KCET knows how to keep it real when it comes to sharing news and stories. Something else they’re really great at? Food videos. They currently have a series of videos that teach you how to make certain food items and now have a little documentary series on local farms that debuted in May. The series is California’s Small Farms and it shares processes, ideologies, and the details that go into being a farmer in California.

There are three little four minute documentaries in the series: a video on Spring Street Farm Project in Long Beach, a video on Kenter Canyon Farms in Sun Valley, and a video on Jimenez Family Farm in Santa Ynez. Each video shares the farmers telling their story of how they became farmers, what their specialty is, who they are selling to, and their feelings on various aspects of food culture. The videos also show a wide variety of types of farming, juxtaposing a very urban neighborhood farm that is Spring Street with a commercial, high end farm that caters to fine dining establishments like Kenter Canyon. The atmosphere in each are very different despite there being clear ties from one farm to the next.

The videos and stories are very well made and finely produced. They flow together almost seamlessly and the subjects are so incredibly engaging. Each of the pieces are produced and directed by Katherine Spiers of KCET who worked with a cinematographer, sound person, and editor to make these videos. They truly are wonderful bite sized peeks into where our food comes from, putting faces with the food many of us have gotten locally. Our favorite is the one that was released today on the Jimenez Family Farm. Marcie Jimenez is the star of the video as she is so sharp and has a wise approach to eating animals and educating eaters on eating animals. It’s great.

Catch the three videos below and pass them along to a friend. The series is a great example of the rich food culture in Southern California as well as the availability of farm-to-table eating.