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KQED Presents Food Forward: Urban Agriculture Across America, a Different Kind of Food Television

Food Forward Productions and KQED Presents announce the broadcast television premiere of Food Forward: Urban Agriculture Across America on Monday, April 9, at 7:30pm on KQED 9 (check the PBS local TV listings for air times in other parts of the country). The program is a refreshing documentary about the chefs, scientists, farmers, fishermen, teachers and others creating a healthier food system in America. We’ve all heard what’s wrong with the way we eat – it’s making us sick; it’s depleting natural resources, it’s unsustainable – yet other programs focus on food through celebrity chefs, cooking competitions and recipes. Food Forward offers something different, revealing the compelling stories and inspired solutions of Americans striving to create a more just, sustainable and delicious alternative to what we eat. Shot entirely on location, Food Forward travels to the kitchens, ranches, neighborhoods and laboratories across American where the local food revolution is thriving.

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Food Forward opens the door into a new world of possibility, where pioneers and visionaries are creating viable alternatives to the pressing social and environmental impacts of our industrial food system. Across the country, a vanguard of food rebels is creating inspired, but practical, solutions that are nourishing us and the planet. These are stories America needs to hear.

This program seeks to connect the dots in the good food movement by using multiple platforms to engage a receptive audience of food innovators, engaged citizens, community activists and food lovers across the nation. Additional content including deleted scenes, character profiles, recipes, how-to cooking segments, production photos, and videos and grass roots events will support the television broadcast. Please visit the program website at http://foodforward.tv and a lot of content is available at pbs.org/foodforward. You can also follow Food Forward on Facebook , Twitter and their official blog.

Download the Food Forward - Social Social Media Toolkit (PDF)
Find Food Forward broadcasts on KQED.
Download detailed Food Forward filmmaker bios (PDF)

Food Forward: Urban Agriculture Across America is presented by KQED Presents and produced by Greg Roden, David Linstrom, Stett Holbrook and Brian Greene. It is distributed to public television nationwide by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) beginning April 5, 2012. Funding was provided by Organic Valley Farms, Stonyfield Farm, International Studies Abroad, Animal Welfare Approved, Annie's and Anna Getty. The Food Forward team is working on future episodes on school lunch reform, fishing, alternative agriculture, soil preservation, grassland agriculture, the farm bill, and much more.

Publicity & PR Contact: Julie Kreisler, TKG Marketing, Julie@TKGMarketing.com, 562-472-2787

Program Description

From the rooftop farms of New York City to the food deserts of Detroit, join us as Food Forward explores the explosion of urban agriculture across America. Meet food rebel John Mooney, whose space-age hydroponic farm on top of a historic building in the West Village of Manhattan is a window into the future of rooftop farming. In Milwaukee, meet the biggest name in urban agriculture, Will Allen, who inspires a new generation of aquaponic innovators. We then learn of one woman's transition from hanging out to harvesting food on the streets of West Oakland. Finally, we finish in Detroit with Travis Roberts, an eighteen-year-old who grew up watching the city struggle with increasing urban blight. In trouble and more than 100 pounds overweight, he discovered the city's urban agriculture movement and found a new purpose in life through urban chicken farming. Travis is joined by a cast of powerful characters in Detroit that are rebuilding their city, block by block. Food Forward opens the door into a new world of possibility, where pioneers and visionaries are creating viable alternatives to food systems.

About the Filmmakers

Food Forward is written, produced and directed by a veteran team of journalists, cinematographers and storytellers that includes director Greg Roden (PBS, FOX, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, contributor to the Los Angeles Times, Dallas Morning News, San Francisco Chronicle), creator-producers Stett Holbrook (Food Editor for Metro Silicon Valley and contributor to the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Saveur, and Chow.com) and Brian Greene (Food Network, Discovery Channel, NBC) and director of photography David Lindstrom (PBS, National Geographic, Discovery).
Download detailed Food Forward filmmaker bios (PDF)

About KQED

KQED (kqed.org) has served Northern California for more than 50 years and is affiliated with NPR and PBS. KQED owns and operates public television stations KQED 9 (San Francisco/Bay Area), KQED Plus (San Jose/Bay Area), and KQET 25 (Watsonville/Monterey); KQED Public Radio (88.5FM San Francisco and 89.3FM Sacramento); the interactive platforms kqed.org and KQEDnews.org; and KQED Education. KQED Public Television, one of the nation's most-watched public television stations, is the producer of local and national series such as QUEST; Check, Please! Bay Area; This Week in Northern California; Truly CA; and Essential Pépin. KQED's digital television channels include 9HD, KQED Life, KQED World, KQED Kids, and KQED V-me, and are available 24/7 on Comcast. KQED Public Radio, home of Forum with Michael Krasny and The California Report, is one of the most-listened-to public radio stations in the nation with an award-winning news and public affairs program service delivering more than eighteen local newscasts daily. KQED Interactive provides KQED’s cross-platform news service, KQEDnews.org, as well as offers several popular local blogs, video and audio podcasts, and a live radio stream at kqed.org. KQED Education brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents, and the general public through workshops, community screenings, and multimedia resources.

About PBS

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PBS (pbs.org), with its nearly 360 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 123 million people through television and more than 21 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and its website, pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children.

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Food Forward Captures the Local Food Movement in Urban Agriculture Across America