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‘The Greatest Thing in the World’: Senior Praises USDA Rural Development Funded Food Pantry
Originally from Pennsylvania, she’s a self-proclaimed “Jersey girl” who says she can’t help herself when it comes to helping others.
“I like to tell the people around here what they should and shouldn’t be doing,” laughed Joan Lombardi, a resident at Kapp Senior Residences in… [Read More]
08.25.2023
Love Continues to Grow at Lovefood Farm
In 2015, Lovefood Farm launched their farm off one rented acre with a small Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Saturday farmers market and a neighborhood farmstand. Lovefood spent a few years at the Farley Center Farm Incubator, which allowed them to eventually purchase 30… [Read More]
05.04.2023

Feeding the Body, Enriching the Mind
The motto of the Barreras Family Farm and Farm Market is “Feeding the Body, Enriching the Mind.”
Mariel and Anthony Barreras, along with their eight children, bring this motto to life. Together, they run the farm and store – and do so much more.
The Barreras family… [Read More]
05.04.2023

Keeping it local works best for Utah orchard farmer
Wall Brothers Orchards has been in the fruit growing business for more than 50 years, growing apples, peaches, and cherries in Payson, Utah. The highest quality fruit is selected to sell to distributors and consumers in Orchard Brothers Farmer’s Market.
Every growing season a… [Read More]
05.03.2023

Rural Montana Women Turn 'Side Project' into Profitable Operation
Nestled in the heart of central Montana’s Fergus County sits the town of Hilger, home to the Montana RancHers Beef Co. This woman-owned beef production business, which formed in 2020 during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, is a collaborative three-family operation that… [Read More]
03.31.2023

Commercial Kitchen Fires Texas Barbecue up to Next Level
When Ruben Lopez and his wife Katherine moved from Texas to Price, Utah a few years ago, they didn’t have plans to open a restaurant. The idea began with a question Ruben posted on Facebook. “How would y'all like some Texas barbecue out here?” His query received hundreds of… [Read More]
02.17.2023

Entrepreneurs and RD: a Match Meant to Bee
Mark and Linda Graf have a crew of over 400,000 bees in over 100 hives working for them near Emerson, Nebraska. The Buzz, their store on Main Street, sells local honey and related products.
The Grafs are shining examples of entrepreneurship in rural America. Linda describes… [Read More]
02.14.2023

Buying local made easy - Yellowstone Valley Food Hub
The Yellowstone Valley Food Hub (YVFH) is a cooperative of farmers and ranchers that came together three years ago to increase the community's access to local food. It started as an online ordering platform and quickly grew into an enduring business. Today it provides the… [Read More]
02.08.2023

Solar: It’s a “Big Dill” for Real Pickles Cooperative
As USDA Rural Development (RD) highlights National Cooperative Month, one worker owned co-op in Massachusetts stands out as a model for sustainability, collaboration, and local food system resiliency. The saying goes “it’s not easy being green.” But for Real Pickles in… [Read More]
10.20.2022