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Jerry James Stone, a longtime food vlogger and influencer, announced that he has landed sufficient funding to launch a television show. He’s been developing the concept for over two years.
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The show evolved from a web series he created called “What Am I Even Eating?” Sponsored by California Grown, the short-form videos showcased the history, etymology, culinary function and production of major California-grown crops such as pistachios, olives and grapes.
The new show, which as yet is unnamed, will be a practical guide to buying and cooking produce seasonally for health and financial security.
“I will be producing 13 episodes of the show. We’ll probably start production in the next couple of weeks, and then we’re aiming to finalize scripts and all that. Probably early next year we will start filming in the spring with the idea, hopefully, with a plan of a fall premiere,” Stone said.
According to Stone, the show is intended to increase food literacy, a topic he feels is absent from most food content on television today.
“There’s a million cooking shows out there, and a lot of times it’s you know a pretty host in a pretty kitchen with pretty food, and sometimes not all the info needed to make healthy food. Knowing that nine in 10 Americans just don’t eat enough produce, this show is really about giving people accessible information and then really low-friction recipes, just to get people to explore eating more fruits and veggies without having to have 20 ingredients and cook something that takes three hours,” he said.
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Stone landed a $440,000 grant as part of a block grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which is in turn funded by the USDA as part of the Farm Bill.
While Stone has yet to fully build his team, he’s been able to pull some star power right out of the gate, including musician Stella Parton, younger sister of Dolly Parton, who participated with him in previous videos.
Once the season is complete, the show will be made available via PBS’s distributor, so it may potentially air on KVIE. He aims to also make it available on streaming platforms such as Amazon Video, Tubi and Fast TV.
With funding secured, Stone is steeling himself for the next big steps.
“I’ve been trying to find the right people to work with and help develop this to hopefully not suck. It’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done professionally, and it’s not even done yet,” he said.
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