprehensible… that any member of our military that serves this great country could be worried about being deployed and that their family can't be fed or housed in a safe environment,” he says. In this episode, he describes how the Robert Irvine Foundation is helping service members and their families. He also talks about the lessons in his newest book about how to make change. “One person, one foundation, one, one group, can't do it - as much as we all wish we could, it's not possible. But collectively and intertwined, we can change the world.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this reprise episode, we join James Beard-award winning Chef Ann Kim and James Beard-award winning chef and author Joanne Lee Molinaro, The Korean Vegan, for conversations about identity, connection, and growing up as the children of immigrants. Both Ann Kim and Joanne Lee Molinaro share a Korean heritage and have found ways, through their various platforms to shine a light on their culture and the voices of others who share the immigrant experience. The central thread in both their stories: showing love through food.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From the Webb telescope to the COVID vaccine, every day the nearly 3 million civil servants in our federal government make our democracy work through their extraordinary--often unrecognized--work. Max Stier and the Partnership for Public Service are committed to changing that. Since 2001, the Partnership has trained leaders, addressed talent gaps, like the fact that only 7% of the federal workforce is under the age of 30, supported presidential transitions, increased federal employee engagement, and promoted innovation and collaboration. In short, they're taking on the reality that when many Americans “think about the federal government, they think about bickering.” And they're doing it by celebrating the people who share their strength to make it all happen.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.