Joseph Nguyen, 27, lives in South Philly and holds a 2020 Temple University degree in international business. But if you ask him what he does, the answer is much more nuanced. “I live three different lives,” he says. Nguyen performs audits for government and corporate clients, competes as a Muay Thai martial artist, and runs
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Christa Barfield, the founder of FarmerJawn Agriculture, a multi-pronged organization that aims to feed wholesome food to marginalized communities while educating the next generation of Black and Brown farmers, will begin leasing the 123-acre farm at the Westtown School in Chester County. “This land is not a gift, it’s an opportunity,” Barfield says of her
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When COVID-19 suddenly disrupted supply chains, leaving grocery shelves empty, local farmers joined the short list of essential workers. Yet, despite their critical importance, many farmers remain low-wage workers. A report recently released by Pasa Sustainable Agriculture revealed that farmers in our region earn about $10 per hour and family farm households struggle to reach
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It can be easy to get discouraged these days. Everywhere we look, there are signs of a struggling planet and, often, it’s difficult to see a clear path to an effectual response. 2022 may well eclipse recent years as the hottest on record. Rainfall has alternated between being absent or violent in Pennsylvania, one of
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Yellow chili peppers grow pointing up from the bushy plant in a raised bed at the Emily South section of the Growing Home Garden in South Philadelphia, looking a bit like a miniature tree decorated with Christmas lights. Leafy green mustard plants sprout from a nearby bed that had apparently been turned over recently for
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Enter through the gilded green gates of The Woodlands Cemetery in West Philadelphia, take the road through to the right passing the grave markers and mausoleums, and you’ll find new life growing on a verdant stretch of grass just past the stand of plane trees. This is where the Philadelphia Orchard Project (POP) has been
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Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia executive director Devi Ramkissoon witnessed the importance of local food systems firsthand in her former job with USAID in Bangladesh. While many Bangladeshi farmers are women, they are not usually the land or business owners, which had significant social, economic and environmental impacts that Ramkissoon worked to address. “Without
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After a two-year, Covid-induced hiatus, local food event Good Food Fest is set to return. “We’re passionate about local food and supporting our growers and makers,” says Christy Campli, owner of event organizer Growing Roots Partners. “Good Food Fest is a way to celebrate, support and build awareness around the importance of local agriculture.” Campli
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No matter if you spell it as “streatery” or “streetery,” these improvised outdoor dining areas began popping up around Philadelphia in 2020. At their peak, an estimated 800 restaurants in the city were operating streateries to keep their businesses open while COVID-19 health concerns restricted indoor dining. Originally allowed as an emergency measure, Philly streateries
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Does healthier soil create food that has more nutrients? At Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, we have several community-science research projects based on farms working to find the answer to that intriguing question, because the wellness of our bodies is very likely linked to the overall health and wellness of the land and water that grow these
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