COVID-19 Sparks a Rebirth of the Local Farm Movement

Female farmers are working to close Oregon's gender gap in the agriculture industry. Communities like the OSU farm networks provide a forum where these women can share experiences.

Unlike other countries suffering with an impoverished population, Costa Rica has not destroyed the environment while modernizing its economy. Costa Rica has created a coffee alliance, a collective effort between the government and local farmers to grow and cultivate sustainable coffee agriculture through public policy and land distribution. The coffee alliance has given economic empowerment to the people, while being environmentally green.

A small agricultural co-op in the mountains of Veracruz, Mexico, has effectively implemented its own approach to climate change. The community adapts the main sector of its economy and livelihood-- farming-- to sustainable practices. "Las Cañadas" has increased the food security and health of the local community while simultaneously decreasing deforestation, soil degradation and carbon emissions.

The small town of Iola, KS, and Allen County's GROW Council offer a case study of how local communities across this prairie state have worked to solve the absence of grocery stores in many rural areas. Through local resourcefulness and organizing efforts; knowledge and financial support from the state government; and partnership with Kansas State University's Rural Grocery Initiative, towns have succeeded in bringing grocery stores, from locally-owned coops to school-based distribution hubs, back to their Main Streets.

While farmers’ markets popularity has increased in the last decade, the higher prices mitigate equal access to such provisions -- and, by extension, the health benefits. As a result, non-profits and farmers' markets across New Hampshire are collaborating with a state program, Granite State Market Watch, to enable low-income food stamp recipients to use the markets. The state matches every dollar worth of stamps, providing needed purchasing power to enjoy the fresh bounty as well as an increased customer base and revenue stream for the local farmers.

As climate change has brought rising temperatures and more frequent droughts to much of Africa, some communities in Senegal are finding ways to survive by adapting their agricultural practices. Medicinal plants can be harvested more frequently and sold at higher prices than traditional millet and grain. The senna (Cassia) shrub in particular has allowed farmers, especially women, to sustain economic hope and prosperity, with the added benefit of improving the health of local villagers.

The production of mezcal keeps increasing, drawing the attention of big liquor brands who want to invest in the mezcal market. Entrepreneurs in Mexico, are teaming up with rural farmers, their collaboration could potentially push out big companies from taking over the market.

Dubbed an agro-ecology center, Tahoe is embracing a different approach to food stability through teaching local residents how to grow food in alpine climates. By picking up food from local farmers and transporting their food to market in a fair and equitable way, the Tahoe Food Hub was born to create and grow a local food system.

In Brazil, middlemen buy produce from small farmers at negligible prices to sell to the public school system for higher profits. A law requiring cities to buy 30 percent of their school meal budget from family farmers has helped the farmers and improved the quality of meals.

In Detroit, and throughout the country, many people find themselves in "food deserts", or places where access to fresh fruits and vegetables is extremely limited. Black residents are addressing these issues via the creation of their own food production and supply network called the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. Through this network, Black neighbors created a co-op grocery store that promotes urban agriculture and healthy eating.