Let's get going on the upcoming garden season for 2024!

Bill of Health Food is Medicine Approaches to Address Diet-Related Health Conditions.

Take a look for yourself and study how your food choices may be good for you and the environmental health of the planet. Some cities while not banning meat, want to encourage us to eat more plants and have signed on to the Plant Based Treaty, see information about the treaty.

The Gardening Channel Seed Starting, MIGardener seed starting. Chicago Gardener March Tasks. Chicago Gardener flower variety for containers to start seeds for now.

MIGardener starting potatoes in containers. Search the keywords, “seed potatoes for sale” for vendors for seed potatoes.

See the Chicago Grows Food website to register for the monthly Lunch and Grow program at noon, the second Wednesday of the month.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of Illinois at Chicago, the OCEAN-HP, or the CPHP. The material and information presented here are for general information purposes only. While the podcast is designed to promote the development of healthy communities through food literacy, we offer no health advice and encourage our listeners to seek guidance from their healthcare providers.

Since discovering the Food Institute website I have spent considerable time reading through the offerings and found the following to share:

Food Institute Food as Medicine Conundrum

https://foodinstitute.com/focus/the-food-as-medicine-conundrum/

No surprise here but the Food Institute shares insight about the causes of the global Type-2 Diabetes pandemic.

The Food Institute research found that food as medicine initiatives do improve health and save household consumer dollars. The conundrum is related to the impact of food insecurity.

Find the True Cost of Food: Food as Medicine Case Study report here.

There are three new books on our bookshelf:

Grow Big In Small Spaces: The Urban Gardeners Guide to Container Gardening & Home Canning by Luke Potter.

The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline by Kim Eierman

Forager’s Garden by Anna Locke

My fellow gardeners are anxious to get going so you may want to do the following in February. Videos produced by Chicago Gardener on garden tasks and planting schedule for February. The Chicago Gardener channel has videos specific to Chicago.

Also see:

MIGardener

The Gardening Channel is located in USDA Zone 7 but the information is still valuable I would wait about 3 weeks or so to adjust to our zone 6 requirements. Check out the information you should know before buying seeds.

I am excited to let you know that the March episode will include a session my co-host and co-producer soil enthusiast and scientist Dr. Akilah Martin and I did last year currently going through postproduction.

Also, I will have more details about how you may participate in the African Diaspora Collection and Collard Project collaboration we are organizing with the Urban Growers Collective, Community Food Navigator, Chicago Grows Food, Stein Learning Garden, Gardeneers, Openlands, Healthy Schools Campaign and the Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion at UIC, among others.

Contact: orrinw@uic.edu

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of Illinois at Chicago, the OCEAN-HP, or the CPHP. The material and information presented here are for general information purposes only. While the podcast is about food literacy, we offer no health advice and encourage our listeners to seek guidance from their healthcare providers.

The Roots Watering Hole podcast series is back after some life issues that kept us from publishing except for our food literacy podcast for several months. We return with a compelling interview with Dr. Gerald that we think you will enjoy,

Bio: "Dr. JPB Gerald is an educator and theorist with a day job in non-profit education management and a side hustle trying to dismantle these systems we're all in. He writes and speaks about the intersection between racism, language education, and ability, and lives on unceded Munsee Lenape territory (aka NYC) with his wife, toddler, and dog."

Dr. Gerald came to the Roots Watering Hole podcast series after my co-host and co-producer Dr. Akilah Martin shared a podcast episode where Justin appeared as a guest on the Integrated Schools podcast. To say the least, I was intrigued and picked up Justin’s book, Antisocial Language Teaching: English and the Pervasive Pathology of Whiteness. Dr. Akilah and I both read the book and reached out to Dr. Gerald, and he graciously agreed to be a guest on the RWH podcast. Thank you again, Justin! Tune in now for our episode with Dr. JPB Gerald.

Book: https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/?K=9781800413269

Podcast for All of Dr. Gerald’s Episodes: https://radiopublic.com/unstandardized-english-G27J3n/episodes

Website: https://jpbgerald.com/

Indie Bound Book Sellers

Additional Dr. Justin Gerald Podcasts

Language Teaching and the white Working Class, with Nicole Pettitt Podcast

Dr. Justin Gerald on Linked in

Again, thank you to Dr. Gerald, the aftermath of the episode led to an exploration of linguistics, especially as it relates to the use of language and dialects. The exploration that had its antecedents in earlier explorations of topics such as Ebonics and Black English also led to the exploration of how people speak in places such as Appalachia, the Caribbean communities, Gullah communities on the Atlantic coast.

Think deeply about language and words as it is important to how WE tell OUR stories.

“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

― Chinua Achebe


The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the Center for Urban Transformation or the Roots Watering Hole podcast series. The material and information presented here are for general information purposes only.

The Roots Watering Hole Podcast Series returns to full-time regular programming with at least one episode per month in addition to the food literacy podcasts. Listen to the trailer, thank you for listening.

Please look for information coming up about supporting our work via Patreon...

It is the beginning of 2024 and we embark upon a new trip around the sun. This is the first episode of the 2024 food literacy podcast and we will be providing a brief overview of what the upcoming season will include. Thank you for listening and may we provide you with a wealth of information for building healthy individuals and communities.

In this episode, we give our decidedly grassroots definition of food literacy. Well, there is no set definition of the term and if you want to dig into the weeds do a keyword search, but here is a good starting point for defining food literacy.

The food literacy podcast will kick off in full swing with the February 2024 episode. However, we know many of our gardening people are ready to get going but slow down just a bit and whet your appetite with these video offerings from MIgardener. We like their information and find it useful because they share the same USDA Hardiness Zone with Chicago.

MIgardener discusses the new hardiness zones and their implications for your gardening adventure in 2024. Then check out their episode on seeds you may want to consider starting in January.

If you are going to start your seeds indoors and use grow lights here is some information you may find useful, The world of grow lights is extensive so be sure to search the keyword "indoor grow lights" and do your research.

That's all we have for now, HAPPY NEW YEAR and HAPPY GARDENING, COOKING, and EATING!

If you would like to recommend topics, guests, etc, here is the contact information you need orrinw@uic.edu.

For information about the Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion at UIC program mentioned in this episode go to the website. Consider reaching out about potential partnerships with one of their interventions.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of Illinois at Chicago, the OCEAN-HP, or the CPHP. The material and information presented here are for general information purposes only. While the podcast is designed to promote the development of healthy communities through food literacy, we offer no health advice and encourage our listeners to seek guidance from their healthcare providers.

A wide-ranging conversation about being human and co-creating with Nature/Mother Earth. I think you will enjoy this sonic experience!

This is the final food literacy podcast for 2023. Please listen in and check the show notes for important season-ending information.

As is stated in the trailer there is some news on the gardening front that I wanted to mention. There is a recently released USDA Hardiness Zone map. Check out Gardener Scott’s YouTube video about the new USDA Hardiness Zone map, who lives in a similar climate in Colorado and who was also part of the advisory team that put the new map together. Check out the USDA website to see the map and for more information, you may find useful for the 2024 gardening journey.

Winter is an important season for the plant world, and it should be for us according to the Horticultural Therapy Institute as related in an article that I will read a bit from that was published in their blog entitled, “Dormancy: Nature’s Answer to the Dark Days of Winter.” Here is a link to the article.

Remember there are two key ways to think of winter in the Northern Hemisphere if you are a gardener, the lunar winter season, and the meteorological winter season check the link for an explanation of the difference.

Well since I mentioned seeds and seed catalogs check out these sites with important information about seeds from Gardener Scott and Epic Gardening sites. Stay tuned for more information about starting seeds and direct sowing in the upcoming early 2024 episodes.

See the following links for winter recipes, and seasonal produce for winter.

Bonus links:

Midwestern Seasonal Produce

Best Winter Vegetables for Seasonal Eating

That is all for now as we wrap up 2023, celebrate the holiday or holidays of your choice and happy new year, food literacy and gardening for 2024. For more information contact Orrin Williams at orrinw@uic.edu, especially if you want to discuss seeds and seed companies. Please note that we have no endorsement deals and receive no compensation from seed companies.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of Illinois at Chicago, the OCEAN-HP, or the CPHP. The material and information presented here are for general information purposes only. While the podcast is designed to promote the development of healthy communities through food literacy, we offer no health advice and encourage our listeners to seek guidance from their healthcare providers.

November typically marks the end of the growing season for most of us in the Chicago region. However, there are some gardeners who may apply season extension strategies that carry them through the winter. If that is not you do not fret, it is time to close out the 2023 season, get some rest, and begin planning for 2024.

We will not cover much at all regarding gardening tasks for November but in the show, notes please find information about garden tasks for our hardiness zones USDA zones 5 and 6. Please share our podcast with your network regardless of what hardiness zone they live in because the link covers all of the November tasks for the USA found on the Sow True Seeds website. Also, please note the 2022 November podcast for information.

It is the season where we may be tempted to overeat and eat things that may not suit our health and well-being, so I offer a cautionary tale and remind you that food is a core element in our health and well-being. No judgment though just be mindful... Check the show notes for tips on mindful eating from Psychology Today and see Mindfulness Exercises and remember to apply mindfulness eating strategies beyond the holidays into our daily lives.

Remember in the last episode we covered ultra-processed foods well a recent article in the Washington Post indicates the new dietary guidelines to be published in 2025 may include a warning about ultra-process food and their impact on our health. The article also indicates the food industry has already begun to push back on warnings regarding ultra-processed food in the next dietary guideline go figure...

We are complete beings and there should be no separation between, physical or mental health. On that note check out this article on ultra-processed food and mental health. So, check out keywords such as ultra-processed food and health, ultra-processed food, and mental health, define ultra-processed food, and the true cost of ultra-processed food. Hopefully, your journey will assist you and your family in living healthier lives. Check out this article on why you should do your research before embarking upon any strategy that will hopefully make us healthier.

I want to let you know that in the December 2023 episode, we will give you an overview of what to expect in 2024, including changes to the Chicago Grows Food program offerings. Check out the Chicago Grows Food newsletter to hear about the book club being planned. I will not reveal the book title here but know that it will be related to rest. So, if you want to get a jump start check out Pause, Rest, and Be by, Octavia Raheem.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of Illinois at Chicago, the OCEAN-HP, or the CPHP. The material and information presented here are for general information purposes only. While the podcast is designed to promote the development of healthy communities through food literacy, we offer no health advice and encourage our listeners to seek guidance from their healthcare providers.