Joshua McNichols talks about The Urban Farm Handbook

Are we having a spate of “mid-life food crises” or are folks in their late 30s and early 40s simply realizing that the words “supermarket” and “good food” don’t seem to belong in the same sentence anymore? Annette Cottrell – self-avowed “extreme gardener” – and Joshua McNichols turned their love of whole, minimally processed, naturally grown food into both a passion and a book.

Be a Light Unto the World… Just Do It!

The default that rules the game of American food and health is our culture.Unchallenged, one’s environment wins (in determining our lifestyle) and lower income areas are supported with ubiquitous fast-food crap. At best, the corporate guise of care under the name of nutritionism tries to educate, through advertisements, food packaging labels, magazine and news stories of the latest wonder food component.

Chicago, Walmart, Growing Power, and Cabrini-Green – What does it mean?

People like Will Allen and Erika Allen, his daughter, have been able to convince Chicago’s politicians that for-profit businesses like urban farms can be an economic engine, not just for the farmers and their employees, but for the city in the form of tax revenues. A well-functioning urban land use policy will allow small farms and food related businesses to put people to work, to generate income, and to pay taxes.

Free to Grow and Pick!

When you think of Bath, England, you mostly think of the ancient Roman Baths or stately Georgian architecture. That is, if you think of anything at all besides claw foot tubs and jokes about drinking the bathwater. You most certainly don’t think of a thriving food system and underground guerilla gardening.

FLIP the SWITCH ON!

There are two basic pathways that birth and cultivate a relationship with real food, and they augment each other. I categorize one as the external way, and the other as the internal. These two pathways eventually converge, creating the larger “journey-road” of healthy eating and a lifestyle for wellness.

Campus vegetable garden beckons passing snackers

A little white sign tucked in between the plants offers passersby this invitation: “Need a snack? Come over and have a bite. We’re showing space-saving ideas for vegetable patches and showing that veggies can be pretty and yummy. Go ahead and munch on a tomato as you wait for the bus!”

Community Gardens: Growing Your Own

Gardening not only provides a connection with nature, it connects us to our food. As more and more people are concerned about the provenance of their food – where it comes from and how it is grown – gardening has given “local” a new meaning: “Zero Food Miles.”

Harvesting Your Bountiful Garden

Everywhere you look there great leafy greens and plump fruit. It’s halfway through the growing season with no end to the harvest in sight. Just the thought of another salad or summer squash is enough to make you want to call for a pizza. Now what do you do?