In this edition of the Pocket Change Collective, meet chef and food activist Gaby Melian as she shares her life story and belief that our relationship with food can be a powerful motivator for change.

“The pages are dripping with delicious smells and tastes, and will give you a new way to look at both cooking and what it means to have a plan.”—Molly Birnbaum, editor in chief, America’s Test Kitchen Kids

“We should all be like Gaby—cook a little more, share a little more, and smell a little more.”—Claire Saffitz, New York Times bestselling author and chef

In Food-Related Stories, chef and activist Gaby Melian shares her journey with food—from growing up in Argentina to her time as a street vendor and later as Bon Appétit’s test kitchen manager. Powerful and full of heart, Melian explores how we can develop a relationship with food that’s personal, healthy, and thoughtful—and how that’s a form of activism in its own right.

Pocket Change Collective was born out of a need for space. Space to think. Space to connect. Space to be yourself. And this is your invitation to join us. This is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists.