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 |

 

E227: Big wins through the North Carolina Farmers Market Network

January 31, 2024

In 2022, more than 6 million people visited farmers markets across North Carolina. Today, we’re talking with a team of people who are the driving force behind the North Carolina Farmers Market Network: Maggie Funkhouser, Catherine Elkins, and Nora Rodli. The goal of the North Carolina Farmers Market is to create and support a thriving network of marketplaces for the state’s local food and farm products. The nonprofit network, which was recently awarded a USDA Farmers Market Promotion Capacity-building grant, will provide education, programming, and partnership development assistance to farmers market managers, including resources to support historically underserved populations.

Related podcasts: Agriculture & Tech | Community & Economic Development | Urban Agriculture | Voice of Farming |

 

E171: Vertical Farming in Qatar – Promise & Challenges

June 16, 2022

Today, we’re exploring an agricultural innovation in the state of Qatar in Western Asia. Qatar is a wealthy, densely populated country located on the Northeast coast of the Arabian peninsula and leads the world in liquified natural gas exports. But the country’s desert climate is harsh and the agriculture there is challenging. That’s where shipping containers, artificial light and vertical farming techniques come into play. Our guest today is horticulturalist Mohamed Hassouna from the Qur-anic Botanic Garden in Qatar. He and his partners at the University of Arizona are developing a shipping container vertical farming model as a way to expand local food production.

Related podcasts: Agriculture & Tech | Climate Change, Environment & Food | Urban Agriculture |

 

E163: Malik Yakini on the Inspiration of Urban Ag and Community Self Determination

April 14, 2022

Today, we’re talking to Malik Yakini, the executive director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, a nonprofit that advocates for access to healthy food in the black community. Malik is a former K-8 school principal who’s also developed a food security curriculum for young people. He is a nationally known champion for food sovereignty and personal food security.

Related podcasts: Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | Urban Agriculture |

 

E157: Adam Zipkin on Transitioning to an Agricultural System that Benefits Everyone

February 17, 2022

Today, we’re going to explore industrial agriculture and what that means to farmers and ranchers, to farm workers, to corporations, and consumers. Our guest today, Adam Zipkin, serves as council to New Jersey Senator, Cory Booker. He advises Senator Booker on issues related to food policy, agriculture, and animal welfare. Booker has been deeply engaged in legislation such as the Farm System Reform Act, Black Farmers Act, and the Climate Stewardship Act.

Related podcasts: Agriculture & Tech | Community & Economic Development | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | Regenerative Agriculture | Urban Agriculture |

 

E123: Rashid Nuri and a Vision for Urban Agriculture

April 6, 2021

The term urban agriculture is becoming more familiar, but relatively few people know how this works on the ground in real world settings, and can fully appreciate the promise it has for the future. Our guest, Rashid Nuri, is the ideal person to explain. In 2006, Nuri founded the Truly Living Well Center in Atlanta to realize a vision for community food, sovereignty, and equity. This urban Ag organization grows tons of chemical-free, nutritious food, provides jobs, and works to educate communities.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Agriculture & Tech | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | Urban Agriculture | Voice of Farming |

 

E75: Land Grant University Gold for North Carolina

February 11, 2020

Agriculture is a remarkably complex, fascinating, and important topic. We all eat of course, but often we don’t know much about the story of our food, how it gets produced, where it comes from, how technology, for example, can help provide wholesome, healthy, and safe food, and more. There are some remarkable people out there who see the big picture and who understand both the past and future of agriculture. One such person is our guest, Richard Linton.

Related podcasts: Agriculture & Tech | Food Policy | North Carolina | Regenerative Agriculture | Urban Agriculture |