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Why This New Jersey Forager Thinks Weeds Are the Future of Food

Brianna Baker

May 19, 2020 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

Meadows + More is a farm in New Jersey that specializes in edible wild plants and its owner, Tama Matsuoka Wong, seeks to educate people about the important role wild plants could play in future food systems if disasters and climate change were to eradicate plant species. She tends over 200 varieties of wild plants that she sells to top chefs and restaurants and to home cooks. While the community of wild plant enthusiasts is small, her business has received renewed interest during the COVID-19 pandemic as people looked for alternatives to grocery stores.

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With livestock prices falling and food banks in need, ag producers find new ways to share

Johnathan Hettinger

May 14, 2020 |

Montana Free Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Montana

Farmers and ranchers across Montana are finding ways to share their products locally during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen livestock prices fall and food banks face higher demand. While some agricultural producers are looking to get their livestock in the hands of consumers at local markets, there are a limited number of in-state cattle and hog processors. For one rancher, he gathered other local ranchers to donate more than 20 animals to be locally butchered for donations to local food banks.

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The Farm to Food Bank Movement Aims to Rescue Small-Scale Farming and Feed the Hungry

Lynne Curry

May 14, 2020 |

Civil Eats |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Supply chains have been disrupted with the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic, and farmers are suffering from a lack of buying customers. Meanwhile, food banks are in dire straits as more and more people seek support after losing jobs to the pandemic. What's needed? A middle man. This article looks at a range of solutions across the United States in which organizations and community groups are stepping up to fill the gap between the two needs. They largely do this by purchasing, packaging, and distributing surplus product to local food banks who need more donations for the community.

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Local Farms Adapt To Pandemic's Impact — And Thrive

Anne Henley Walker

May 07, 2020 |

Grady Newsource |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

When restaurants and farmers markers shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hearts of Harvest Farm teamed up with the drive-thru restaurant Cafe Racer to sell their produce to people in the Athens/Atlanta area. They created a socially distanced, drive-thru grocery experience where customers would preorder their produce boxes online and pick them up without having to leave their vehicle. The first week, they sold 97 boxes and now they are selling out each week.

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Live-streaming helped China's farmers survive the pandemic. It's here to stay.

Karen Hao

May 06, 2020 |

MIT Technology Review |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: China

Online retailers in China launched rural live-streaming initiatives to aid farmers in selling their products directly to consumers. After traditional selling methods were halted due to the novel coronavirus, farmers needed new sales channels to reach customers who now had to shop online. This new model could help the agricultural industry survive the pandemic.

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Lifelines: Farming Program Helps N.H. Refugees Move Forward From Past Trauma

Peter Biello Alex McOwen

May 06, 2020 |

New Hampshire Public Radio |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Manchester, New Hampshire

Fresh Start Farms is a program by the New Hampshire Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success that invites refugees in the state to apply their farming skills here in America to earn an income. Many of the refugees in New Hampshire are from Somalia and witnesses to the Civil War there—and they carry that trauma with them. Having this outlet, where you can do what you know how to do alongside people who have similar experiences as you, is therapeutic. The program is now moving forward with opening up a storefront despite the COVID-19 restrictions.

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The Business of Burps: Scientists Smell Profit in Cow Emissions

Adam Satariano

May 01, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Lancaster, England

A company called Mootral is studying whether changing a cattle’s diet could make the animals belch and flatulate less methane. They created a food supplement out of compounds from garlic, citrus, and other additives, that in early tests, has shown a decrease in a cow’s emission of the greenhouse gas. If they can get investors on board and scale it to different breeds of cows and in different climates, it could help the agricultural and farming industries to combat climate change.

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As a North Jersey Farmers Market Goes Virtual, It Finds a New Kind of Community

Brianna Baker

April 30, 2020 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Metuchen, New Jersey

In order to keep local farms and businesses afloat, the Metuchen Farmers Market in North Jersey went virtual. Volunteers for the market enlisted the help of the Canada-based Local Line to build the market's platform, which allows customers to place orders online for a weekend pickup.

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Can Genetic Engineering Bring Back the American Chestnut?

Gabriel Popkin

April 30, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

Researchers successfully genetically engineered American Chestnut trees to resist the blight that decimated the species. Using a resistance-conferring gene from the wheat plant, the trees are grown in the lab and then can mate with trees in the wild to produce hardier blight-resistant trees. Although there are several regulatory hurdles to clear, and some environmental activists oppose the use of genetic modifications, the group continues to receive substantial grants and the trees have passed years of safety and efficacy tests showing they are safe and can even contribute to a healthy diet for many species.

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Philly garden activists are shipping millions of seeds to a nation fretting over food access during coronavirus pandemic

Samantha Melamed

April 27, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Across Philadelphia, people are turning to seeds to source their food instead of grocery stores and supply chains, which have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Philadelphia is home to the Cooperative Gardens Commission, helping people across the United States practice safe gardening, providing mentoring for novices, and packaging and sending seedlings. It’s just one of many localized garden initiatives working to make sure their communities and neighbors have fresh, sustainable food.

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