It’s hard to believe that we are just one month away from the Farm Bill expiring and yet highly partisan, polarized factions of Congress still have failed to pass a new bill. With one more week before Congress goes back in session, there’s no better time to contact your representatives to urge passage of a full five-year Farm Bill -one that different types of farms can plan around and that those of us who want to eat good local food can count on.
Articles by Diane Conners
Cooking with Kids at the Fair
Cotton candy and elephant ears are typical fare at fairs, but locally grown fruits and vegetables have become a new tradition with the Taste the Local Difference: Cooking with Kids at the Fair event at the Northwestern Michigan Fair.
Double Up Food Bucks give needy a leg up
The statewide, nonprofit program helps financially struggling families eat healthy while supporting business for farmers. It doubles the money that people who receive SNAP Bridge Card assistance (food stamps) have to spend with local farmers at farmers markets. That means it’s helping federal dollars governed by the Farm Bill have much more of an impact on local farm economies than, say, the grocery section at Walmart.
FoodCorps seeks next crop of hard-working service members
FoodCorps, a national organization affiliated with AmeriCorps, is accepting applications through March 24 for up to 130 positions nationwide-including two in northwest Lower Michigan based out of the Michigan Land Use Institute’s Traverse City office.
Farm Stand: We need to help kids avoid obesity
Have you heard of acanthosis nigricans? I hadn’t -not until I served on the planning committee for a recent event that Munson Medical Center and PriorityHealth sponsored to raise awareness about the significant impacts of obesity on our community, our economy, our schools and our health.
10 Cents a Meal aims to bring local food to school cafeterias
Would you chip in $1 if it meant 10 schoolchildren could eat locally grown fruits and vegetables at lunch on Monday? How about $10 for 100 kids? That’s about four classes full of children, bursting with energy and ready to learn new things. You can do just that by contributing to a new campaign that starts this fall for a program that could be in place by spring: 10 Cents a Meal for School Kids & Farms.