This evening’s conversation is with Jinji Fraser, the founder and owner of Pure Chocolate by Jinji.

Pure Chocolate by Jinji was started by Jinji and her father, Guy, in 2012 with the mission of helping people navigate their own wellness and nutrition. From there, the business took a shape of its own, becoming a vessel for Jinji and her team to create a brand known for pushing the boundaries of chocolate through storied flavors and direct and responsible trading. Today, with a new shop on the horizon, the Jinji chocolate crew is reinventing themselves again with drinking chocolate, and the arts of native women from around the world. Jinji will be opening her second location soon in the Baltimore neighborhood known as Lauraville.

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Our featured panelist tonight, Bernie Herman, is one of the co-founders of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Foodways. Bernie is the author of the recently published book, A South You Never Ate: Savoring Flavors and Stories from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The book brings together over 100 recorded interviews on the foodways of Virginia's Eastern Shore as part of a larger endeavor undertaken around sustainable economic development through heritage foodways. He is currently working on a second volume along with a book of edited essays on the art of an African-American South.

Bernie Herman, George B. Tindall Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies and Folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, works on the material cultures of everyday life and the ways in which people furnish, inhabit, communicate, and understand the worlds of things. His interests extend to a larger universe of material culture including vernacular architecture, contemporary quilts and quilt making, food histories, and contemporary art by "self-taught" makers. His food writing has appeared in Saveur, Gravy, Organic Life and Southern Cultures. His community engagement through public presentations, workshops, and exhibitions derives from a deeply held belief that work of the arts and humanities finds its first calling in the public sphere.

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This episode of ORIGINS features New Jersey citrus growers Vivek and Seema Malik along with their daughter and baker Simran Malik.The Maliks are self-taught, part-time citrus growers. Citrus is a passion stemming from their love of Japanese cuisine. A chance encounter with yuzu soy sauce at Nobu in NYC, started a journey of discovery and adventure which has led to a greenhouse filled with 16 citrus varieties in Bordentown, New Jersey. In Hindi, “Bhumi” refers to Mother Earth. “Bhumi Growers” is a labor of love to honor Vivek’s mom who passed away just before this venture was born. Vivek and Seema focus on growing and sourcing specialty citrus for their customers and are constantly learning and educating themselves to help improve the quality of their citrus. They are pleased to call some of the top names in food as their clients. Their growth so far is based on the philosophy of establishing a direct connection with chefs, bartenders, brewers and consumers through Instagram, Twitter and referrals from existing customers.They are very pleased to be here sharing their passion with all of us.

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Thanks for joining us tonight for a very important topic –our local farms. Today we learned that a local institution, Trickling Springs Creamery is closing. Two of our farmers from prior ORIGINS events have ceased operations. While it’s all not doom and gloom, I think this highlights the urgency of this conversation about our local farms. What can we do to keep our farms healthy and economically viable?

We’re thrilled to welcome our all-star female panelist tonight.

Our first panelist is Shelby Kalm, the Campaign Coordinator for Fair Farms, a program convened by Waterkeepers Chesapeake. She is a graduate of St. Mary’s College where she received her undergraduate degree in Public Policy, and Art and Art History. Before Fair Farms, Shelby worked for the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission and served as the Sustainability Coordinator at her alma mater.

The Fair Farms Campaign brings together consumers, farmers, public health professionals, and conservationists to advocate for a food system that is equitable, fair to farmers, invests in homegrown healthy foods, and restores our waterways.

Our second panelist is Dena Leibman, the Executive Director of Future Harvest- Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, a farmer-based nonprofit working to advance sustainable agriculture in the lower mid-Atlantic. Dena’s commitment to conservation and sustainable agriculture has propelled her through a long career in wildlife biology and communications positions at environmental policy and scientific institutions. Dena is also co-owner of ZigBone Farm Retreat, a 100-acre sheep and goat farm and naturally built retreat center.

Our third panelist is Anne Palmer, Program Director at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) and a senior research associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society. She directs the Food Policy Networks project, which seeks to improve the capacity food policy councils and similar organizations to advance food system policies. Ms. Palmer’s research interests include food retail, food policy and food policy councils, food environments, obesity, urban agriculture, local and regional food systems, and community food security. In collaboration with seven other universities in the Northeast, she is a co-investigator on an USDA-funded project that explores how to use regional food systems to improve community food security. Prior to joining CLF, Palmer worked for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs for 13 years developing and managing strategic communication plans and large-scale health communication campaigns and programs in Asia.

Join Heritage Radio Network on Monday, November 11th, for a raucous feast to toast a decade of food radio. Our tenth anniversary bacchanal is a rare gathering of your favorite chefs, mixologists, storytellers, thought leaders, and culinary masterminds. We’ll salute the inductees of the newly minted HRN Hall of Fame, who embody our mission to further equity, sustainability, and deliciousness. Explore the beautiful Palm House and Yellow Magnolia Café, taste and imbibe to your heart’s content, and bid on once-in-a-lifetime experiences and tasty gifts for any budget at our silent auction. Tickets available now at heritageradionetwork.org/gala.

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Food insecurity refers to USDA’s measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. Food-insecure households are not necessarily food insecure all the time. Food insecurity may reflect a household’s need to make trade-offs between important basic needs, such as housing or medical bills, and purchasing nutritionally adequate foods. According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Map, 22.2% of Baltimore City residents and 12. 4% of Washington DC residents are food insecure. There are programmatic/retail and policy food insecurity solutions. Both programs and policies are needed to address food insecurity but for our ORIGINS discussion tonight, we will focus on a few of the innovative programmatic/retail solutions happening in both DC and Baltimore.

Our panelists are: Holly Freishtat, the Baltimore City Food Policy Director, Casey Dunajick-DeKnight, the Chief Operating Officer for Good Food Markets and Reverend Heber Brown, III, the Pastor at the Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Govans (Baltimore neighborhood) and founder of the Black Church Food Security Network.

Holly uses a multi-sector perspective and engages with many agencies, nonprofits, community groups and stakeholders to dismantle policy barriers, facilitate new partnerships and leverage funding to implement innovative solutions to address food access issues in Baltimore.

Casey joined the Good Food Market team in 2015 and now oversees all the day-to-day operations. Casey will also discuss Oasis Community Partners, the non-profit arm of Good Food Markets that was founded in 2016 with the mission to improve food access and community health in underserved urban food deserts. The inaugural board of directors came together around the opening of Good Food Markets pilot location in early 2015, recognizing the many opportunities to engage Woodridge/Langdon around diet, health and nutrition. Oasis Community Partners strives to improve the health of their community by working with a diverse group of individuals and organizations behind the shared goals of food sovereignty and security.

Reverend Heber Brown, III, launched The Black Church Food Security Network in 2015— a grassroots initiative that empowers black churches to establish a sustainable food system to combat the systemic injustices and disparities that plague black Americans, who, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are sicker and poorer than non-black Americans. The network currently operates at more than 10 congregations in Baltimore, most of which are located in the city’s “food priority areas.” There are also participating churches and farms in D.C., Virginia and North Carolina—and the list is growing.

It's HRN's annual summer fund drive, this is when we turn to our listeners and ask that you make a donation to help ensure a bright future for food radio. Help us keep broadcasting the most thought provoking, entertaining, and educational conversations happening in the world of food and beverage. Become a member today! To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we have brand new member gifts available. So snag your favorite new pizza - themed tee shirt or enamel pin today and show the world how much you love HRN, just go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate.

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This episode of ORIGINS features three representatives from the Evermore Cannabis Company located in Baltimore, Maryland. Medical marijuana was legalized in Maryland in 2014 and has been available to the public since December of 2017. This is a discussion of the nascent industry in the state. Our panelists are:

1. Gary Nusinov. Gary is an accomplished horticulturalist and expert with the hands on knowledge required to successfully cultivate cannabis for consistent quality and results in a well-regulated atmosphere. He has been consistently growing and consulting for 23 years and wants to contribute to updated standards and practices in this well regulated industry. Currently Gary is using these skills to help Evermore Cannabis Company as the Vice President of Cultivation and Processing.

2. Jason Marshall is the VP of Sales & Marketing at Evermore Cannabis Company. As one of the company’s first hires, he works with other growers, processors, and dispensary groups across the state of Maryland to provide medical cannabis products for patients. A graduate from the University of Virginia, and has worked in sales and marketing for 18 years. He is excited about his role in the medical cannabis industry and helping to expand his company’s footprint in the state

3. Ras Crucial Johnson, is dedicated to his role as a Marketing Manager for Evermore Cannabis Company. Born and raised in Maryland, Ras has his finger on the pulse of Baltimore and is focused on building the brand for the company through customer outreach & education. He has a special eye for understanding the industry and conveying the medical benefits of cannabis to patients across the state through educational & community events

It's HRN's annual summer fund drive, this is when we turn to our listeners and ask that you make a donation to help ensure a bright future for food radio. Help us keep broadcasting the most thought provoking, entertaining, and educational conversations happening in the world of food and beverage. Become a member today! To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we have brand new member gifts available. So snag your favorite new pizza - themed tee shirt or enamel pin today and show the world how much you love HRN, just go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate.

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This episode of ORIGINS continues the conversation we started on Thursday, September 20th about the economic impact of buying and sourcing food locally. Last week we heard from Scott Nash, the CEO and Founder of Mom’s Organic Market and Tracy Ward, the Director of a new food hub in Easton called Chesapeake Harvest.

We’re continuing our look at the economics of buying and selling locally with two farmers and business owners with different but successful models.

Mark Toigo is the farmer/owner of Toigo Orchards in Shippensburg, PA. Mark began his career in agriculture at an early age moving with this family from Washington DC to his family’s newly acquired orchard in Shippensburg. After a brief stint in the aeronautics industry, Mark returned to the family farm. With expansion in mind, Mark was at the forefront of developing the farm to table model which allowed rural farms to collaborate and partner together to bring their products to the urban marketplace. This program is now an extensive network of Farmer’s Markets saturating the New York City and Washington DC areas. Mark sells to multiple sales channels including Whole Foods, Mom’s Market and others. He has a clear understanding of the marketplace and buyer trends which allows him to forecast trends and select crops that show promising yields and buyer preference. Mark makes sustainability a top priority and has built and retrofitted facilities to reduce the negative affects commercial agriculture has on the environment.

Our other panelist is Dave Liker, farmer/co-owner of Gorman Farms in Howard County, Maryland. Dave started working in organic farming over 20 years ago in both California and high altitude Colorado. He moved to Maryland in late 2008 to start Gorman Farms. They are now in their 10th season of production. They have expending and purchased their own farm in 2016 and are now operating off of 2 locations in Howard County. He grows diversified annual vegetables for a 600+ member CSA. They are a CSA only model and also run a pick your own strawberries for a few weeks in late spring.

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The intent behind ORIGINS, a speaker series, was to highlight the farmers, fisherman, producers, and makers behind the local food movement in the Mid-Atlantic region. Spike Gjerde started his first restaurant, Woodberry Kitchen, with a commitment to local growers and producers. He and his team have returned more than $2.1 million annually to the local economy during the last several years.

This episode will take a closer look at the economics of the local food system from both a retailer’s perspective and an Eastern Shore aggregator called Chesapeake Harvest, based in Easton, Maryland. In Episode #27, we continue the conversation with two local farmers, Dave Liker from Gorman Farms and Mark Toigo from Toigo Orchards.

This episode’s panelists are Scott Nash and Tracy Ward.

Scott Nash started MOM’s Organic Market at the age of 22 with an initial investment of $100 as a home delivery business out of his mom’s garage. On July 2nd 1987, MOM’s made its first sale delivering to a customer who lived in Rockville, MD. Since then, MOM’s has grown to become one of the nation's premier chains of family owned and operated organic grocery stores. MOM’s has nineteen stores in DC, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Tracy Ward has over 30 years of experience as an economic and community development leader, devoting her career to community transformation and change through collaborative public/private partnership and cross-disciplinary strategies. In 2004, Tracy founded Urbanite, an award-winning glossy magazine with a circulation of over 60,000 in the Baltimore metropolitan area. After shuttering Urbanite in 2012, Tracy took a year off to work on farms and learn about our local food system. In 2014, as executive director of the Easton Economic Development Corporation, Tracy started Chesapeake Harvest, a sales, marketing and branding organization committed to increasing sales of locally and sustainably grown food products in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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