FOOD Exhibit - Listen and Learn
This project is made possible through generous funding from Illinois Humanities. Illinois Humanities is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Illinois General Assembly (through the Illinois Arts Agency). Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed by speakers, program participants, or audiences do not necessarily reflect those of the NEH, Illinois Humanities, our partnering organizations, or our funders.
One of our goals with our new podcast is to reach younger people. So, if you know someone who loves learning and listening to podcasts, please let them know about our new podcast connected to our current exhibit: "FOOD: Gathering Around the Table.”
The DeKalb County History Center’s podcast, “Food: Gathering Around the Table,” explores stories from our current exhibit of the same name, created in collaboration with the Smithsonian. The food on the American table may not define exactly what we are as a nation, but the traditions surrounding our foods speak volumes about who we are. Rooted in centuries of borrowing and sharing, food traditions are staggeringly diverse and constantly evolving. The intersection of cultures in America is perhaps the most important factor in the mix that is America’s food. In this podcast we take a closer look at these ideas and explore them within our local DeKalb County, Illinois’s history.
This season, there will be five podcasts featuring food insecurity, Potawatomi food traditions, food trucks, rural restaurants, and one podcast in Spanish about Mexican restaurants (an English translation will be available).
Season Three:
- Episode 1: Buffalo Grill: This is the first interview in our third season of our podcast series, and it is a little different as it was created in partnership with DeKalb High School Advanced Spanish students.
These talented students worked with the DeKalb County History Center to contact business owners, create questions, and conducting the interviews in Spanish. Each group focused on an owner of a Mexican restaurant to compliment the History Center's exhibit "Food: Gathering Around the Table."
In S3E1, student interview the owner of Buffalo Grill.
Season Two:
- Episode 1: Food and Grief : Jennifer Long and Jo Cessna discuss how they have used food to help people with grief. Jennifer is the Executive Director with Conley Outreach Community Services.
- Episode 2/Part 1: Pasture Grazed: This is part one of two very interesting conversations connected to DeKalb County's rich agricultural history.
- Episode 2 /Part 2: Pasture Grazed The second episode is an inspiring conversation about where we explore regenerative farming and learn about Pasture Graze in Clare.
Pasture Grazed
This conversation is Part 2 of our discussion about Pasture Grazed Farm. Dan Sanderson shares his perspective of regenerative of farming, the science behind the soil for regenerative farming, the need for consumers to understand this approach for food and farming.
This is a two-part conversation about regenerative agriculture. The discussion starts with Rosie Sanderson Trump who explains regenerative farming, and how that philosophy is applied to the family farm, Pasture Grazed, in Clare, Illinois. She provides the foundation and then in part two, we talk with Dan Sanderson. He owns Pasture Grazed and has spent over 50 years farming, learning, and embracing the challenges of agriculture.
For a deeper dive into this story, you can read the book "Grounded: One Farmer's Journey to Regenerative Agriculture" by Daniel L. Sanderson.
This is the first episode of season 2. Jennifer Long and Jo Cessna discuss how they have used food to help people with grief. Jennifer is the Executive Director with Conley Outreach Community Services.
Season One:
- Chef Hannah Flora
- South Moon BBQ
- Wild Carrot
- Nina's Tacos
- Indigenous Food Traditions
- Rooted For Good
Stay tuned for more conversations about "Food"as we return in the Fall for Season 2.
Enjoy our bonus episode of "Food: Gathering Around the Table" with Chef Hannah Flora. During this conversation, we talk with Chef Hannah who appeared on "Hell's Kitchen" this past season, but she traces her love of food back to her time growing up in DeKalb.
In our third episode, the owners of Nina’s Tacos in Sycamore share their food journey story.
Note: This edition is in Spanish. The English translation is provided as text.
Dr. Rosalyn LaPier joins the conversation to discuss Indigenous food traditions that includes a variety of topics covering general information to some specific examples from the Potawatomi Band who lived here when the first settlers arrived; to the present day with native chefs introducing heirloom food to wider audiences to the complicated history of fry bread.
On this first episode of "Food: Gathering Around the Table," Michelle Donahoe interviews Dan Kenny, Heather Edwards, and Kyle Moore from Rooted for Good (formerly DeKalb County Community Gardens). This podcast that explores food insecurity - what it is, how Rooted for Good addresses this issue in DeKalb County, and their plans for the future.
