With Bowl and Spoon

Graduate of CMU School of Art, Chloe tells us about her path from artist to to founding member of Pittsburgh's first Bakery Co-op. We talk about The Bakery Society, Pittsburgh's Fermentation Festival, the whole grain brownie, sourcing local grain, connecting to people through food, and of course her new venture. 

Joe talks about shared food kitchens, food hubs, food inequality, Food Institutes, increasing small farm income, and asset based community development. Yes, this episode is long, but if you have an interested in food systems and the efforts to create regional production, this episode is for you! Whether you know something about food system work, or are just interested in learning more, this episod...

Growing up in New Orleans, Dar has worked for social justice issues for most of her career. We talk about farmers markets, anti-racism, and the ways in which the system of white supremacy is hurting all of us.

Pittsburgh native and farmers market fan, Cassi talks about how she celebrates her family heritage and creates community through food.  We talk about the lost art of home economics training, culinary school inspiration, and of course farmers markets.

Jazmyn is an urban agriculturalist, educator and advocate. She's committed to dignity in policy, dignity in agriculture, and dignity for all communities. She talks about the food system's conflict with capitalism, her past life as a lunch lady, and her destiny to provide access and information to young people.#urbanag #herbs #kidsinthegarden #sustainability #farmtoschool #dignityinag

Dylan is the CEO of Ecotone Renewables. This Pittsburgh based company makes biodigesters that turn organic waste into an organic fertilizer they call "Soil Sauce". Dylan talks about the company's start, his passion for sustainable solutions and local food, and what he'll do when he gets some free time. #Ecotonerenewables #Endfoodwaste #greenfuture #soilsauce #supportlocalfarms #biodigester #localf...

NaTisha is a Communications Manager, Environmental Justice Advocate and soon-to-be Councilwoman for Wilkinsburg, PA.  She talks about her college years and her first hand experience with Pittsburgh's pollution problem. (Spoiler alert... it's real!) We discuss community engagement, including boundaries and food requirements, being human, and the importance of self-care.#NaTishaWashington #environme...

A native of Michigan, Kimberly has picked Pittsburgh as her home. After college, Kimberly and six friends moved together and created a community space on Pittsburgh's North Side. She talks about gentrification, her work with kids, urban agriculture, and community gardens.#localfood #vegetarian #urbanag #growfood #ballfieldfarm #givinggrove #treepittsburgh

Darla comes from an Italian family where food is central to life. She talks about busy Sundays as a kid, Feast of the Seven Fishes,  growing, harvesting and preserving food, and her legacy at Round Hill Farm, a working farm owned and operated by Allegheny County.#Italian #roundhillfarm #alleghenygrows #summerkitchen #pittsburghfoodpolicycouncil #canningandpreserving 

In the 80s, Lee Woulfe was my boss at a Southern California Wendy's. We've stayed in touch, despite not having Facebook in the early years. We reminisce about the positive influence Wendy's had on our lives, how great it was to be in Southern California in the mid-80s, hanging out with the Dead Milkmen, and Lee's time in the Air Force. We even talk a bit about life since then. #Wendys #USAirforce...

My friend and worm enthusiast, Laura, provides insight on how she, inadvertently, assembled skills to accomplish her dream.  "Just because things don't work out the way you wanted them to, doesn't mean they didn't work out." From her early advocacy and entrepreneurship endeavors, to her vermicompost business, we discuss vegan- and vegetarian- ism, perfect proteins, the stigma...

Josh Inklovich, The Plant Pedal Project In our conversation, Josh weaves a tale that takes us from prison in North and South Carolina to his latest adventure of #biking across the country sharing the knowledge about living plants. He talks about his career as a bridge painter, his stint as an urban farmer, his work with emotionally disabled folks in a #greenhouse, and his time in the Amazon #RainF...

Carolyn Ristau, Details Reviewed Carolyn is one of the most self-reflective people I know. She's smart enough to know when somethings not working, and brave enough to look the problem straight in the face until she figures it out. She is a self-proclaimed Zoning Nerd Extraordinaire, with the knowledge and experience to back it up! Carolyn tells us about her journey from picky kid to adventurous ea...

Lisa is a Black urban farmer, business owner, author, "bad-ass" social worker and community builder. Lisa tells me about how she got started in urban agriculture, the history of her Manchester neighborhood, and the struggles to bring fresh food to her community. Noise notes: This episode was recorded at Nova Place. You'll hear planes, kids playing, and music in the background. urbanfarmer #urbanfa...

I met Marcelle my first week working with the City of Pittsburgh and it quickly became clear that I had found a fellow urban agriculture champion! Marcelle is one of the most adventurous people I know. We talk about her childhood on a goat farm in Lebanon, working at her mom's restaurant, Sadie's, in New Castle, PA, exploring U.S. state parks, the Lebanon Mountain Trail, salad dressing, peanut but...

I met Kyle when we both worked for the City... he's the one who told me that composting wasn't technically legal and he helped me write the half-page municipal code that finally made composting legal in the City of Pittsburgh in 2019!! Kyle is committed to being part of the solution, and with his business, he's making a dent in the diversion of organic waste from landfills. Noise note: This episod...

I'll be rolling out 100 episodes *, several episodes per week, starting this week! Subscribe now and look for new episodes to be available on Friday, October 13th, 2023! * This didn't happen... I came to my senses and only did 30 episodes, but that was a lot in just 3 months. It got me through a rough time, and I learned a lot. I hope you notice! For more info about the rough time, see sea...

Brett and Shelly keep talking about their post-pandemic lockdown trip to Belize. From the mainland, they travel to the island of Caye Caulker and spend 8 days on this tiny island where the motto is "Go Slow".  Caye Caulker -  part of the municipality of Belize City, barrier reef, rum cocktails - with lime, Coconut rice with chicken and plantains, watermelon and soursop juice, rain and sa...

After the first year of pandemic and getting our vaccine, we went to Belize. Here's all about it.

Today we listen to my conversation with my friend, classmate and fellow food fan, Hal B. Klein. Hal is the food writer, editor, and critic for Pittsburgh magazine. Hal has lived in Pittsburgh since 2010 when he moved from California to attended the food studies program at Chatham University, and then found the place he calls home. It was at Chatham that Hal started his writing adventure. I'm h...

In this episode we learn about the origins of the title of the podcast, “with bowl and spoon”.

Today we listen to my conversation with Christina Howell, Executive Director of Bloomfield Development Corporation, from January 2021.  We talk about the how the Pandemic effected the Bloomfield Farmers Market opening, growing up in rural West Virginia, and the roots of Christina's food evolution.

Hi!  Welcome to WB&S. Today's interview is with Jen Saffron, Owner and operator of Sprezzatura Café and catering where they specialize in "heritage" Italian cooking in their solar powered kitchen. We talk about stages of soup making, mom's traditional minestrone soup, their original-recipe, best-selling veggie lasagna, Hospitality = authenticity, pandemic, triple-bottom-line business, and...

Shelly talks with Farmer Girl Eb aka Ebony Lunsford-Evans about how she started growing, her farming business and her new venture opening this summer. 

Brett and Shelly talk about food and love.