Shows such as Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown,” Padma Lakshmi’s “Taste the Nation” and many more have given viewers a look at how food reflects culture. Portland has been featured in some other food-centric series, including “Street Food: USA” and “Somebody Feed Phil.” Now, a Portland-made documentary series provides a genuinely local exploration of food and cooking, by focusing on residents in one of the most diverse regions in Oregon.

“Food Foray,” from Metro East Community Media, looks at the experiences and traditions of people who are part of immigrant and refugee communities in East Multnomah County. The first three episodes – director Ivana Horvat is hoping to make more – will screen at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 29 at the Hollywood Theatre, as part of the Portland EcoFilm Festival.

In the first three 20-minute episodes, viewers meet immigrants from the Republic of Georgia, Oaxaca, Mexico, and Myanmar. The series host, Jessica Ballard Thiessen, and the East County residents visit grocery stores such as Babushka Russian Deli and Bakery, Supermercado Mexico, and Mingala Market. Then, Jessica visits the documentary subjects’ homes, to eat foods traditional to their cultures, and to talk about their countries of origin, and the challenges of adapting to a new home in a new place.

Horvat, a documentary filmmaker who is herself a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina, says the idea for “Food Foray” came about after one of the producers at Metro East Community Media was interested in doing a studio-based cooking show. That evolved into the approach that “Food Foray” episodes take, which go into the community and highlight people as they prepare and serve food.

“Food kind of disarms us, and connects us,” says Horvat. “We all rely on food, and we all have stories connected to it, whether they’re cultural or not. When I visit other countries, I find you can always talk about your food. It gives you something to prepare together.”

In “Food Foray,” the conversations in kitchens and over the dinner table lend themselves to a more intimate atmosphere, Horvat says.

As a refugee who came to the United States in 1994, Horvat says, “I’m obviously pro-immigration. I think it’s really important to humanize immigrant stories, and immigrant experiences.”

Horvat also wants “Food Foray” to help raise awareness about East Multnomah County and Gresham. “There are issues in the community around food deserts, and areas that have limited access to nutritious food,” she says. “But there are a ton of international markets,” and her hope is that “Food Foray” may inspire people who don’t ordinarily shop in those stores to check them out.

While Portland is known as “one of the biggest food cities in the world,” Horvat says, with national media attention showered on Rose City restaurants and food carts, East Multnomah County has its own “authentic, no-frills” food scene, provided by “a lot of the people that were resettled here,” Horvat says. “The food they’re making is fresh from their country.”

Jessica Ballard Thiessen, a creative project manager who hosts the first three “Food Foray” episodes, says getting involved with the series made perfect sense because “my love language is food.”

In the first episode, Ballard Thiessen, whose heritage is Black and Indigenous, says she can relate to a refugee from the Eastern European country of Georgia, who talks about feeling torn between cultures.

The series, she hopes, can help people learn more about other cultures and about some of the challenges immigrants face.

On a less serious note, Ballard Thiessen encourages everyone to try shopping at some of the international grocery stores spotlighted in “Food Foray.” Going into homes and sampling food was “amazing,” she says. “The Georgian food, the way they used walnuts, I’ve never tasted anything like that. And from the Oaxacan episode, I’ve been dreaming of the black bean tetelas. I would all of it, again and again.”

Nino Tvauri, who lives in Gresham, appears in the first “Food Foray” episode, in which she shops for ingredients for an elaborate Georgian meal she and her mother later prepare. Tvauri got involved after she saw a notice on Facebook that “described an idea and vision for the show, and they were kind of scouting for people that wanted to partake. I said, hey, I’m an immigrant, I live in East County, and I would love to do this.”

At first, Tvauri says, she was motivated by curiosity. “But after speaking with Ivana, her vision resonated with me, and I said, what a great way to bring community together. Because we’re all so different, and we come from different places culturally. But we still have so much in common, and sharing that and making that public I felt was important.”

Tvauri hopes that her “Food Foray” episode can also help answer questions and clear up misunderstandings people may have about immigrants.

“I think food is just an international language,” Tvauri says. “You don’t have to speak a language to enjoy something, and all get on the same page. When you come to the table, you’re appreciating something together, and that is unifying in itself.”

The first three episodes of “Food Foray” will screen at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 29, at the Hollywood Theatre. The event is also scheduled to include food featured in the episodes, and conversations with the filmmakers and participants. For tickets: https://hollywoodtheatre.org/show/food-foray/

— Kristi Turnquist covers features and entertainment. Reach her at 503-221-8227, kturnquist@oregonian.com or @Kristiturnquist

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