The Triple Bottom Line

I’m out at the Bellevue Community Gardens, taking a look at what’s growing in late December, and talk about what veggies can be grown even as the days shorten and get colder.

I’ve been doing some calculations on how to systematically feed a given population of people, from farm production, to processing, marketing and delivery. At each step looking at the number of workers needed, and setting a fair wage. Also accounting for startup and fixed costs to run each sector effectively, which reveals the amount of income needed for each sector. Many interesting takeaways come...

I visited Atl last week. There I walked through some devastatingly disinvested neighborhoods. I also saw one of the coolest neighborhoods I’ve ever seen: The Beltway, an old industrial section retrofitted to offer a wonderful place where you really can live, work and play. It made the question burn in my mind: can we do urban renewal projects that actually work for all people in a place, including...

I’ve been working to reach an agreement to fill a role with the county assisting with their farmers markets, plus initiating a growing operation on county land. This effort I think is interesting in a broader context around how to convince governments to invest more on food security initiatives that get at the heart of the problem while creating opportunities for local involvement, employment, and...

Farmers markets are struggling to remain viable, while food insecurity grows. What will it take for them to survive? Should cares act money be spent to bolster infrastructure to convert farmers markets into permanent markets with community kitchens to process and add value and ease of eating of local produce, with affordable subscription shares and delivery service?

Considerations for macro level food system planning to improve population nutrition and economic performance for food system industries.

A bit about the planning process for small scale veggy farming

Many of us sense there is more that can be done collectively to improve the wellbeing in our communities for everyone. However the question of “how are we going to pay for it” often halts any progress. Seems to me there are myriad fundraising approaches, like taxing profits, which would generate a ton more revenue than current schemes, without crippling working people and locally owned businesses.

Discussion about my visit to Pops Old Place, a rotational grazing based farm in Hurlock, Md.

Considerations for making a measurable difference in neighborhoods with inadequate availability of high nutrient foods through urban farming.

A bit about what the Triple Bottom Line Podcast season 2 will be about. I’ll tell you some stories about my ventures in small scale farming for food security, and highlight themes that I’m observing echoing across wavelengths of perception, on topics including ecological and urban planning, universal community empowerment, worker centered economics, and homegrown leadership.

New season of 3x begins with the dark reality of the tech eclipse, where our existence is getting sucked down into 2 dimensions

This is a recap of the recap of the Delaware Food Policy Seminar. Credit to all who are currently working on regional food planning, and hoping that we can come together more collaboratively through organizing into food hubs.

Here’s an audio recording that will have a picture slideshow connected with it (hopefully sometime later in the month). In it I talk about the goings on with Omnia Humanitas on the Kranz Farm at White Clay Creek State Park

In addressing food access issues, I believe strongly in building regional autonomy in the food system. But how do we define a region, and how would we plan for greater localized production to consumption. The use of the term “foodshed” can be used to define the concept, mathematically calculating needs, establishing best growing practices, and setting production goals is part of the process I see...

An interesting event featuring food system stakeholders across sectors, with discussions centered around COVID responses to food related issues in the state. Highlights included efforts made by mostly volunteers coordinated by various agencies to offer food to those in need, who are aware that these issues existed before COVID, and that systemic change is needed to get at the core of the issue. Lo...

Opening of markets, making, planting in and harvesting many beds of greens and roots, the barn cleanup nearly completed, progress made on prep for RFP response, new community relationships formed, and amazing volunteer help and work from staff, despite a tight budget.

This week the DCFFP held an annual seminar, gathering stakeholders from across the food system to discuss how theyve handled the last year plus given COVID. I have the opportunity to speak on a panel with other farmers. The main point im hoping to get across is that we have an unprecidented opportunity to expand our markets due to increased public interest in regionalized food systems. However, th...

Inspired by ongoing talks around a federal infrastructure plan, I discuss what I believe to be an ideal bill. What im looking for is a spending criteria that utilizes a triple bottom line, regionalist approach, financed through a wealth tax, which I believe could lift the standard of living for most Americans, build greater ecological stability, bring about greater economic justice, and grow the t...

Are we going to build back better? As I have been calling for a federal infrastructure bill (see previous episodes), I am excited to see that discussions are underway. Earlier in the month a 2 trillion dollar bill was proposed by the dems, including investments in a number of infrastructure related programs, with a supposed way to pay for it via various tax reforms. Subsequent talks have centered...

March was a big success on the Kranz Farm. We got alot of amazing help from volunteers, which enabled us to complete most of our goals for the month. Included were creating new market and packing spaces in the barn, amending and planting 30 4'x50' beds of greens and roots, beginning to free range Guinea Hens in the field, and much organizational planning and preparation for entering a long term le...

The final episode on fixing the food system “closes the loop,” discussing waste management challenges and opportunities. I focus on two particular types of wastes: plastics and food waste. Tones of plastic used at various sectors of the system ends up in the landfill, slowly breaking down, releasing synthetic particulates that leach into the waterways. Meanwhile organic alternatives exist, and are...

I’ve been studying the Lenape, a group that inhabited the area around what is now the Delaware River, including what is now the Kranz Farm. Though not much detail can be found from their perspective, getting familiar with their land use practices, from development to agriculture, as well as land access rules, colors in the historical picture, and gives me a deeper sense of respect for the land tha...

I first heard of the municipal policy enacted in 93’ in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, a few years back. The other day I randomly remembered about it, and began to wonder if the policy was still underway. Did the effort work to help food insecure families as it set out to? At a glance, it appears to have worked, and has even garnered recognition for its persistence through covid. They subsidize local far...

Those of us who have the means, and have access to “triple bottom line food” can help the many who do not currently have access by prioritizing locally grown and produced foods. This would positively influence public health, education and local economies. However the influence of consumerism to fix the food system should not be overstated, as it often is. We cannot simply buy our way to fixing the...