#86: The Horrific Living Conditions of Migrant Workers, NY During the AIDS Epidemic, and Fighting Food Insecurity - Rick Nahmias | The Food, Conflict, and Unity Series

FoodCommunityActivism

Sep 16

Written By Samuel Donner

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Episode Description

How is it possible that the people who are feeding us cannot afford food? That is one of the questions that pushed this week's founder to tackle food insecurity and look for solutions. In today’s episode of Finding Founders, join us and Rick Nahmias in exploring where our food comes from and who is responsible for the food on our tables.

Rick Nahmias is an LA native who, after working as a documentary photographer, decided to pursue his interest in food and cooking. He soon recognized the abundance of waste around him. From working on “The Migrant Project,” a book that highlighted the poor treatment of migrant farmworkers, to bringing attention to excess produce in his neighborhood through Craigslist ads, Rick is at the forefront of social justice and fighting food insecurity. His organization Food Forward combats food insecurity, food wastefulness, and climate change.

We joined Rick early one morning in Glendale, harvested lemons off a tree, and came back to the roots of Food Forward.

Show Notes

Childhood: Rick talks about his upbringing in Los Angeles, his relationship with food and the values instilled in him as a kid.
Schooling: Throughout years in school in suburban vanilla LA, Rick constantly found himself in trouble and engaging in early activism.
College: Wanting to set free from the mold Rick decides to move across the country for college.
NYC and AIDS: Rick was studying at NYU during the height of the AIDS epidemic. New York City was one of the most affected cities.
Paris: Once done with his education, Rick moved to Paris in hopes of finding his muse.
Film Industry: Rick improved his craft and started drawing attention in the film industry, but he would slowly come to realize that it's a hard place to thrive.
Journalism: Recently defeated in creative endeavors, Rick turns his attention to a different outlet and re-engages with activism.
Strawberry Capital: After a kind invitation, Rick finds himself in the belly of the Farm Workers Economy and learns more about the inner workings.
Grape Farm: Rick recounts being smuggled in the back of a truck into a grape farm, but not any grape farm.
The Migrant Project: What had started off as a passion project that would hopefully become a published article, became something much larger. And called the attention of prominent figures.
Food Forward: As Rick moved onto other projects, his heart stayed with the farmworker communities and he realized his calling was food.
Expanding the Operation: Rick describes how the project expanded from a one-person effort in a friend’s backyard to a city-wide operation with a warehouse.
Challenges and Looking Ahead: Rick reflects on the past year, the effect of the pandemic on food insecurity, and where Food Forward is headed.