"You're never too old to become who you want to be" is a simple yet powerful statement that Dr. Robert Lee Grant says in front of both children and adults as he begins to introduce himself and his award winning film Nourishing The Kids of Katrina. A retired college professor who traded books for cameras and film and since doing so, his film has been accepted as an official selection in 19 film festivals all over the world including the Cannes Film Festival and has won three awards; the Award of Excellence: Feature Documentary at The Accolade Competition Film Festival, Best International Documentary Film at the London Film Festival and Best Documentary Short Film at the Charlotte Film Festival.
Born and raised in Hempstead, N.Y., Grant climbed the educational ladder to earn a doctoral degree in Business Economics from the University of Stockholm, Sweden. Fluent in French, Swedish and Norwegian, he eventually returned to the states and taught at the University of California at Berkeley. Life seemed to evolve around his business, Golden Gate Designs, teaching and raising his daughter. And in 2005, that all changed.
In the fall of 2004, his daughter decided to go East for college and Grant decided to retire and set out on a new journey himself. Going South was the destination and he would set up camp in New Orleans for what he thought would just be a short period. Days turned into months and soon he found himself buying a house in March of 2005 and calling "The Big Easy" home. Fast forward five months later and the country's worst natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina, came through the city and showed no mercy. Grant was able to evacuate and get to safety.
Returning to find that his home was in the 20% of those not damaged, he eventually sold it and headed back West. When his daughter was accepted to do a summer internship in Southern California, Grant went on to look for his next adventure in the area. What do they do in Hollywood he asked? Make films. But the programs were too expensive for the short period of time he would be there and so he found one in San Francisco that would provide the foundation for the success he is experiencing today.
Get Hip to Good Food – The Edible Schoolyard was the first film produced by Grant in 2006 to help The Alice Waters Foundation. With a new found interest and passion in introducing children to the options of growing and eating fresh fruits and vegetables, Grant went on to work as the official videographer for Alice Waters' new project, an edible schoolyard at the Green Charter School in New Orleans.
Over the next three years, Grant would enjoy the whole experience as well as witness the transformation of the educators and the students. His latest film, Nourishing the Kids of Katrina – The Edible Schoolyard, is a 31-minute story about the project and how the edible schoolyard ignited everyone's desire to see that all children have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, it showcases the important role that healthy nutrition plays in fighting childhood obesity which is a growing health issue in our country.
Today, he is on a mission to tackle this issue and currently is screening the movie at various schools and churches. He is also actively involved in similar projects with schools who are implementing some type of an "edible schoolyard" of their own.
His next major project is to introduce African-American churches to the concept of an "edible churchyard" to help address childhood and adult obesity as well as other chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
When he looks back at the last four years, it is amazing how Hurricane Katrina not only brought death to so many lives, but also birthed an unexpected journey to a new found livelihood. One that Grant would never have thought he would be planning or pursuing. And one that gave confirmation that "You are never too old to become who you want to be."
To review the trailer and request more information about hosting a screening, go to www.nourishingthekids.com.
