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How to Help Farmworkers Impacted by Hurricane Helene
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BY CHRISTINA COOKE • October 17, 2024
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Hurricane Helene triggered massive flooding and landslides when it barreled through Western North Carolina in late September, wiping out homes, businesses, roads, bridges, and farms—and claiming nearly 100 lives in the state alone.
While farmworkers experienced loss as well, their stories have been largely absent from the headlines. Because these workers are isolated in rural areas and often lack immigration papers, English language skills, and full control over their housing, transportation,
and food supply, they are particularly vulnerable in times of crisis. Helene was no exception, compounded by the fact that disaster aid has been slow to reach Latinx communities.
In Western North Carolina, farmworkers tend and harvest berries, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, pumpkins, and Christmas trees, among other things. While some live full-time in their communities and work whatever crop is in season, others migrate from farm to farm following the work, often from Florida to Georgia to Western North Carolina. A good portion are in the country on temporary H-2A visas, which tie them to a specific employer who is responsible for providing housing.
Civil Eats spoke with Leticia Zavala, a coordinator with El Futuro Es Nuestro (It’s Our Future), a farmworker-led human rights organization, about how farmworkers are faring after the storm, the type of aid available to them, and what the public can do to help. Read the full story.
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Can the Government Help Americans Waste Less Food at Home?
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BY LISA HELD • October 16, 2024
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For about a decade, other countries as well as cities, states, and nonprofits in the U.S. have been experimenting with campaigns that target home cooks, and tracking progress along the way.
Food waste, after all, is a mountain-of-trash-sized problem. In the U.S., about 35 percent of food is thrown out before it’s eaten.
Once piled to rot at a local dump, food waste produces 58 percent of the methane emissions from landfills.
That lack of progress is one reason why the Biden administration in June unveiled a national strategy to reduce food waste, including plans to prevent waste in grocery stores and schools, increase composting infrastructure, and promote food donation.
Because 40 percent of food waste happens within American homes, experts in the field are especially excited by the strategy’s emphasis on preventing waste through consumer awareness and education campaigns. The federal government is getting on board in a big way: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is investing $34 million to develop a campaign and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is simultaneously spending $2.5 million to fund a research project. Read the full story.
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For Restaurants, Composting Food Scraps Is Just the Beginning
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BY MEG WILCOX • October 15, 2024
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Rifrullo Café, a cozy farm-to-table restaurant in Brookline, Massachusetts, hums with customers on a steamy July mid-morning. Patrons sip coffee on the shady sidewalk patio. Inside, people hunch over laptops or chat with friends, waiting for Turkish poached eggs with harissa-spiced eggplant or cinnamon custard French toast.
Rifrullo’s rustic-modern décor, mismatched dishware, and chalkboard sign welcoming guests
to “be yourself, make friends, find harmony, and relax,” are as inviting as its prices, which top out at $16 for the salmon burger. Chef-owner Colleen Marnell-Suhanosky opened the restaurant in 2013 after working for renowned Boston chef Lydia Shire and at various East Coast restaurants, including Gramercy Tavern in New York City.
“Community, environment. It’s part of my DNA . . . As a chef, I have a responsibility to do my best to create good environments for people, customers, and the community,” says Marnell-Suhanosky.
As part of creating that good environment, she’s taken multiple steps to cut Rifrullo’s carbon footprint, including composting all food scraps, one of the most important steps restaurants can take to combat climate change. But restaurants have other,
less visible sources of waste that also contribute to climate change. These include energy (used for cooking, refrigeration, heating, and cooling), water, and packaging. Read the full story.
This is the fourth article in a five-part series about restaurants and climate-change solutions, produced in collaboration with Eater.
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