July 9, 2015 | seedstock

1 ISU program increases local food usage in Iowa schools | Ames Tribune

Excerpt: A recent program funded through the Leopold Center at Iowa State University proved successful in increased local food use at four northeast Iowa school districts.

2 Vegan café sees greater demand for local food | Central Florida Future

Excerpt: Tucked away in the heart of Orlando along the Mills 50 district of downtown stands a green 1920s-styled house, neighboring several holistic businesses along Thornton Avenue.

3 Should the Local Food Movement Include Wine? | KCEF

Excerpt: Winemakers have mixed responses when it comes to championing local wines at L.A. restaurants.

4 Communities Get A Lift As Local Food Sales Surge To $11 Billion A Year | NPR

Excerpt: The U.S. Department of Agriculture says local food is growing quickly from a niche market into something that’s generating significant income for communities across the country.

5 Can towns like Canton rebuild their economies around local food? | North Country Public Radio

Excerpt: People want to support their communities by buying and eating what is made close by. Rural economies want to rebuild around the idea of “local,’ but it is not easy.

6 How business ‘matchmakers’ are creating local food networks | CS Monitor

Excerpt: A small but growing number of developers are expanding the local food movement by finding and connecting risk-taking entrepreneurs who are ready and able to innovate.

7 Pittsburgh urban farming takes ‘big step forward’ with new ordinance_ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Excerpt: Pittsburgh City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday making it cheaper and easier for residents to get permits to raise chickens and goats and keep beehives.

8 How business ‘matchmakers’ are creating local food networks | CS Monitor

Excerpt: A small but growing number of developers are expanding the local food movement by finding and connecting risk-taking entrepreneurs who are ready and able to innovate.

9 Is farming a public service? | LA Times

Excerpt: A bill recently introduced in Congress, the Young Farmer Success Act, would make farmers eligible for federally subsidized student loan forgiveness — just as teachers and nurses are now — on the grounds that agriculture is a public service. But is it?

10 Silicon Valley struggles to pitch water-saving tech to farmers | LA Times

Excerpt: Olivier Jerphagnon needed a customer. So he drove toward the farmland north of Fresno, with his marketing director by his side.

11 In Chicago, rooftop farming is getting off the ground | LA Times

Excerpt: For more than a decade, Chicago has been at the forefront of the green-roof movement. Now the city is poised to take an active role in the next environmental push — using roofs to grow food.

12 Helping Immigrant Farmers Sow Seeds From Home on American Soil | NY Times

Excerpt: A farmer’s program in New York City instructs immigrants with agricultural backgrounds in the industry by offering classes and providing land.

13 Thai Farmers Ask Spirits for Rain to End Crippling Drought | NY Timest

Excerpt: Under the scorching sun, dozens of Thai villagers, dressed in flowery shirts and traditional costumes, parade a white cat caged in a bamboo-woven basket door-to-door and let neighbors splash water on the unlucky feline, while chanting an ancient tune.