E239: National report – where the grocery stores are missing

July 16, 2024

Today we’re talking about who has access to full-service supermarkets in America’s cities, suburbs, small towns and rural communities. According to The Reinvestment Fund’s “2023 Limited Supermarket Access Analysis Report,” 8.5% of people in the US live in areas with limited access to full-service supermarkets. This means that families must travel further to get fresh foods, and it creates a barrier to adequate nutrition. This is the 10th year The Reinvestment Fund has published the “Supermarket Access Report,” which provides data and context about grocery store access across the country. Here to discuss the latest figures is policy and analyst Michael Norton.

Related podcasts: Community & Economic Development | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | Philanthropy & Food Systems |

 

E238: Celebrating the Successes of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation

June 27, 2024

Nonprofit organizations can play a very important role in building healthy communities by providing services that contribute to community stability, social mobility, public policy, and decision-making. Today we’re speaking with Kathy Higgins, CEO of the Alliance for Healthier Generation. The Alliance is a nonprofit organization, a well-known one at that, that promotes healthy environments so that young people can achieve lifelong good health.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Child Development & Nutrition | Childhood Obesity | COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Food | Diet & Nutrition | Philanthropy & Food Systems | School Meals |

 

E232: Carolina Farm Trust creating healthy food system disruption

March 18, 2024

Today’s podcast is a story of one man’s personal journey to making a difference by building communities. Zach Wyatt grew up caretaking an old 300-acre farm in Virginia. He went to college and ended up working in mortgage lending. And then something changed for Zack, and that’s where the story gets interesting. He now leads the Carolina Farm Trust, working to strengthen local food systems in the Carolinas. The trust cultivates urban farm networks, farm apprenticeships, supports local farmers in purchasing equipment or land, making informed-decisions, and more.

Related podcasts: Agriculture & Tech | Community & Economic Development | Food Insecurity | North Carolina | Philanthropy & Food Systems | Urban Agriculture |

 

E211: Soil Wealth Areas: a Tool to Spur Investment in Regenerative and Organic Ag

August 1, 2023

There’s much excitement out there about regenerative and organic agriculture, but how can they be financed and how can capital providers support these important approaches to agriculture? A new report by the Croatan Institute addresses this issue by emphasizing soil wealth areas. So, what does this mean? Well, we’re going to learn about that from researcher Jamie Silverstein, an author of that report.

Related podcasts: Community & Economic Development | Philanthropy & Food Systems | Regenerative Agriculture |

 

E176: Insights from a nationwide survey of hunger relief organizations during COVID

July 20, 2022

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, much of the US was in lockdown. Many people had lost jobs or could not work from home during that time and struggled to pay their bills. Shortages of food and other basic necessities were common. Many people needed help during this time. Charitably-funded volunteer staff organizations like soup kitchens and food pantries suddenly found themselves on the front line of a massive ongoing food relief emergency. Many of them did heroic work. We’re speaking today with the co-authors of a new report titled, “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on US Hunger Relief Organizations, from August and November of 2020.” Gizem Templeton is a researcher at Duke University’s World Food Policy Center. Alison Cohen, formerly of WhyHunger, is a research consultant on the project. And Suzanne Babb is the director of US programs at WhyHunger.

Related podcasts: COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Food | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Banks, Food Pantries & Soup Kitchens | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | Philanthropy & Food Systems |

 

E175: Striving for Black Food Sovereignty – Stewards for the Land

July 14, 2022

Today, we’re talking to Dr. Jasmine Ratliff, who goes by Dr. Jas, and is an applied food systems research and policy specialist, and co-executive director of the National Black Food and Justice Alliance. She believes that your zip code should not determine your life expectancy and that building relationships are essential to creating a sustainable and just food system.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Agriculture & Tech | Community & Economic Development | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food System Narratives | Philanthropy & Food Systems |

 

E139: MAZON’s Tipping Point – Driving Nutrition in the Food Bank Safety Net

September 2, 2021

This podcast focuses on why now is the right time to fix the US food system. I’m talking today with Marla Feldman, Senior Program Director at MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, which is a national advocacy organization working to end hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds, in both the United States and Israel. As our regular listeners will know from previous podcasts, for 36 years, MAZON has worked towards systemic change to address hunger and its root causes. This is done through a combination of initiatives, including programs with low-income populations or problems that have previously been overlooked or ignored, including food insecurity among currently serving military families, among veterans, single mothers, Native Americans, LGBTQ seniors, and the people of Puerto Rico and the territories. This is the fourth in our series of episodes in partnership with MAZON. And this time, we’ll focus on the organization’s work to increase access to nutritious foods in the charitable food network.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | Philanthropy & Food Systems |

 

E126: Global Development Financing – What Can the Agriculture Sector Learn from Healthcare

April 22, 2021

If the world is ever going to end hunger, ensure food security and embrace sustainable agriculture practices, we’ve got to invest more in agriculture. Particularly, in developing countries. Now, governments and international organizations do invest in agriculture of course, but less than in healthcare, for example. And we wondered why? It turns out it’s not so much a question of why healthcare receives more funding, it’s how such funds are raised and distributed that makes a difference. In this podcast, we’re going to explore findings from our new report on agricultural development financing and highlight some innovative practices from healthcare sector that could be used to boost resources for agriculture in low and middle income countries. Our guests are global health policy professor Gavin Yamey of the Duke University Center for Policy Impacting Global Health and global health financing and policy expert, Marco Schaeferhoff of Open Consultants.

Related podcasts: Agriculture & Tech | Food Policy | International Food & Ag Policy | Philanthropy & Food Systems |

 

E124: Food Insecurity Issues are Community Issues

March 30, 2021

So what comes to mind when you think of these words: life around the table? Do you think of good food or family or sharing maybe? But what about spirituality and faith? So we’re continuing our exploration of food and faith issues in today’s podcast. And I’m speaking with Reverend Dr. Michelle Lewis, the executive director of an organization called, Life Around the Table, an ecumenical non-profit organization focused on food and on environmental justice.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Community & Economic Development | Faith & Food | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | North Carolina | Philanthropy & Food Systems |

 

E112: Food Banks, Food Pantries, and the Promise of More

February 9, 2021

Food banks and food pantries provide life-saving help for families all around the country. Like other institutions addressing food issues, there is growing focus on providing not just food, but healthy food. There are complex issues in this picture, however, issues we can address with today’s guest, Dr. Marlene Schwartz. Schwartz is director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Connecticut.

Related podcasts: Food Banks, Food Pantries & Soup Kitchens | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | Philanthropy & Food Systems | Social Safety Net & Food |