Germantown Kitchen Garden’s farmer, Amanda Staples, who hails from Upper Darby, did not grow up on a farm. Although her grandparents operated a Christmas tree farm near Clarks Summit, Lackawanna County, Staples’ initial hands-on contact with farming was growing lima beans in her backyard for an elementary school assignment. After graduating from Temple University with
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There’s nothing like a great bookstore. At their best, they can provide both a mirror to who we are and expand the possibilities of who we can be. They are the hubs of the dreamers and visionaries. I share in the disappointment of many Philadelphians that Joseph Fox Bookshop will be closing after 71 years
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Amirah Mitchell , founder of Sistah Seeds. Photography by Drew Dennis. Ground Work by Jenny Roberts Amirah Mitchell has known she wanted to be a farmer since she was a 14-year-old intern with The Food Project, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit devoted to building sustainable food systems. “That’s kind of when I caught the farming bug,” Mitchell,
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On February 9, Kensington resident Kristin Dudley texted her mother Pamela without context: “Hey mom—could you do something for me? Write the words ‘Mother Butter’ on a piece of paper, one time in cursive, the next just regular—take a pic and send it to me?” “Ok … ” her mother responded. Dudley, a self-described “serial
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When my editor asked if I’d like to write a foraging article, I said I’d think about it. I have avoided writing about foraging for a while now. Foraging—looking for wild plants and fungi to consume—seems to be growing as a hobby, and it’s an obvious topic for a nature writer. But it has always
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Living a sustainable lifestyle can be a daunting undertaking, especially if you don’t know where to begin. Welcome to the first edition of Philly Low-Waste Living. I’m Emily Rodia, the founder of Good Buy Supply—Philly’s one-stop-shop for sustainable home goods. We specialize in all areas of the home from kitchen, bathroom to laundry but
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From seed to supper” sums up the credo of Food Moxie, a Northwest Philadelphia nonprofit that “educates and inspires people to grow, prepare and eat healthy food,” says Lisa Mosca, executive director of this offshoot of Weavers Way Co-op. Launched in 2006, Food Moxie grew from a project where Weavers Way in Mount Airy supplied
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I’m dying for a cup of coffee today. Not just a regular black cup, the kind I used to drink daily for decades. No, I want one of those towering concoctions with billowing clouds of milk and mountains of sugar that are topped off with swirls of whipped cream. A milkshake disguised as coffee. I’ve
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On a small plot of land just on the edge of Southwest Philadelphia sits a yellow school bus. A year ago the gutted vehicle wouldn’t have warranted a second look. But now the bus has been rehabilitated, with reinforced windows and flooring, and sits under a blue tarp to protect it from the rain. The
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By Rory Sweeney Working out of the Drexel University-backed ic@3401 startup incubator in University City, the five-man team at GrowFlux is banking on a hunch that, for plant-growers, less is more. They’ve learned that, rather than gadgets and wizardry, the best thing technology can offer to the horticulture industry is simplicity, and that all other
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In 2005, soon after my mother died, I spent 17 days hospitalized with ulcerative colitis during the holidays. Instead of champagne, I got two units of blood on New Year’s Eve. I lost 30 of my usual 142 pounds. After discharge, I lacked the strength to stand up and cook, much less go to the
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