The Final Straw? Coffee Shops in the Time of COVID-19

The suburban development pattern has been putting enormous pressure on small businesses for decades. Now with the pandemic, the razor’s edge of survival somehow got even narrower.

Coronavirus, Local Food, Top StoryChristian ElliottAugust 11, 2020Food Week, restaurants, coffee shops, Illinois, Coronavirus

For Restaurants in the Pandemic, Immense Challenges...and a Glimmer of Hope

Three restaurant workers—a bartender, owner and server—help us better understand how the coronavirus is impacting the restaurant industry.

Local Food, Coronavirus, Top StoryRachel QuednauAugust 10, 2020Food Week, restaurants, coronavirus

It's Time to Fix Our Fragile Food Systems

Local food is the easiest and most immediately profitable way for a community to build its resiliency. But the benefits extend far beyond that too.

Local Food, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 10, 2020Food Week, local food, gardening

California’s New Law Is a Game-Changer for Home Chefs… and for Cities That Want to Get Stronger

Home chefs in California can now prepare, sell, and serve food prepared in home kitchens—as long as the county gets on board. Here’s why this is a potential game-changer.

Top Story, Quednau, Local FoodRachel QuednauJuly 15, 2020local food, coronavirus, California

To Promote Local Food Resilience: Get Social

With global supply lines disrupted, people are getting “social” again to buy local food. To build lasting resilience, we’re going to need to keep it up.

Rural, Economic Development, Local Food, FisherLauren FisherJuly 9, 2020local food, Coronavirus, Wisconsin, agriculture, Farming

8 Resources to Help Your City Become More Food Resilient

The coronavirus has revealed just how fragile our industrialized and globalized food system always was. It’s time to strengthen our local food economies. These resources can help.

Local Food, Pattison, Top StoryJohn PattisonJune 9, 2020local food, Coronavirus, fragility

The Other Pitchforks

Laws and rules often prohibit the very things that could make our neighborhoods more resilient. Like producing more of our own food — no small consideration during a time of social distancing and fragile supply chains.

Local Food, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoMay 7, 2020Gardening, Granola Shotgun, Coronavirus, local food

Recipes for Disaster

Tracing the origins of a single meal reminds us how vulnerable we are to disruptions in the global supply chain. How do we create redundancies at home?

Sanphillippo, Local Food, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoApril 9, 2020coronavirus, public health

How Driving Ruins Local Flavor

A new study shows that car-dependent cities have fewer independent restaurants. This not only makes our places weaker, it makes them less interesting too.

Top Story, Local Food, City ObservatoryJoe CortrightFebruary 20, 2020restaurants, local food, car culture, Joe Cortright

Three Things I’ve Learned in My Local Coffee Shop

Coffee shops have a lot to teach us about our neighborhoods and the people we share them with. Here are three of them.

Local Food, Neighborhoods, Top StorySteve MacDouellJanuary 22, 2020Third Places, coffee shops, local business, small business, Canada, Ontario

Best of 2019: Portland's Food Cart Pods Are Dead, Long Live Portland's Food Cart Pods!

Portland diners are mourning the loss of one of the city’s largest and longest-running food cart pods. The property is being redeveloped as a 35-story high-rise. What can the death and birth of food cart pods teach us about the importance of dynamic change in cities?

Local Food, City Observatory, Top StoryJoe CortrightDecember 13, 2019Portland OR, development

Portland's Food Cart Pods Are Dead, Long Live Portland's Food Cart Pods!

Portland diners are mourning the loss of one of the city’s largest and longest-running food cart pods. The property is being redeveloped as a 35-story high-rise. What can the death and birth of food cart pods teach us about the importance of dynamic change in cities?

Local Food, City Observatory, Top StoryJoe CortrightAugust 26, 2019Portland OR, development

Can Any City Really Survive on Locally-Grown Food Alone?

A robust urban farming landscape can make your city stronger. But can it really, y’know…feed your citizens?

Local Food, Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsApril 19, 2019local food, Upzoned, podcast

What If We Built Houses That Didn’t Need Any Infrastructure at All?

Earthship Biotecture is an attempt to answer a radical question: can you build a house that not only needs substantially less infrastructure than the average home, but needs almost no infrastructure at all?

WIlson, Local Food, Top StoryKea WilsonSeptember 13, 2018resilience, green infrastructure, eco-friendly

The Emptying Out of Rural Kansas: An Interview with Corie Brown

In this podcast episode, Chuck interviews Corie Brown, Zester Media co-founder and a writer on the food system, about the depopulation of rural Kansas, as mechanized agriculture reduces the need for farm labor, and the social toll that it is taking in isolated, shrinking towns.

Podcast, Local Food, Rural, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 30, 2018Kansas, Small Towns, local economy, local food

The Case for Community Gardens

The idea of a community garden isn’t a new one. Now, when modern life seems to be more stressful and uncertain than ever, community gardens could prove to be the salve that heals our hurting communities.

Top Story, Local Food, #StrongCitizensScott JenkinsAugust 16, 2018gardening, community building, Public Safety, local food

You Can't Have It All, but You Can Have Most of What Matters

We have chosen a rural life—who pays for our infrastructure? The short answer is: we don't have much of it, but we take care of our own needs. Strong towns require strong citizens: people who learn to take control of their lives and do for themselves things that are doable.