ANGIE MILES: Food evokes memory, family history, and tradition.

Soul food is closely tied to Black cultural identity.

Documentarian and activist, Byron Hurt's, film called "Soul Food Junkies" addresses the comfort and consequences of the ingredients in soul food.

VPM has collaborated with Byron Hurt on some of his previous documentary work and we welcome him to our program.

Your documentary "Soul Food Junkies" is, of course, part history lesson, part cultural commentary, and part health advisory.

Talk a little bit about what prompted you to make the documentary.

BYRON HURT: I was inspired to make the film after my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and that set off my journey to learn more about how food impacts people, more specifically, Black people and the Black community.

And so, that's what led me to make the film.

ANGIE MILES: Now, it's been more than 10 years, actually, since "Soul Food Junkies" premiered.

What makes the film relevant still, and do you think much has changed over the past decade?

BYRON HURT: Well, I think that many things have changed and some things have stayed the same.

I think what COVID taught us is that when people have lack of access to healthy, nutritious foods, it impacts their overall wellbeing and their overall health, which leads to comorbidities which made Black and Brown people, and people who have low access to healthy food, more vulnerable to COVID and the consequences of COVID, whether it was death, or long-COVID, or other issues related to the pandemic.

And so not being able to have access to quality healthy food is an urgent issue that still needs to be addressed.

I have seen, though, a lot more attention, a lot more focus on food, people's access to food, the quality of food, people paying more attention to eating healthier foods as opposed to processed foods, and a lot more attention being paid to Black farming, urban farming, and people having access to quality, healthy foods.

ANGIE MILES: You have been eating in a more healthy way deliberately since you were in college.

You were an athlete and you changed your dietary habits, but I want to take a quick look at a clip from "Soul Food Junkies."

This is when you went down south to a sporting event and experienced tailgating the soul food way.

Okay, let's take a look.

BYRON HURT: I ran into these brothers who introduced me to their tailgate special.

(upbeat music) (whistle blowing) BYRON HURT: So tell me what you got inside the junk pot.

>>Corn, leg bone, turkey neck.

>>Corn, turkey neck.

BYRON HURT: And what else?

>>Pig ears, pig ears.

>>Potato peels.

>>Pig ears.

>>And pig feet.

>>And pig feet.

>>That's right.

BYRON HURT: All right.

>>And onions and green pepper.

>>Everything ain't good for you in here.

>>All right, so wait, wait.

BYRON HURT: You said everything in here ain't good for you?

>>No!

>>But it good to you, though.

>>Good to you.

BYRON HURT: And then they offered me something to eat.

>>Are you a 10-percenter?

Come on!

Get you some of that pork!

BYRON HURT: It was like my father was right there with me, standing on my shoulder.

I really didn't want to reject their southern hospitality but I stopped eating pork and red meat years ago.

And when I looked into that junk pot and saw that food swimming in all of those pig ears and pig feet, I was like, "Yo, you all are bugging."

But the social pressure got the best of me.

>>We 'gon get you a plate, man.

BYRON HURT: Let me try it.

BYRON HURT:I grabbed a piece of corn hoping they'd be satisfied but my man right here wasn't happy.

>>Get you a turkey neck!

>>I'm good, I'm good.

>>Get you a turkey neck, man!

Hold up man, hold up, hold up.

Hold up, hold up.

You got to have this right here.

You got to have this.

>>I'm good, I'm good.

>>Taste it!

Come on, taste it!

Taste it.

>>All right, I'ma take it.

>>Uh uh, you got to taste it in front of us!

>>I'm going to taste it right now.

>>All right, taste it.

It ain't right telling people it ain't right.

BYRON HURT: Yo, I cannot front, that turkey neck drenched in pork juice was delicious.

ANGIE MILES: You were kind of pressured by your peers there in the group to sample some food that you don't normally eat.

But what does that say about the sense of belonging that comes with certain types of food and certain ways of eating?

Like, are you not really Black if you don't eat this food?

Talk about that.

BYRON HURT: Especially when it comes to Black people and especially when it comes to soul food, you know, soul food can be what earns you your Black card or has your Black card revoked.

And I think that's what makes that scene so relatable and so funny because of that reason alone.

And so because of the fact that I had changed my eating habits over the years and no longer ate some of those traditional soul foods that, I guess, are considered to be a part of our culinary tradition, it just made for a very funny, humorous moment.

ANGIE MILES: A lot of what is considered soul food comes from what people had to eat because they had nothing else.

What is the connection to slavery and poverty in the soul food diet?

BYRON HURT: Well, I really don't want to disparage any of those foods because many of those foods helped us to survive some really difficult times during the period of enslavement when Black people were not afforded access to the top quality foods that white people had access to.

And so that's what enabled us to make it through the really horrible journey and experience that was the period of slavery.

But many of us hold onto some of those traditional foods, even though there's more information that we have today that suggests that eating too much it can lead to some really serious health consequences.

And so the point of the film is that we can continue to enjoy soul food if we cook it and prepare it in much healthier ways.

ANGIE MILES: What are some of the differences in preparation from the old days to now that can still keep the food not bland, but flavorful and delicious and worth the time and worth eating?

BYRON HURT: Well, Angie, there's such a range of ways that people are preparing soul food now.

There's an abundance of vegetarian restaurants that are preparing soul food in different ways or even incorporating vegetarian or even vegan options at traditional soul food restaurants because soul food restaurant owners are aware that people's eating habits have changed and people would like to have some healthier options, even as they enjoy the traditional soul foods.

So cooking it with different oils as opposed to some of the traditional oils that we've cooked it with, replacing the meats to season the food.

Like instead of pork or turkey necks, just using red pepper flakes and olive oil and preparing it in a different way.

I mean, I eat lots of kale, I eat collard greens, I eat black eyed peas, I love black eyed peas.

I love all sorts of like beans and legumes that are considered to be a part of the soul food tradition.

And so there are definitely ways in which we can continue to enjoy soul food and just eat it in a very different way.

And it still tastes good.

ANGIE MILES: And historically speaking too, some of those foods that you mentioned are staples in Africa.

So there's a through line there from African traditional foods, yams, and different types of, and those same foods being enjoyed as soul food today.

But as you say, there are ways to cook it hopefully with more access and more knowledge so that it's still delicious, it's still soul food, but it's healthier for you than maybe some of the foods that we ate in the old traditional ways.

Thanks for taking the time to be with us and continued success to you.

BYRON HURT: And thank you so much for having me.

I really appreciate it.