Schools: An Anchor for Stronger Local Food Systems
Schools do more than feed students. Their consistent purchasing power can create new opportunities for local producers, while food storage, aggregation, and distribution infrastructure helps connect farms with school cafeterias and the communities they serve.
What Makes a Strong Local Food System?
A healthy local food system takes more than farms and grocery stores. Explore seven essential pieces that work together to connect producers, communities, and consumers and help local food systems thrive.
Farm to Fork Takes Infrastructure
Local food doesn't move directly from farms to consumers. Learn how aggregation, storage, processing, and distribution infrastructure help farmers reach larger markets and grow regional food systems.
Inflation, Distance, and the Hidden Cost of Food in Rural Communities
Rising grocery and fuel costs affect rural communities. Learn how distance, transportation, and food systems shape food access and affordability.
Why Food Access is About More Than Food: Health, Hunger, and Infrastructure
Food access in rural communities depends on more than what’s on the shelf. When there are systematic deficiencies, the impacts extend to health, hunger, and overall community wellbeing.
Questions People Ask Us
Questions People Ask Us is a series where we answer common questions about rural food systems and our work with communities across the United States.
Why Cold Storage Matters More Than You Think
Cold storage is not just a building or equipment. It is a logistics link that helps fresh food stay safe, move efficiently, and reach communities more reliably.
Food Access Depends on Where You Stand
Food access in rural America is shaped less by choice and more by distance, infrastructure, and what has quietly disappeared over time. I did not understand this growing up. Looking back now, I can see it clearly.