
Small shifts for a more sustainable diet
From guest writer: FoodPrint Whether it’s a salad, a hamburger, or your morning egg sandwich, any meal has an impact on the environment and the welfare of animals, people, and the planet. Industrial food production—factory farms that produce animal products,…

Compost as a Food Waste Solution
As you feast, gather, and celebrate, waste can pile up all too quickly during the holiday season. Strategic shopping, creative leftover reuse, and mindfulness around excess can help prevent food waste, but food scraps are pretty much an inevitable part…

Students collaborate with Food Forward to maximize the produce industry’s impact
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Marketing Competition Team took on the challenge of researching and proposing how Food Forward can maximize our impact in the produce industry, and in the communities we serve through, identifying new opportunities for recovery and donation.

The 13 Best Fruit Trees to Grow in Southern California
If you live in Los Angeles, Ventura County, or elsewhere in Southern California, and are looking to add shade to your garden and more fruit to your diet, then it’s time to plant a fruit tree. Here are the 13 best fruit trees to plant in your Southern Californian garden, along with information on how and when to harvest fruit from Food Forward's Backyard Harvest Team.

How Farmers Markets Build Healthier and More Equitable Communities
Farmers markets are more than places to grocery shop—they are bustling community centers that are abundant with food, culture, resources, and caring people.

Where do strawberries come from: Ventura’s Agricultural legacy
By Andrea Howry, Ventura County Backyard Harvest Coordinator I love strawberries. Lima beans, not so much. Sugar beets? Not sure I’ve ever tried one. So it’s a good thing I’m living in California’s Ventura County now rather than 100 years…

Rain, Drought, and Citrus Trees
If you’ve been living in Southern California for the last few years or decades, you’re likely familiar with the changing weather patterns. In 2012 to 2016, we experienced a very harsh five-year drought and 2023-2024 had record-setting winter storms and…

Food loss and food waste: the world’s solvable problem
By guest writer, Lisa K. Johnson, PhD I started reading about food loss and waste in 2010, when a couple of books about food waste came out: Wasted, by Tristram Stuart and American Wasteland by Jonathan Bloom. As a lifelong horticulturist,…

Kitchen and Climate: Don’t let your leftovers hurt the planet
By guest writer, Tami Chipeco We’ve all been there. Enticed by the delicate and fresh-looking bag of spring mix at the grocery store and the aspirations of eating healthy and saving money by making salad at home. You get home…
