(lighthearted music) - [David] From the soil of our family farms to your table, there's something special about Georgia, something you can taste in every bite.

Fresh flavors, local farms, unforgettable experiences, Georgia has it all.

Support local, taste the difference, and make memories along the way.

Look for the Georgia Grown logo wherever you shop or visit georgiagrown.com.

(bright music) - [Announcer] Community, learning, working, playing, celebrating.

Doing life is always better together.

At GPB, we aim to provide you with the tools to be able to do life together well.

Our mission to educate, inform, and entertain inspires everything from our wide range of programming to our stimulating radio conversations to our fun in-person events.

We've got something for everyone.

Visit gpb.org/community to learn more about our upcoming events.

- The fascinating and ever-changing world of agriculture.

Let's hit the road here in Georgia and meet the farmers, producers, makers, and bakers who keep us all fed and keep us coming back for more, straight ahead at the "Fork in the Road."

♪ Mm ♪ ♪ I came from the mud ♪ ♪ There's dirt on my hands ♪ ♪ Strong like a tree ♪ ♪ There's roots where I stand ♪ - [David] Georgia farmers, artisans, merchants, and producers, we depend on these men and women every day of our lives through the choices we make and the food we consume.

Their strategy and approach is always shifting, but the end game remains the same.

Results.

(slow country music) (lighthearted music) "You are what you eat," a common slogan that has so much truth, power, and even inspiration.

This episode of "A Fork in the Road" features people and businesses throughout different Georgia communities who help others through growing, cooking, distributing, marketing, and even sharing healthy food, all in an effort to change what we consume and present the why.

♪ Mm ♪ - [David] We begin this episode in downtown Atlanta at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, an iconic hotel that has always aimed to find ways to make a change for the better.

(lively music) - It's a special occasion for us.

This is now the fourth year that we've had this event.

We started out with 25 vendors, and now this year we're at 120 vendors.

And it's just giving back to the community.

Pretty incredible to see the growth over the years.

- It's amazing to think that we're four years in from this, really an experiment, showcasing the best of the best here in the Southeast from Black-owned, veteran-owned, female-owned businesses, and really give them a platform to showcase their product and help develop their business.

- I tell you what, this is absolutely the best event in the world.

Hyatt meets businesses where we are.

If you've got a great product, then you can deliver.

They've supported our business now for almost six years.

We produce our product here at the hotel.

They buy our product.

We're in multiple different Hyatt properties.

The way that Hyatt supports us fits within the ethos of how we run our business.

No other company in America is as committed to small businesses as Hyatt is.

- This is my first time here, and I'm amazed how people are actually taking and embracing our pupusas, which I, you know, I never thought that I would be actually selling in restaurants and also in wholesale stores.

And this is actually a great opportunity for me to be in all different venues.

- For us, it's really important that we continue to reinforce to our guests that we are partners with them in their pursuit of healthy, happy, and fulfilled lives.

And through the diversity of vendors that you can see here at the fair, we continue to show how not only we're leading the way, but we're making access to that in a way that's truly a leadership point of view and proposition for our hotels globally.

- It's not just meeting potential buyers of our product, it's figuring out collaborations.

So, just being here this morning, it's only been a couple of hours, I'm already looking at the woman who makes macarons, not macaroons, I've been corrected, and she's interested in some of our pecans.

And then there's a woman who makes bourbon pecan vegan ice cream.

She's interested in using our flavored nuts in her ice cream.

So it's just all that interaction and then just supporting one another.

(upbeat music) - My name is Che Houston, and my business is CheRene Macarons and More, French macarons with a little Southern finesse.

The Southern finesse is because our flavors are Southern, home-style, made-from-scratch desserts, such as peach cobbler, banana pudding, strawberry shortcake made with fresh buttermilk poundcake.

It doesn't get any better than that.

(laughs) This is actually our first time at the Minority Showcase.

We just became a member of Georgia Grown, so we're very excited about that and all the opportunity that that brings.

And then we're also excited about building a relationship, of course with the Hyatt and with Chef Thomas.

We are just ecstatic about that.

And so far today, we have met some amazing people.

People who are, first of all, captivated by the colors at our table.

And then once they taste it, they are blown away.

And so far we have been able to meet some people and actually make some connections.

(gentle music) - Usually when you're calling a corporate headquarters and you're selling a spirit, wine, beer, sauces, macaroni and cheese, cookies, whatever, you have to have distribution in every market that they have hotels in.

But with Change Starts Here, they're allowing suppliers to maybe be only in one or two markets and able to go and introduce and present their products in those Hyatt properties that are in those markets.

And then as they grow into other states, if the product's good enough, Hyatt will bring them in.

- When you look around this room, from 25 vendors to 120 in just four years, it really is an honor to be that, just be part of the journey with these vendors.

Many of them are like family now, and seeing their business grow over the last four years and then them inviting other vendors to come and see what we're doing and get them exposure to many of our great partners, like our neighbors at the Marriott and the Hilton who came and support what we at Hyatt are trying to really do.

- This is our 4th year anniversary, and it's meant everything.

It's literally meant everything to our brand.

Hyatt is second to none.

They made a commitment to bring in new minority vendors, give us a platform where we could share our products.

I went from one Hyatt to now over 22 Hyatts that we service across the country.

My business would cease to exist if I didn't have Hyatt.

♪ Mm ♪ - [David] Remaining in Atlanta, but going from the downtown area over to the neighborhood of Sylvan Hills, where a couple brings a healthy Central America classic to the people of Georgia.

(intense music) It's considered the national dish of El Salvador.

A name almost as fun to say as it is to eat, meet the pupusa, and the wonderful people who have worked so hard to bring these delicious pupusas to Atlanta at a place called La Bodega.

- [Jeannette] We are a grocery store and a pupuseria.

- Pupuseria.

- Pupuseria.

- [David] This is my first pupuseria story on "A Fork in the Road."

- Awesome.

- [David] And so for all those folks out there, I know now, but for all those folks out there, what is a pupusa?

- A pupusa is the national dish of El Salvador and is a corn stuffed tortilla made by hand and is stuffed with delicious fillings.

Traditionally, in El Salvador, if you are ever there, you're gonna find black bean and cheese.

Now we, obviously, we do different things.

We aren't in El Salvador, but we are in Georgia, and we're using a lot of local produce.

Our chorizo is made in Athens by a farm called Caribe United.

Our bacon is also local and we use it from Pine Street Butchery.

(lighthearted music) - [David] We talked a little about the different colors of the pupusas.

- Color coded.

Because once the pupusas' done, everything is inside, so you cannot tell what it is.

So what we did was for the vegan, which is no dairy, no meat, we make it with spinach masa so it looks green.

Then for the chicken, we use turmeric, and it's yellow.

But then we have the chorizo, which we use paprika.

As a food industry, yes, it's a little more, you have to think about how you can use the different things that are already natural, but it can be done.

It's easy.

Before, that's how we did it, you know?

And now more than ever, we need to go back to basics.

- [David] Jeannette does not like chemicals, and she doesn't like waste.

I suppose in retrospect, nobody should like either of those, right?

But they're often a part of everyday life, whether we realize it or not.

Well, here at La Bodega, you won't find waste or chemicals.

Even the cleaning solutions are all natural and made right here in the kitchen.

- We create our own mix to clean the dishes and clean the griddle.

So it comes like this, and then we mix the citrus with actually just regular vinegar.

And we create our own.

- [David] Your own chemical-free mix.

- [Jeannette] Yes.

- [David] Cleans everything just the same.

- [Jeannette] Exactly the same.

Look at how shiny they are.

- Yeah.

- And we use it to clean.

- [David] Beautiful.

(gentle music) Not surprisingly, the team at La Bodega believes in composting, and Jeanette decided to drive me about a mile up the road to an impressive community garden that is maintained by helping hands in the community like Jeanette, who doesn't do it for the accolades, she just sees it as something everybody should be doing.

- So this is a time that I like to come because it's nice and cool, it's not as hot.

- [David] This is great.

We're right here in the neighborhood.

And this is a great garden, this is beautiful.

- And it's open to the public, whoever wants to come and they really wanna pick cucumbers.

Look at this.

Look at the cucumbers.

Peppers coming out of here.

- [David] Do they leave donations or anything or?

- Well, actually, the owner asked to pick some weed and, you know, bring compost, kinda help out a little bit in the garden.

And also, if you wanna have your own bed, you know, you talk to the owner and say, "Hey, I would like to, you know, grow tomatoes or whatever."

All these are potatoes.

You know, you wanna make a salad?

Right here is ready.

- Got your romaine.

- Yeah.

You have the tomatoes over here.

It is fascinating that we can actually grow things if we want to.

But this is the best part.

This just remind me back home where you can just, you know, walking down the street and you can just pick whatever from the neighborhood.

- Yeah.

- And just eat.

You don't have to go to the store and buy that.

(chuckles) - [David] You're obviously staying busy, running your operations, (laughs) making the pupusas, but you also help the community here.

- And have fun with it.

- Yeah.

- That's the whole thing.

You know, once you're not having fun, then probably you should need to find another job.

(bright music) - [David] Along with the Cafe con Leche option that I enjoyed upon arrival, I was ready for my much-anticipated Buenos Dias pupusa.

But first, I had to learn all about my pupusa options.

Okay, if you haven't realized by now, I just like saying that name, pupusa.

- [Jeannette] I wanna have things in here that are only Georgia grown and then they're actually all-natural things.

- [David] I'm noticing that.

From your cleaning solution that you make here to every ingredient.

- I wanna make sure the people doesn't have to be worry about how the food is made.

We just wanted to make sure that the food is done the right way to begin with.

This is gonna be extra, extra big.

- [David] I'll take that.

This is mine, right?

- Yes.

- I'm excited.

And tell me what's in it.

- We have cheese and we have chorizo.

Big, big, big.

- Oh, I get the big one.

- Yes.

- Very exciting.

(upbeat music) Took the camera gear off.

This is what I've been waiting for.

This is the big one.

- Yes, this is the big one, with a lot of chorizo, a lot of cheese.

- [David] Oh, yeah, I see the cheese.

Oh my.

Okay, here we go.

- [Jeannette] Now just fold it like this.

- Fold it like a taco.

- Yeah, there we go.

- Oh my.

(gentle music) Hmm.

That's perfect.

Thank you.

- You're welcome.

It's like explosion of flavors.

- Oh, yes, it is.

What I love, we're eating it this way now with the pickled cabbage, the chorizo, the cheese.

But we could do it a completely different way.

- Yep, yep, you can be very creative.

You can leave it by itself and put an egg, a fried egg, on top.

- Oh, yeah.

- And put the sauce.

And, you know, it's like a huevos rancheros.

- Yeah.

Well, thank you so much for having me here at La Bodega.

- Oh, thank you, thank you.

It's awesome.

- And I will be back.

I'll find you at farmer's markets.

- Yes.

- But now I know I can always find you here.

- Yes, you can always come and check us out in here.

Thank you.

- Fantastic.

You and Ken are doing a beautiful job.

I love this neighborhood.

I love what you bring to it.

- Good, good.

- One more bite.

- Yes!

- Mm.

Oh, I got a whole nother one.

- Yeah, there we go.

(laughs) - [David] Bringing this Salvadorian food tradition to Sylvan Hills via La Bodega, a tasty, healthy, and unique option for this region of Atlanta, delivered by a team of workers who are led by a dedicated couple determined to make a change for the better through the power of quality, locally sourced food.

♪ Mm ♪ - From the neighborhood of Sylvan Hills, up and over a couple of Interstates, to the Morningside community where a school garden delivers growth in more ways than one.

(gentle music) There are many things I learned in school and a few lessons I actually remember to this day, but I will say, at least for me, the project-based and hands-on learning are what stuck with me through the years.

And a similar type of hands-on learning is taking place in growing fashion here at Morningside Elementary, thanks to a committed school community and a couple of dedicated teachers who have helped make this educational vision a reality.

- [Holly] My name's Holly Acton.

I teach third grade here at Morningside Elementary.

- [Amelia] Amelia Morel, and I'm a third grade teacher here at Morningside.

- We had a really big renovation a few years ago, and we really wanted to use this space as a garden that would welcome everyone to the school.

And we thought the garden would be a perfect way to involve everyone in a long-term project.

- Our incredible PTA came in, and they rebuilt garden beds and really set it up perfectly for us to be able to have all classes participate in some garden work.

- We've also worked with the Georgia Native Plant Society, who has donated around 50 native plants to the perimeter of the garden.

Every grade level has a chance to come out and to plant all throughout the year.

So anyone who's ever had a garden knows that there's always something to learn in the garden.

So we are teaching them how to grow food in the garden beds, so seasonal food, and then the perimeter areas are habitats, Georgia habitats, with native plants.

So as you walk around, you'll see some of the areas are done and some are still a work in progress.

The students research the type of plants that grow here naturally and then choose plants to go into the areas, and then they come out and plant them with parents.

So, the goal is that they are learning safe plants to grow that will help the environment and that they will understand where food comes from, and they will have fun and have time outside and get messy.

- So the kids also learn how to harvest the old seeds from the year before, and then we replant them again in the spring, which is really cool.

One thing when we were doing the pollinator census that amazed the kids, when we were going back in and compiling data, one of them said to me, "Are we working on science or math or what are we working on right now?"

And I was like, "Everything!"

That's what's so cool about PBL is that it really combines all the different disciplines in a real-life kind of setting like real scientists do.

(playful music) - [David] Tell me what you're doing here.

- Pulling out the monkey grass.

- [David] Pulling out the monkey grass?

- Yeah.

- All right.

Those are monkey grass gloves?

- Uh, they're kind of.

- I am looking for pollinators for my pollinator census.

They've also done another one.

And when I'm done with my pollinator census, I'm gonna check it to theirs, see if they match.

- [David] What pollinators have you seen, Jackson?

- I've seen bees, flies, and birds.

There's carpenter.

- [David] What have you learned doing this project-based learning class?

- When I was looking at the pollinators last year, I was realizing that they like the wet areas, 'cause that's where the flowers are currently growing.

It's the places where it needs watering, and that's the type of plant that pollinators like, not the dead ones.

- [David] Mattis, tell me what you're doing here.

- I'm cutting up these so they can grow a little bit better so they don't go, like, all bad.

- [David] So you're just finding the ones that aren't as pretty?

- Yeah.

To cut them, like, all up.

- And we're going to cut them so they can use the seeds, to save the seeds, so more grow next year.

So we're going in to cut most of the stem, but not all of the stem.

- [David] Did you learn a lot last year doing this?

- Yeah, I loved my class last year.

Ms.

Acton and Ms.

Morel are just really good teachers and I miss being in their class, and I'm just so happy to be back.

- [David] Now, you can almost be a teacher yourself now.

- Yes.

- Yeah, I bet you walk through here now and you see things you should do in the garden, like work you need to do.

- Yeah.

And I go in the garden and I see the stuff I did do, and I just talk to myself and be like, "Hey, this worked out so perfect there.

I can't wait to see what the next kids do with it."

- [David] And I bet it's made you not afraid of bees, right?

- I'm still afraid of bees, but not as afraid of bees.

'Cause last year, I was terrified of bees, but now, hmm, I'm okay with them.

I understand them more.

I get what they do more.

- [David] What are you doing here?

- Today, I'm just, like, weeding this bed.

There are, like, a lot of weeds just hiding around in spots, like normally on the sides, and you just gotta pull them from the root and, like, get them out.

And I've just been collecting these.

- [David] When did you first take this class?

- I first took it in third grade about two years ago.

And I really enjoyed working in the garden.

And I like coming back here 'cause it's just, like, a really calm place and you get to see, like, a lot of animals and life.

- [David] So they asked who wanted to harvest, who wanted to water, and who wanted to do the weeding, and you picked weeding.

- (laughs) I mean, it's not the easiest job, but I still enjoy it, just being here.

- [David] Every job's important, right?

- Yeah.

(upbeat music) - Yoshi, tell me what you're doing here.

- [Yoshi] So I'm right now collecting data of all the pollinators in the garden, and there has been a lot.

- [David] Do you have a favorite thing growing out here?

- Yeah, but it's not here anymore.

- Okay.

- It was this watermelon, this big, just sitting somewhere on the bed.

Another thing was the tomatoes.

There's so many ripe, huge tomatoes.

- [David] All right, Jake, tell me what's happening here.

- I'm making a herbarium.

We're cutting off a bunch of plants and flowers, and we're gonna squeeze them and make them flat and then dry them.

- [David] Do you have a favorite kind that you have growing out here?

- [Jake] This one.

- That's pretty.

- It is.

- [David] So you don't take 'em all yet, you're just getting samples.

- Yes.

- [David] You feel like that's an important job?

- Yeah.

- [David] Tell me what y'all are doing here.

- So we took, we cut out a bunch of dead marigolds, and we're pulling the seeds out of them so that we can plant new marigolds next year.

They're also very helpful in the garden 'cause they keep pests away.

So we pull the top crusty part off, and then there's like these spiky sunflower type things.

And then you just pull them out of the outer shell and then you just chuck the rest.

(David laughing) - [David] And not only do students understand how to grow and maintain the garden, they're learning to develop business and marketing plans to sell what they grow back to their community.

(uptempo music) - We are at Morningside Farmers' Market, and our third grade class has designed a plant business called Sunny Seedlings, and they grew all the plants and came up with some innovative ideas, if you ask them.

And we're here just selling.

- We're selling beans, tomatoes, zucchini, microgreens, and Mexican flower seed bombs, and marigolds.

All of the seedlings are $1.

Marigolds and the seed bombs are 50 cents.

- So the kids learn how to do market research, how to design logos on graphic design program, take inventory, create a budget.

They really do everything in terms of creating a small business.

And it's just an overall fun experience.

So it's one of our favorites, and we will be continuing every year that they'll let us join them here at the farmers' market.

- Ed and I are parents of a student at Morningside Elementary that is part of this plant sale.

This is our older one who was part of it last year.

So we've been doing this for a couple of years with them and observing just what the kids learn from it.

And it's been great to see them be interested in how their efforts for growing these plants and then how they can then take that to run a business.

- I am a huge supporter of our garden program as we focus on our STEAM certification.

These projects that kids are doing in our garden really foster a connection between where our food comes from.

- I think it's part of just the magic that occurs at the school because it gives the kids an opportunity to apply, like, real-world problems, to apply critical thinking skills, to collaborate across grade levels.

We're so excited and so happy to support this initiative with our MES garden.

- And one of the cool things about this program is is it teaches kids how to market their products, it teaches kids how to actually grow the food, how to preserve it, protect it, and to sell it to people and share that knowledge.

And my daughter Lily's super excited about that.

What's great about it is all the proceeds go back to Morningside Elementary School and goes to the garden.

And the entire school participates, which is really cool.

Every grade has their own box of flowers or produce and they tend to it all year round and they're able to sell it.

So it's just a really great program.

(lighthearted music) - [David] Commitment to community can be constructively contagious.

And as we often hear, it takes a village.

And time and time again, I see evidence that there are plenty of spirited community leaders and passionate individuals who, at many different levels, have done their little part to make our world a better place.

I'm David Zelski.

See you at the next "Fork in the Road."

(lighthearted music continues) "A Fork in the Road" was brought to you by... (gentle music) - [Announcer] Community, learning, working, playing, celebrating.

Doing life is always better together.

At GPB, we aim to provide you with the tools to be able to do life together well.

Our mission to educate, inform, and entertain inspires everything from our wide range of programming to our stimulating radio conversations to our fun in-person events.

We've got something for everyone.

Visit gpb.org/community to learn more about our upcoming events.

(lighthearted music) - [David] From the soil of our family farms to your table, there's something special about Georgia, something you can taste in every bite.

Fresh flavors, local farms, unforgettable experiences, Georgia has it all.

Support local, taste the difference, and make memories along the way.

Look for the Georgia Grown logo wherever you shop or visit georgiagrown.com.