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From a Prison Garden Sprouts Real Growth

Hannah Wallace

July 27, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

Lettuce Grow teaches gardening skills to 200 incarcerated people per year in 16 Oregon prisons and juvenile detention centers. The teaching includes college-level courses and hands-on gardening on prison grounds, which then yields hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables for prison kitchens. Graduates of the program commit many fewer crimes than the average ex-prisoner and have found work after prison at nurseries and in other horticultural pursuits.

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Farm-to-table took off during the pandemic. Is it here to stay?

Stan Finger

July 14, 2021 |

The Kansas Leadership Center Journal (KLC Journal) |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kansas

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit and grocery store shelves became bare, many consumers sought to purchase meat directly from farmers. The Shop Kansas Farms group on Facebook has more than 148,000 members with about 800 producers who are selling their goods. While there needs to be more education for farmers on how to sell their livestock and for consumers on the intricacies of buying from processors, people in other states are creating their own groups to better connect consumers to vendors.

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Food insecurity linked to gun violence. In St. Louis, Black farmers work on a solution

Hurubie Meko

June 27, 2021 |

The Kansas City Star |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

Black, urban farmers have formed a grassroots "ecosystem" to grow and distribute fresh, affordable produce in St. Louis neighborhoods where food insecurity and gun violence go hand in hand. Heru Urban Farming is a startup businesses and CSA growing vegetables in vacant lots that it then sells by subscription and gives away to families in need. Along with a new farmers market and a mobile produce vendor, the "food justice" activists and entrepreneurs are meeting a nutritional need where quality supermarkets don't exist and corner stores typically sell packaged, processed foods.

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Philly Families Are Taking Charge of Their Own Food Security

Emily Nonko

June 15, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In 2014, the community organization Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha piloted a community-based Food Buying Club in Philadelphia. This initiative allowed local residents to buy food in bulk at wholesale prices. The goal was to strengthen food security and combat the lack of affordable and nutritious food in their neighborhood. Despite distributing over 62,000 pounds of fresh produce, the program shut down due to financial reasons. Now, after forming an advisory council and working on their business strategy with others in the community, the club is reopening and is looking to expand across the city.

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Co-ops are democratizing the food chain

Jaisal Noor

June 10, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

The food-supply business is known for exploitative pay and poor working conditions. But Brooklyn Packers, a Black-owned cooperative launched in 2016, pays its owner-workers and vendors fair wages and is founded on traditions in the Black community of food sovereignty and mutual aid. Those values paid off at the start of the pandemic, when demand for fresh produce deliveries exploded. Brooklyn Packers retooled its business model to meet the demand, showing that a non-hierarchical business can move quickly.

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This South L.A. startup will turn your front lawn into a farm

Adele Peters

May 25, 2021 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

A startup in California called Crop Swap LA is converting unused front yards into community gardens that can grow crops like kale, rainbow chard, and tomatoes as a way to feed neighbors. Community members can pay for subscriptions for up to $43 a month to receive a bundle of greens and vegetables from the microfarms and homeowners get a share of the profits. Each garden needs to have the proper maintenance, which can make it difficult to scale, but these gardens can help provide access to food to those who don’t have a grocery store in their area.

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Wild Basket initiative brings traditional foraging techniques to future generations

Franca G. Mignacca

May 24, 2021 |

CBC |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Canada, Montreal, Quebec

The Wild Basket allows community members of Temiskaming First Nation to gain traditional knowledge about native food sources and foraging techniques while re-connecting to the land and their roots. The initiative also provides a source of native food. The wild foods include mushrooms, fiddleheads, spices, and tea leaves which are sold to restaurants and other community members.

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First Fruits Farm bridges the gap by feeding hungry Baltimoreans

PK Semler

May 21, 2021 |

Afro News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Residents of Baltimore County now have access to fresh produce from First Fruits Farm. Located in a food desert, the farm has provided “over 18 million pounds of fresh locally produced vegetables picked by some 10,000 volunteers over the past two decades.”

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Laying out food pantries like grocery stores gives choice and can lead to healthy habits

Bekah McNeel

May 19, 2021 |

Dallas Free Press |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

At Aunt Bette's Community Pantry in Dallas, people receiving donated food are treated with dignity and given choices that can have both psychological and nutritional benefits. A client-choice food pantry mimics a grocery store, except at this one people shop by appointment to fill their free, biweekly allotment. Volunteers help shoppers with health advice and also track inventory, so that unpopular items get discontinued. When people aren't handed a box with a take-it-or-leave-it selection, they waste less food and end up opting for healthier choices (with some helpful but not overbearing nudges).

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To feed community members, Crossroads partners with churches, public housing facilities and neighborhood centers

Michelle Aslam

May 18, 2021 |

Dallas Free Press |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

Lack of transportation can make centralized food pantries inaccessible to those who need the help. So Crossroads Community Services in North Texas partners with more than 100 community groups, including churches, public housing developments, and community centers, to make monthly deliveries to local sites. Those local partners are trusted points of contact to enroll people in the program and get them their food packages. Though it's not as effective as access to quality, affordable grocery stores, this community distribution partner model has decreased food insecurity and improved health in the community.

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