TUESDAY, NOV. 26 at 8:00PM

In her latest PBS special, internationally renowned chef, author, and restaurateur Lidia Bastianich throws a national spotlight on progressive chefs, farmers and entrepreneurs around the U.S. striving to change the future of food – whether by increasing local access to produce, creating communities that teach people to grow vegetables, reviving indigenous ingredients for healthful Native cuisine, or introducing the American palate to sustainable ingredients such as insects.

In Lidia Celebrates America: Changemakers, Lidia travels from Minneapolis (MN) and Stockton (CA) to Inglewood (CA) and Middletown (VA), to visit those who work hard to change the availability of healthy food in their communities and to alter the way we perceive food in America. “In Changemakers, I meet with inspiring and passionate Americans who are trying to improve our lives by helping us attain better access to nutritious food, and by re-connecting us with nature and our environment,” Bastianich said.

Born in Pula, a small city on the southern tip of the Istrian Peninsula in present-day Croatia, Bastianich grew up in a poor community where food was scarce. When it came to cooking and eating, she and her neighbors demonstrated a remarkable spirit of ingenuity and of sharing. Resourcefulness remains a fundamental part of who Lidia is today, a chef bolstered by the belief that food is increasingly being wasted, and increasingly scarce. Lidia Celebrates America: Changemakers follows Bastianich on her 13th journey across America as she meets up with everyday Americans who are reimagining what the future of food could look like.

“Our approach to food needs to be increasingly rooted in using local and available products, cooked with less waste,” she said.  “With 1.3 billion tons of food going to waste each year, that’s enough food to feed two billion people.” Lidia is intent on getting out the critical message that when we waste food, we also waste all the energy and water it takes to grow, harvest, transport, and package it. “We need to take steps toward ensuring a more secure food future for everyone, and we need to do it now.”

COOKING WITH LIDIA BASTIANICH