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How Sandy Seed Farm is Cultivating a New Future for Urban Agriculture
It started with a small plot of land, barely a 1/16th of an acre, nestled near Old City Park in Moab, Utah. The soil was dry, the space was limited, but for Dyan Fadgen and Nicole Kreiser, it was enough. Enough to plant seeds—both into the ground and about what’s possible when you rethink…
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Farming Against the Odds: Brian Berglund’s Journey of Adaptation and Innovation
There was already sweat building underneath the brim of Brian Berglund’s worn baseball cap at 8 A.M. Wyoming’s dry August heat shimmered off of Western Variety Farm’s fields and buildings. Brian was crouched over a row of lettuce, covering the crop with a shade net, which is a clever way of adapting cooler weather…
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Global Gardens: Cultivating Diversity, Community, and Resilience
Above: Sarbah Bi and Khadija Mberwa package produce for the upcoming farmers market. In the heart of Boise, Idaho, there’s a nonprofit organization that’s sowing the seeds of diversity, sustainability, and community resilience. Global Gardens, founded in 2004 as a modest community garden, has blossomed into a remarkable initiative that’s transforming lives and the…
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Black Hills Farmers Market Expands Public Access to Local Foods
The Black Hills Farmers market was chattering with neighbors catching up, live music coming from a mom and pop band playing classic folk songs, and the smell of kettle corn drawing people in from the sidewalk. The Farmers Market Supervisor, Barbara Cromwell and Ann Eads sat at the entrance to greet people and distribute…
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Farmers are an Aging Population, One Young Farmer has a Vision for Change
For years, Patrick Certain has imagined a gathering space for friends and family, where children in the community could come to learn where their food comes from, where all could join in a shared meal harvested from his garden. His farm would come to be called Stone Soup Garden, which began to take form…
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Water saving practices make CSAs stronger and bring people closer to their food
Outside of Fruita, Colorado, the flatlands are speckled with small farms. Most of them are mere fragments of the size that farms once were. Wendy and Nevin Troyers’s farm is a handful of acres off of a country road. Since the turn of the century, Colorado has seen several years of drought, 2022 included.…
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Cross E Dairy and Freedom Foods | Diversifying the Market for Producers in Wyoming
Christine Hampshire used to spend her weekends centered around getting her dairy and beef products ready for the weekly farmers market. Each weekend she would be prepping products, loading milk and cream into her truck and driving out to the market, which was her primary source of income. Being a dairy farmer, this also…
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Jenna Vanhorne | The Future of North Dakota from Farming to State Senate
Jenna Vanhorne is a North Dakota dairy farmer, a mother, and was one of the first women of color to run for state senate in North Dakota. She operates the homestead with her mother, motivated by the lifestyle of having her kids free roaming in the backyard and the feeling of work outside, at…
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The Edible Prairie Project | Local Solutions for Communities Facing Food Insecurity
On a warm spring afternoon in Gillette, WY, patrons line up outside the boys and girls club to receive a basket full of fresh, locally grown produce, containing a variety of food including lettuce, radishes and local honey. These baskets are offered to the community at tiered pricing to fit each individual’s budget and…
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Urban Food Forests Provide Space for Community Connection, Education and Nourishment
The Sheridan Food Forest sits alongside Big Goose Creek, tucked into what was once a BMX Park in the community of Sheridan, Wyoming. The once weedy, hard packed lot is now filled with plants and trees native to Wyoming, and supplemented with fruit trees and common vegetables. The food forest seeks to provide food…