Locally Grown Foods

Our guest on ST Medical Monday is Benjamin Lorr, a writer based in New York City. He tells us about his interesting new book, "The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket." As Lorr writes in the Introduction for this work: "This book is about the grocery store. About the people who work there and the routes of supply that define it. It is the product of five years of research, hundreds of interviews, and thousands of hours tracking down and working alongside the buyers, brokers, marketers, and managers whose lives and choices define our diet.

Our guest on ST is Jon Steinman, the producer and host of an internationally syndicated radio show and podcast called Deconstructing Dinner. A Canadian resident of Nelson, BC, he joins us to discuss his new book, "Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants." By closely studying -- and also drawing engaging stories from -- many different American and Canadian food co-ops, this book makes a case for the eventual (and radical?) transformation of the grocery store in the 21st century.

On this edition of our show, we learn all about Kendall Whittier, Incorporated, or KWI, which is a neighborhood-minded and long-running nonprofit now marking its 50th Anniversary. KWI is, per its website, "a home-grown organization incorporating self-sufficiency for our neighbors through food security, nutritional health, and well-being." KWI -- the only food pantry in the Tulsa area that actually delivers to its participants' doorsteps -- will host an event tonight (Thursday the 7th) in celebartion of its Golden Anniversary.

Our guest is Rob McKeown, a former food writer and food-magazine editor who's also done research and concept-development for renowned chefs and notable hotels and restaurants worldwide. He is the curator for "Botanical!" -- i.e., a series of fundraising events happening this weekend at Tulsa Botanic Garden.

Wait a sec -- is coffee good for you? Or bad? And what about chocolate -- should we avoid it, or does it actually have positive nutritional aspects? Tips about food can be confusing, as we all know, and things always seem to be in flux. On this edition of ST Medical Monday, our guest is Dr. Aaron Carroll, who brings some stability (and sound advice) to these matters. Carroll is the author of a new book, "The Bad Food Bible: How and Why to Eat Sinfully." Dr.

Our guest is the author and journalist Ted Genoways, who is a contributing editor at Mother Jones, The New Republic, and Pacific Standard. A fourth-generation Nebraskan, Genoways has a new book out that profiles a subject near and dear to his heart. "This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm" vividly documents the lives and labors behind a small family farm located in York County, Nebraska.

On this installment of ST, a discussion about how what we eat affects not only our health and our mental state, but also our emotional disposition -- how food affects mood, as it were. Our guest is Dr. Leslie Korn, an expert in this regard. She's a clinician specializing in mental health nutrition and integrative medicine, and her newest book, just out, is "The Good Mood Kitchen." Dr.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we learn about the forthcoming Mother Road Market. As was reported last week by KWGS News, when the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation announced that it would fund this market (to be housed in a empty warehouse at 11th and Lewis in Tulsa): "The Mother Road Market will be a community food destination, allowing Tulsans and tourists alike to eat, sip, shop, and enjoy Tulsa's favorite neighborhood restaurants and brand new food concepts -- all under one roof.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we are joined by Cheryl Waldeck, a local author, consultant, and culinary whiz whose previous book, "The Joy of Food," offered more than 100 recipies that she'd compiled over 30+ years. That book, as she tells us, grew out of a desire to pass along to her adult kids the "how to" details for the various dishes they'd grown up eating (and loving) in the Waldeck home. Now comes a new book, "Occasions: Seasonal Menus and Entertaining Secrets," which Waldeck describes for us today.

On this edition of ST Medical Monday, we chat once again with Katie Plohocky, the founder and director of Tulsa's Healthy Community Store Initiative. This initiative is an umbrella for several programs that Plohocky runs, all of them focused on healthy eating, healthy living, and healthy communities -- these programs include R&G Grocers (Tulsa's mobile grocery store), Cooking for Health (a program that brings farm-fresh food and nutrition to at-risk populations), and a farm-to-table catering operation.

When did names like Fat Tire and Sam Adams become as familiar -- in certain circles -- as the names Bud, Miller, and Coors? On this edition of StudioTulsa, we are discussing the craft beer movement (or should we say craze?) in America today -- how it began, why (and where) it has caught on, and how it relates to key concepts like race, ethnicity, class, and gender. Our guest is J. Nikol Beckham of Randolph College in Virginia, where she is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies specializing in such pop-culture fixtures as television, popular music, and food.

On this installment of ST, we are discussing State Question 777, the so-called "Right to Farm" proposal, which voters statewide will decide on come November. As was noted recently in a Tulsa World editorial: "Both sides in the debate over State Question 777...have been guilty of excesses in their arguments. The proponents have suggested that only a state constitutional measure could shield cherished rural values of decent working farmers from the meddling hands of bureaucrats and lunatic eco-extremists.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we speak with Philip Howard, a professor of community sustainability at Michigan State University. He's also president of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society, and is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we are pleased to welcome Eileen Bradshaw, Executive Director of the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. The Food Bank, as it's commonly known, is the largest private hunger-relief organization in eastern Oklahoma. It's been around since 1981. As noted at this nonprofit's website: "Our vision is food security, with dignity, for all eastern Oklahomans.... With locations in Tulsa and McAlester, we provide food and other donated goods to 450 Partner Programs in 24 counties of eastern Oklahoma.

On this edition of StudioTulsa Medical Monday, an interesting chat with Katie Plohocky, who is one of the founders of the locally based Healthy Community Store Initiative. This organization, as noted at its tulsarealgoodfood.org website, was formed "to address the food desert problem in Tulsa, Oklahoma....

The around-the-world journey that locally based food blogger Sasha Martin undertook was truly remarkable; over the span of nearly four years, this Tulsa-based mom and author -- who's our guest on ST today -- set out to cook, and eat, a meal from every country on the planet.

On this edition of ST, we speak with Valarie Carter, a classically trained chef, food writer, wine columnist, and catering/events coordinator. She's also the editor of "Edible Tulsa," which is a newly launched bimonthly print publication (accessible online at this link) that celebrates the local food culture of our community and its surrounding environs. The magazine's tag line -- "Eating. Drinking. Thinking.