Grown-to-Order Veggies

Plant It Forward, a nonprofit in Houston, is leveraging the skills of refugees to set up urban farm plots. By providing training and start-up support, the organization helps these farmers not only to earn a decent income, but to integrate into (and nourish) the community.

The Al Barakeh Wheat Project is working to regain food sovereignty through urban wheat farming in Amman, Jordan, by partnering farmers with families to teach them how to grow and harvest wheat.

A grassroots organization in Tamil Nadu, India has helped women farmers throughout the region to create "small informal farming groups" so that they can collectively lease land for their agriculture businesses. This collective farming venture, which has culminated in 89 collective farms with nearly 700 members, ensures "nutrition and food security for landless women at the household level."

In Zambia, where severe drought due to climate change has negatively affected agriculture, the Daughters of the Redeemer are practicing organic farming to feed hundreds of children and families whose basic needs are not being met. This group of religious sisters do not rely on rainfall to farm; they installed a drip irrigation system that has allowed them to grow crops like cabbage, maize, tomatoes, and beans. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the sisters provided training to local villages about organic farming, and this has allowed families to support themselves during the crisis.

In Kooskia, a rural area in Idaho, local farmers are finding success in working with residents to make sure produce is being used to its fullest. From using the leftover apple chunks from cider-making to feed livestock to relying on neighbor's produce to provide for local businesses, sustainable homesteads are gaining popularity amongst communities.

Several colleges in the U.S. use a third-party corporation to manage their dining services, but Auburn University's contract is unique in that it specifies 20 percent of all food must be locally sourced. This partnership was originally born out of a student group that wanted the land-grant university to embrace its agriculture roots by including the community farming industry.

Red meat consumption requires a great deal of water and land resources to produce and is even responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gases. To combat this, the Better Buying Lab is experimenting with marketing strategies to get people to buy more vegetarian and vegan items. After rebranding food with sensory descriptors like "Cuban" or "grilled", sales increased 13% in California and 76% in the UK. Influential brands like Panera are now increasing their efforts to continue this trend.

At Expo Amazonica in Lima, chefs are working to build a taste for traditional Amazonian foods, in an effort to promote biodiversity conservation and slow deforestation. But against a huge global demand for palm oil, growing wild food crops can be difficult for communities struggling to make ends meet. One big question is whether small farmers can create demand for Amazonian cuisine beyond the Amazon?

Many farmers in the United States toil under exploitative working conditions, enduring long hours, low pay, and exposure to dangerous chemicals; after taking their battle for better conditions to the legislature, a group of farmers have created a co-op so that they can own the land they work on. The co-op has generated a lot of interest and now produces around 200 boxes of organic produce every week.

A cooperative in Italy has repurposed land once owned by the Mafia to produce pasta and organic vegetables, and its employees are using this land to reclaim their lives. Beyond the Dreams’ provides meaningful work for former prisoners, mental patients, and addicts, who cultivate these agricultural products. The revitalization of the ruined land and employment opportunities deliver symbolic blows to organized crime.