DECEMBER 28, 2024

I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. WELCOME TO MATTER OF FACT, THE HOLIDAYS ARE FILLED WITH FOOD, FAMILY AND REMINISCING. AND TODAY OUR SHOW HAS A BIT OF IT ALL. FIRST, FOOD. HIS MINNEAPOLIS RESTAURANT HAS A MENU DATING BACK CENTURIES. I DIDN’T GO TO SCHOOL FOR CULINARY. HIS JOURNEY FROM THE PINE RIDGE RESERVATION IN SOUTH DAKOTA. WE HAD GOVERNMENT CEREALS, GOVERNMENT POWDERED MILK, YOU KNOW, GOVERNMENT, JUST EVERYTHING TO BECOMING A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED, AWARD WINNING CHEF. PLUS FAMILY. HE RAISED HIS SON FROM THE TIME HE WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD, TO BE A GENERAL IN THE UNITED STATES MILITARY. THE COUNTRY’S FIRST BLACK GENERALS, A FATHER AND SON. MY CONVERSATION WITH THEIR GREAT NEPHEW AS HE UNCOVERS HIS FAMILY’S LEGACY AND IMPACT ON TODAY’S MILITARY, AND REMINISCING THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, HAS THE AUDACIOUS GOAL OF OF COLLECTING THE WORLD’S KNOWLEDGE. WE VISIT THE NATION’S LIBRARY TO SEE THE UNIQUE EXHIBIT SHOWCASING SOME OF OUR COLLECTIVE MEMORIES. THOSE STORIES RIGHT NOW ON MATTER OF FACT. FOOD IS OFTEN AT THE CENTER OF OUR HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS. WHAT’S ON THE TABLE CAN TELL A STORY AT THE OWAMNI RESTAURANT IN MINNEAPOLIS. IT’S THE STORY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE. THE RESTAURANT WAS CREATED BY CHEF SEAN SHERMAN, AN OGLALA LAKOTA MEMBER FROM THE PINE RIDGE RESERVATION IN SOUTH DAKOTA. THE DISHES ARE MADE WITH INGREDIENTS AVAILABLE BEFORE EUROPEANS CAME TO NORTH AMERICA, AND THEY’RE DELICIOUS. SHERMAN IS A JULIA CHILD AND JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER, AND OUR CORRESPONDENT LEONE LAKHANI VISITED HIS RESTAURANT TO FIND OUT WHAT DRIVES THIS SOUS CHEF. THAT’S S I O U X. AS HE MAKES HIS MARK ON CULINARY CULTURE. IT’S JUST BEFORE 11 A.M. IN MINNEAPOLIS, AND THE STAFF OF THE OWAMNI RESTAURANT IS PREPARING FOR SERVICE. 143 ON THE BOOKS THIS MORNING, THE RESTAURANT’S FOUNDER, CHEF SEAN SHERMAN, CREATED THE SPACE IN 2021 TO CELEBRATE AMERICA’S NATIVE ROOTS. IT’S CALLED THE EVOLUTION REVOLUTION. IT’S ABSORBING AS MUCH AS WE CAN FROM OUR ANCESTRY, BUT ALSO MOVING FORWARD WITH IT. HANDS, PLEASE. IT’S EVIDENT IN ALL ASPECTS OF THE RESTAURANT, FROM THE STAFF TO ITS LOCATION, SITUATED ON LAND THAT ONCE BELONGED TO THE DAKOTA PEOPLE AND MOST IMPORTANT, HERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS. THIS IS OUR 16 OUNCE SMOKED BISON RIBEYE WITH OUR SWEET POTATO MASH. IT GOES BACK TO WHEN OUR HUNTING RIGHTS WERE TAKEN AWAY FROM US. THEN OUR FORAGING RIGHTS WERE TAKEN AWAY WITH THE MUSTARD GREENS. SHERMAN CALLS IT DECOLONIZING FOOD, USING INGREDIENTS THAT INDIGENOUS AMERICANS USED BEFORE EUROPEAN COLONIZERS ARRIVED ON THEIR SHORES. WE ARE CUTTING OUT DAIRY, WHEAT FLOUR, CANE SUGAR, BEEF, PORK, CHICKEN AND FOCUSING ON A LOT MORE PLANT DIVERSITY. FOCUSING ON A LOT MORE PROTEIN DIVERSITY. IT’S A LONG WAY FROM SHERMAN’S OWN UPBRINGING ON THE PINE RIDGE RESERVATION IN SOUTH DAKOTA. AS A MEMBER OF THE OGLALA LAKOTA SIOUX TRIBE, WHERE HE GREW UP EATING FOODS PROVIDED THROUGH A GOVERNMENT COMMODITY PROGRAM. SO WE HAD A LOT OF JUST BASIC STAPLES GOVERNMENT, CEREALS, GOVERNMENT POWDERED MILK, YOU KNOW, GOVERNMENT, JUST EVERYTHING. BUT THEN HIS MOTHER MOVED HIM AND HIS SISTER TO NEARBY SPEARFISH, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND HE STARTED COOKING OUT OF NECESSITY. MY MOM WAS OFF EITHER AT SCHOOL OR AT WORK, SO I WAS ALWAYS MAKING DINNERS FOR MY SISTER AND MYSELF AND JUST LEARNING HOW TO COOK SOME BASICS AT HOME. AT THE AGE OF 13, HE GOT HIS FIRST RESTAURANT JOB. OVER THE YEARS, HE MOVED UP THE RANKS, BUT THEN TIRED AND BURNT OUT. HE TOOK A BREAK IN MEXICO. I JUST KIND OF SAW THIS EPIPHANY OF WHAT TO DO. I KNEW SO MUCH ABOUT EUROPEAN STYLE COOKING, BUT I REALLY REALIZED THAT I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT MY OWN HERITAGE. AND SO THE CONCEPT OF THE SOUS CHEF WAS BORN. IT WAS JUST KIND OF PLACING MYSELF IN THE TIME SET, LIKE IF I WAS HERE A COUPLE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, WHAT KIND OF FOODS WERE AROUND ME, WHAT KIND OF PLANTS WERE BEING UTILIZED, WHAT WERE THE COOKING TECHNIQUES? HIS COOKBOOK AND RESTAURANT SOON FOLLOWED, USING THE SUCCESS OF THE RESTAURANT, SHERMAN LAUNCHED TWO OTHER VENTURES AIMED AT REACHING A BROADER AUDIENCE OUR MARKETPLACE, THAT SELLS GOODS FROM INDIGENOUS PRODUCERS BOTH IN-STORE AND ONLINE, AND IN INDIGENOUS FOOD LAB. WE DO ALL TYPES OF THINGS HERE MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS TO HELP YOUTH LEARN HOW TO COOK. IT’S ALL PART OF SHERMAN’S PLAN TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ON A WIDER SCALE, BUT ALSO THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES THEMSELVES, PARTICULARLY PLAGUED BY HEALTH ISSUES. WE SEE IT IN THE STATISTICS WITH, YOU KNOW, IMMENSE RATES OF TYPE TWO DIABETES AND HIGH RATES OF OBESITY AND HEART DISEASE. SO WE’RE TRYING TO MAKE NECESSARY STEPS TO CHANGE THAT IMMEDIATELY. AND HOW DO YOU DO THAT, SHAWN? BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, HERE YOU’VE GOT YOUR RESTAURANT, YOU’VE GOT THE FOOD LAB. ARE YOU LIKE PHYSICALLY GOING AND TRYING TO TEACH PEOPLE ABOUT FOOD? HOW ARE YOU PRACTICALLY DOING THAT? WE’RE JUST TRYING TO BECOME A SUPPORT CENTER TO HELP STEWARD A LOT OF THIS KNOWLEDGE. WE COULD WORK WITH TRIBAL COMMUNITIES AND WE CAN HELP THEM DEVELOP THEIR OWN SITUATION, LIKE IF THEY HAVE A CASINO OR SOMETHING, WE CAN HELP THEM WITH RESTAURANT CONCEPTS. WE CAN TRAIN SOME OF THEIR CHEFS TOO, BECAUSE IF WE CAN GET SOME TRIBES TO BE REALLY INVESTED IN WORKING TOWARDS THEIR OWN FOOD SECURITY, WE’LL START TO SEE A LOT OF IMPACT ON THE HEALTH ISSUES THAT ARE OUT THERE FOR 15, A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS BEYOND HIS OWN FARM. MATTER OF FACT, I’M LEONE LAKHANI IN MINNEAPOLIS NEXT ON. MATTER OF FACT, HE WAS ELIGIBLE TO BECOME AMERICA’S FIRST BLACK FOUR STAR GENERAL, BENJAMIN O. DAVIS SR ROSE THROUGH THE RANKS OF A SEGREGATED MILITARY, BUT LBJ DIDN’T FEEL HE COULD GET ANY MORE POLITICAL GAINS OUT OF ALLOWING THAT HE WAS DONE. HE WAS. THAT WAS IT. UNCOVERING THE CHALLENGES OF AMERICA’S FIRST BLACK GENERAL, PLUS, CHARITIES HAVE SEEN DONATIONS DROP. A LOOK AT THE TECH UPGRADES THAT COULD HELP THESE ORGANIZATIONS. BOTTOM LINE, AND A HANDWRITTEN GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. A GOLDEN RECORD FROM SPACE AND ORIGINAL SPIDER-MAN COMIC PANELS, ALL IN ONE ROOM. HOW THESE ARTIFACTS CAPTURE OUR COLLECTIVE MEMORIES. YOU’RE WATCHING, MATTER OF FACT, AMERICA’S NUMBER ONE NATIONALLY SYNDICATED PUBLIC AFFAIRS NEWS MAGAZINE. DOUGMELVILLE SPENT TEN YEARS RESEARCHING HIS FAMILY’S LEGACY. WHAT HE UNCOVERED WAS SO FASCINATING THAT HE SPENT ANOTHER TWO YEARS WRITING ABOUT IT. MELVILLE IS A DESCENDANT OF BENJAMIN O. DAVIS, SR AND BENJAMIN O. DAVIS, JR. SENIOR WAS AMERICA’S FIRST BLACK GENERAL, AND JR WAS THE COMMANDER OF THE RED TAILS. AMERICA’S FIRST BLACK FLYING SQUADRON. WHILE BOTH SHAPED OUR COUNTRY’S MILITARY. MELVILLE NOTICED THEY WERE LARGELY LEFT OUT OF HISTORY. HE WENT ON A MISSION TO CORRECT THAT. MELVILLE JOINED ME IN STUDIO EARLIER THIS YEAR TO TALK ABOUT HIS RESULTING BOOK, INVISIBLE GENERALS. IT’S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. MY PLEASURE. OF COURSE, OF COURSE. SO TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE. I DON’T EVEN THINK THE WORD LIKE RACIAL OBSTACLES. THAT’S JUST NOT ENOUGH THAT THAT BEN SR WOULD HAVE TO ENCOUNTER. HE WOULD GO THROUGH, YOU KNOW, NO FOOD. HE WAS THE LAST PERSON TO EAT THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE LIVING ACCOMMODATIONS, FULLY SEGREGATED. SO YOU GET THE WORST GUNS, THE WORST EQUIPMENT, YOU KNOW, REALLY GOING THROUGH JUST OPERATING WITH THE MINIMUM, BUT ALWAYS BEING POSITIVE AND ALWAYS SAYING, WE HAVE TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION SO THE NEXT GENERATION CAN MAKE A CONTRIBUTION. SO WHEN HIS SON WANTED TO GET INTO WEST POINT IN 1932, THEY HAD TO MOVE THE FAMILY TO CHICAGO JUST TO GET THE SIGNATURE OF THE ONLY BLACK REPRESENTATIVE WHO WAS ALLOWING BLACKS TO ENTER WEST POINT. AND THEN HE GETS TO WEST POINT AND THEY DON’T KNOW HIS RACE. SO ON THE SECOND DAY, THEY HAVE A MEETING AND THEY ALL THE CADETS, ALL THE STAFF, ALL THE FACULTY GET TOGETHER AND SAY, WE ACCIDENTALLY LET A BLACK SOLDIER IN. WE ARE TO SILENCE HIM AND TREAT HIM AS IF HE’S INVISIBLE UNTIL HE DROPS OUT. SO THAT WAS WHEN BEN JR CALLED HIS DAD AND SAID, DAD, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST HAD A MEETING ABOUT ME. AND HE GOES, SON, I RAISED YOU FOR THIS. THERE’S 13 MILLION BLACKS ON THE OUTSIDE THAT ARE ROOTING FOR YOU. AND BEN JR SAID, IT’S TOO BAD NONE OF THEM ARE IN HERE. AND THAT BEGAN HIS QUEST FOR FOUR YEARS. HE WENT TO WEST POINT 50 WEEKS A YEAR WITH NO HUMAN INTERACTION. IT’S AMAZING HISTORY. BEN SENIOR HAD TO RETIRE. WHY? BEN DAVIS SENIOR WAS CRITICAL TO WRITING THE INTEGRATION POLICY FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. HE WAS THE ONLY GENERAL WHO HAD GONE THROUGH SEGREGATION. HE KNEW EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY, EVERY RIVET IN THE SHIP. AND WHEN HE GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE THAT WITH TRUMAN, TRUMAN THEN ASKED HIM TO RETIRE JUST A WEEK BEFORE HE UNVEILED THE POLICY. SO BEN DAVIS SENIOR’S NAME WAS REMOVED FROM ALL THE DOCUMENTATION, AND THEN, EVEN FOR BEN JUNIOR, HE WOULD BECOME A FOUR STAR GENERAL. BUT IT IT TOOK A VERY LONG TIME. AND WHAT HAPPENED IN 1967, HE WAS ELIGIBLE TO BECOME A FOUR STAR GENERAL. AMERICA’S FIRST BLACK FOUR STAR GENERAL. BUT LBJ AT THAT TIME DIDN’T FEEL HE COULD GET ANY MORE POLITICAL GAINS OUT OF ALLOWING THAT PROMOTION. HE WAS DONE. THAT WAS IT. THE PRESIDENT’S REALLY USED BEN JUNIOR AND SENIOR, REALLY, AS POLITICAL ALLIES TO GET VOTES AND MOVE POLICY THROUGH. AND IT WASN’T UNTIL 1998, AFTER 12 YEARS OF LOBBYING BY SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, THAT BILL CLINTON PROMOTED HIM TO FULL FOUR STAR GENERAL. BUT WITH THAT PROMOTION CAME IN MY LIFE, ONE OF THE MOST EMOTIONAL MOMENTS IN OUR FAMILY, BECAUSE IN ORDER TO GET THE FOURTH STAR, WHICH THEY’RE ACKNOWLEDGING, WE DID NOT GET IN THE 60S, OKAY, SO THERE’S NO CONFUSION HERE. WE’RE GOING TO THE WHITE HOUSE GROUNDS TO GET IT FROM THE PRESIDENT. SO WE KNOW THE REGAL NATURE OF THIS. BUT IN ORDER TO GET THE STAR, WE HAD TO SIGN A PIECE OF PAPER THAT SAID WE WOULD NOT GET ANY FINANCIAL COMPENSATION FROM THE YEARS BACK, OR IF HE LIVED THE YEARS FORWARD. YOU DIDN’T JUST WRITE THIS BOOK. YOU’VE GONE FURTHER. YES. SO PART OF MY MISSION WAS WHEN I HEARD THE STORY, TO GO BACK AND FOLLOW THEIR TRACKS, TO TELL THOSE INSTITUTIONS WHERE THEY LIVED AND THEY WORKED, AND THEY WERE ASSIGNED THE STORY. AND AFTER I SHARED THE STORY AND WORKED WITH WEST POINT, WE CUT THE RIBBON. IN 2017 ON THE BENJAMIN O. DAVIS JR BARRACKS, THE LARGEST, MOST EXPENSIVE BARRACKS BUILDING IN THE HISTORY OF THE CAMPUS. AMAZING. BEN USED TO ALWAYS SAY TO ME, DOUG, THE IMPOSSIBLE TAKES TIME, BUT IN TIME YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH THE IMPOSSIBLE. SO I FEEL LIKE I’M A CONTINUATION OF THEIR STORY TO DO THINGS IN MY TIME THAT THEY COULDN’T ACCOMPLISH IN THEIR TIME. CONGRATULATIONS. REALLY KEEPING THAT LINE OF DESCENDANTS WORKING TO DO WHAT THE ORIGINAL BEN SENIOR HAD SAID. YOU’RE GOING TO TAKE IT AS FAR AS IT’LL GO. THE BOOK IS CALLED INVISIBLE GENERALS. DOUGMELVILLE IS THE AUTHOR. IT’S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU IN THE STUDIO SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. COMING UP, THE LIBRARY IS NOT JUST OLD STUFF. WE TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THIS UNIQUE EXHIBIT AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS THAT HAS A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. AND IN 1891, JOSEPH MCFEE PUT OUT TWO KETTLES IN SAN FRANCISCO, ASKING PASSERSBY TO THROW IN THEIR SPARE CHANGE TO HELP THOSE IN NEED, CREATING THE SALVATION ARMY’S RED KETTLE CAMPAIGN. HOW THAT TRADITION IS GETTING A TECH UPGRADE TODAY. WELCOME BACK TO MATTER OF FACT, VISITING WITH LOVED ONES, REUNITING WITH FRIENDS. THE HOLIDAYS ARE FULL OF STORYTELLING AND REMINISCING, AND THAT GOT US HERE AT MATTER OF FACT, THINKING ABOUT AN EXHIBIT THAT’S TRYING TO TAP INTO THOSE SHARED MEMORIES ON A NATIONAL SCALE. IT’S AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, THE LARGEST LIBRARY IN THE WORLD, LOCATED ON CAPITOL HILL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SITS RIGHT NEXT TO THE SUPREME COURT. BUT EVEN WITH ITS PROMINENT LOCATION, THE STAFF THERE WISHES THAT MORE PEOPLE WOULD VISIT. SO THEY’VE LAUNCHED AN EXHIBIT THAT HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. HERE’S CURATOR CHERYL REGAN. OUR NAME, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, IS CONFUSING TO THE PUBLIC. THEY THINK IT’S JUST A LIBRARY FOR CONGRESS. IT’S REALLY THE NATIONAL LIBRARY. IT’S EVERYONE’S LIBRARY. IT HAS THE AUDACIOUS GOAL OF OF COLLECTING THE WORLD’S KNOWLEDGE, THE COLLECTING MEMORIES EXHIBITION IS DIVIDED INTO VERY, VERY BROAD CATEGORIES LIKE COLLECTIVE MEMORY AND GUIDING MEMORY, WHICH ARE THE TOOLS THAT WE USE TO REMEMBER ENTERING THE EXHIBIT, YOU WOULD SEE TABLETS THAT ARE 4000 YEARS OLD. YOU WOULD SEE THE BLACKWELL FAMILY CHART, WHICH IS A GENEALOGICAL FAMILY TREE. THE FIRST PANELS FOR SPIDERMAN. I WOULD DESCRIBE IT AS A SAMPLER, REALLY, OF THE BROAD RANGE OF WHAT THE LIBRARY COLLECTS. WE HAVE THE LARGEST LINCOLN COLLECTION HERE AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS OF ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. SO WE HAVE A COPY OF THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS, BUT IT’S LINCOLN WRITING OUT THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS IN HIS OWN HAND. YOU CAN SEE THE FOLD LINES. WE THINK THIS WAS THE READING COPY, PROBABLY TUCKED IN HIS BREAST POCKET. THE POWER OF SEEING AN ACTUAL OBJECT IS REALLY THE THE BEAUTY OF COMING TO AN EXHIBITION. I’M THRILLED ABOUT THIS. THIS GOLDEN RECORD. IT WAS PRODUCED BY NASA. IT’S MOUNTED TO THE VOYAGER ONE AND TWO SATELLITES, WHICH WENT INTO SPACE IN 1977. IT CONTAINS SOUNDS AND IMAGES OF EARTH. IT REALLY SPEAKS TO THE THEME OF THE EXHIBITION COLLECTING MEMORIES, HOW THEY WANTED TO REPRESENT EARTH TO INTERSTELLAR BEINGS. THE EXHIBIT ALSO INCLUDES HOME MOVIES, AND THOSE ARE IN SOME CASES, ANONYMOUS. WE DON’T KNOW WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA, AND WE DON’T KNOW WHO’S IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA. THEY COULD BE IMAGES THAT WERE TAKEN IN PEOPLE’S LIVING ROOMS, BUT THEN WE GET SUBJECTS. YOU RECOGNIZE CHARLIE CHAPLIN, ALBERT EINSTEIN, COLLECTING MEMORIES IS WHAT WE DO. AND THIS IS REALLY AT THE HEART OF IT. ABOUT THE LIBRARY’S COLLECTIONS. I WANT PEOPLE THAT COME TO THE EXHIBITION TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LIBRARY IS, BUT ALSO TO WALK AWAY WITH A SENSE OF WONDER. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THIS IS THEIR LIBRARY, THAT IT ALL BELONGS TO THEM. THE EXHIBIT RUNS THROUGH DECEMBER 2025, AHEAD ON MATTER OF FACT, THE GIVING SEASON HAS BEEN SEEING A BIT LESS GIVING. WHY? AMERICANS JUST AREN’T DONATING AS MUCH. PLUS, THE CRANBERRIES. NO, NOT THEM. THAT’S THE ONE. YEAH. OKAY. THE CRANBERRIES. WE’LL SHARE SOME SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT THIS HOLIDAY STAPLE TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH. MATTER OF FACT, SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER AT @MATTEROFFACTTIS T BUT IN RECENT YEARS, AMERICANS HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING TO DO THAT. THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE DONATING HAS DROPPED STEADILY SINCE 2021. WHY ARE PEOPLE GIVING LESS? THE GENOROSITY COMMISSION, WHICH IS MADE UP OF 200 PHILANTHROPIC LEADERS, RELEASED A REPORT. THEY POINT TO SEVERAL FACTORS ECONOMIC INSECURITY, DECLINING TRUST IN INSTITUTIONS, MORE SOCIAL DISCONNECTION AND CHANGING TAX INCENTIVES. THE DECREASE TENDS TO HURT SMALLER COMMUNITY BASED NONPROFITS THAT RELY ON LOCAL CONTRIBUTIONS. AND AS WE SHIFT TO A MORE PAPERLESS SOCIETY, SPUR OF THE MOMENT, CASH DONATIONS HAVE DECLINED. IN 2021, THE SALVATION ARMY DEBUTED THEIR TAP TO GIVE KETTLES, ENCOURAGING DONORS TO TAP THEIR CREDIT CARDS OR PHONES TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION. EVEN WITH THAT, TECH UPGRADE, DONATIONS DROPPED, BRINGING IN $102 MILLION IN 2022, COMPARED TO $126 MILLION IN 2019. THERE WAS A SLIGHT INCREASE LAST YEAR, RAKING IN $104 MILLION. THE MOVE AWAY FROM CARRYING CASH ALSO HURTS MANY HOMELESS PEOPLE. THE SAMARITAN APP IS TRYING TO BRIDGE THAT GIVING GAP. WORKERS DISTRIBUTE SPECIAL CARDS WITH A QR CODE TO THOSE IN NEED. DONORS CAN SCAN THE CODE AND GIVE DIRECTLY WITH THE HELP OF A CASE MANAGER. THE UNHOUSED PERSON CAN ACCESS THE MONEY FOR FOOD OR CLOTHING OR HOUSING. THE PROGRAM OPERATES IN AT LEAST SIX CITIES, WITH PLANS TO EXPAND. STILL AHEAD ON MATTER OF FACT, CORRESPONDENT JOEY CHEN DIVES IN. I CAN STEP INTO THIS. YEP. YOU CAN STEP RIGHT IN THERE TO UNCOVER THE BACK STORY OF A HOLIDAY STAPLE, THE HUMBLE AND FINALLY, A WORD ABOUT ONE OF THE FOODS ON YOUR HOLIDAY TABLE. THE CRANBERRY MAY NOT GET MUCH ATTENTION, BUT IT’S ACTUALLY A PRETTY INTERESTING FRUIT. OUR SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR, JOEY CHEN SHARES SOME OF THE LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT THE HUMBLE CRANBERRY. I CAN STEP INTO THIS. YEP. YOU CAN STEP RIGHT IN THERE. WOW. WE’RE DEEP RIGHT? THIS IS WHERE IT GETS A LITTLE HAIRY. CRANBERRIES DON’T GROW UNDER WATER. GROWERS FLOOD THE FIELDS TO HARVEST THEM. WHERE, IT TURNS OUT MOST OF THE WORLD’S CRANBERRIES ARE GROWN IN CENTRAL WISCONSIN. NOT THE NORTHEAST. THE BERRIES, LIKE COLD STICK, WHITE ONES IN THE FRIDGE. THEY’LL TURN RED. AND THE NAME CRAN. CAUSE THEY LOOK A LITTLE LIKE RED HEADED CRANES. AND BARRY SCIENCE SAYS THEY’RE NOT BERRIES AT ALL. WHAT DOES RING TRUE IS THEIR PLACE AT THE TABLE. GROWER. AMBER BRISTOW. CRANBERRIES ARE NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA. IT’S ONE OF THE FEW NATIVE FRUITS, AND THERE’S NO BETTER TIME TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THAN DURING THE HOLIDAY. FOOD FOR THOUGHT. FOR MATTER OF FACT, I’M JOEY CHEN IN WARRENS WISCONSIN. THAT’S IT FOR THIS EDITION OF MATTER OF FACT, I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. WISHING ALL OF YOU A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON. WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE NEXT WEEK FOR. MATTER OF FACT, TO WATCH MORE STORIES LIKE THIS ANYTIME, HEAD TO MATTEROFFACTTV.