Roots of Change

04/29/2026

Farmers across the Great Plains are confronting an intense drought that threatens winter wheat harvests and is pushing cattle producers toward costly feed purchases, prompting some to abandon plans to expand their herds.

Drought now covers nearly 90% of Nebraska and Oklahoma, with more than half of Nebraska in "extreme" drought.

04/29/2026

Attention HUMBOLDT COUNTY folks - SIGN UP TODAY:
RSVP link: https://bit.ly/4sw2xTS

04/28/2026

The number of farmers in America has been shrinking for years, but rising costs and weak commodity prices are pushing more families out at a faster rate. In 2025, 315 farms filed for bankruptcy, up 46% from 2024, U.S. court data shows.

By Patrick Thomas | Photography by Whitney Curtis for WSJFeb. 14, 2026 9:00 pm ETMARSHALL, Ill.—Don Guinnip is running out of time.The fifth-generation farmer still wakes early each morning to tend to roughly 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans and 40 cattle. But four decades of grueling work, a bout...

04/27/2026

JOIN US for a round-table discussion on regional needs to map food system infrastructure in California.

Please RSVP for the session in ARCATA on Thu, April 30 as soon as possible to secure your seat: https://bit.ly/4sw2xTS

🚩 ATTENTION- If you are one of the following YOUR INPUT IS ESSENTIAL:

- producer
- food system processor, aggregator, or distributor
- agricultural or community-based organization or collaborative
- tribal entity
- food business
- technical assistance provider to producers or food supply chain, food financing agency or agriculture financing agency
- entity developing food system infrastructure, or a food system map/vision.

Don't miss this opportunity to network, learn, and contribute to the resilience of our local food system. See you there! Translation services available upon request.

- ARCATA, 4/30, 3pm to 5pm: bit.ly/4sw2xTS

Find more information on this project: bit.ly/4sQJWS6

North Coast Food Web North Coast Growers Association Farmers' Markets CDFA Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability UC Agriculture & Natural Resources Humboldt County Farm Bureau Humboldt Farmers' Market Humboldt Family Farms Humboldt Grassfed Beef, Fair Curve Farm Green Spiral Farm Shakefork Community Farm Ferndale Farms

Overview Led by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), this project focuses on enhancing resilience across the middle of the food supply chain by supporting local and regional […]

04/24/2026

🎤 Have a listen to our guest episode with Dan Imhoff, Full Expression Podcast, and Artist Narsiso Martinez. A former farmworker himself, gifted artist Narsiso Martinez, paints farmworker portraits on flattened produce boxes, which now hang in museums, galleries and homes. Narsiso is lifting up men and women that most people never see or hear, but upon whom our very lives depend.

A former farmworker himself, gifted artist Narsiso Martinez, paints farmworker portraits on flattened produce boxes, which now hang in museums, galleries and...

04/23/2026

JOIN US for a round-table discussion on regional needs to map food system infrastructure in California.

Please RSVP for the session in ARCATA on April 30 as soon as possible: https://bit.ly/4sw2xTS

🚩 ATTENTION- If you are one of the following YOUR INPUT IS ESSENTIAL:

- producer
- food system processor, aggregator, or distributor
- agricultural or community-based organization or collaborative
- tribal entity
- food business
- technical assistance provider to producers or food supply chain, food financing agency or agriculture financing agency
- entity developing food system infrastructure, or a food system map/vision

Don't miss this opportunity to network, learn, and contribute to the resilience of our local food system. See you there! Translation services available upon request.

- ARCATA, 4/30: https://bit.ly/4sw2xTS

Find more information on this project: https://bit.ly/4sQJWS6

Overview Led by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), this project focuses on enhancing resilience across the middle of the food supply chain by supporting local and regional […]

04/22/2026

ROC had a great time at Ag Day sharing the latest on our current projects and Vote for Your Food campaign with legislators, members of the public…eating amazing food and adoring magnificent farm animals 🐄🐮🐴🐐

04/19/2026

ROC's latest blog post is on a new white paper that we released this month. The blog shares key takeaways from this new paper, and explores how stronger connections between food systems, public health, and community infrastructure can improve nutrition security and build long-term resilience in the face of wildfires, extreme weather, chronic disease, and other disruptions.

Have a look!

In recent years, communities across the U.S. have faced a relentless series of disruptions that have tested lives, livelihoods, and the systems people depend on every day. In 2025, Los […]

04/18/2026

👩‍🌾 JOIN US for a round-table discussion on regional needs to map food system infrastructure in California.

Please RSVP for the session in ARCATA on April 30 as soon as possible: https://bit.ly/4sw2xTS

🚩 ATTENTION- If you are one of the following YOUR INPUT IS ESSENTIAL:

- producer
- food system processor, aggregator, or distributor
- agricultural or community-based organization or collaborative
- tribal entity
- food business
- technical assistance provider to producers or food supply chain, food financing agency or agriculture financing agency
- entity developing food system infrastructure, or a food system map/vision

Don't miss this opportunity to network, learn, and contribute to the resilience of our local food system. See you there! Translation services available upon request.

- ARCATA, 4/30: https://bit.ly/4sw2xTS

Find more information on this project: https://bit.ly/4sQJWS6

Join us in ARCATA for a meeting to discuss how to build a strong and adaptable food system supporting small and mid-size producers.

04/17/2026

The article references a letter sent to congress by a coalition of 56 Ag organizations insisting action on the Farm Bill and asking for USDA’s support to “stabilize the farm economy, protect rural economies and ensure stable food supply”.

Over the past year, farmers across the United States have been facing a crisis. Staring down record high business costs and lower profit yields, cuts to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs and tariff policies, many have found that the profession is no longer economically viable. And now the war in Iran is adding another stressor.

The challenges are only going to multiply for American farmers. The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war in Iran is expected to further increase costs for farmers, as about 20% of the fertilizer used by American farmers is produced by a Qatari facility—which is unable to be shipped as long as the Strait is closed.

The choices are taking out more loans, bancruptcy or stop farming altogether...

From tariffs to climate change, farmers are taking an economic hit. Now the Iran war is adding another cost.

04/15/2026

➡️ Roots of Change has just released our latest WHITE PAPER: "Bridging Regional Food Systems and Healthcare."

It was a labor of love resulting from 5 years of work in Los Angeles County and Stockton, CA using 2 distinct interventions to support nutrition security. We learned a lot about the synergies between addressing chronic diet-related disease and emergencies that disrupt access to food in marginalized communities.

➡️ We recommend three actions and provide model policy language that advocates and policymakers can use to create more health and resilience within their communities. The paper was vetted by some great minds in the food is medicine space and our funders and allies in the LA County Department of Public Health.

➡️ White paper: https://lnkd.in/eY6yxWPD
➡️ Model policy language: https://bit.ly/4muwLUK

Public Health Institute Los Angeles Food Policy Council Hunger Action Los Angeles-HALA Project Food Los Angeles Food Declaration The Nutrition Show with Mary Purdy RD San Diego Food System Alliance Food is Medicine Coalition Food As Medicine Michael R. Dimock

04/13/2026

👩‍🌾 JOIN US for a round-table discussion on regional needs to map food system infrastructure in California. Please RSVP for the one in San Diego on April 16 as soon as possible: SAN DIEGO 4/16: https://bit.ly/3PyMHsK

🚩 ATTENTION - If you are one of the following YOUR INPUT IS ESSENTIAL:
- producer
- food system processor, aggregator, or distributor
- agricultural or community-based organization or collaborative
- tribal entity
- food business
- technical assistance provider to producers or food supply chain, food financing agency or agriculture financing agency
- entity developing food system infrastructure, or a food system map/vision

Don't miss this opportunity to network, learn, and contribute to the resilience of our local food system. See you there! Translation services available upon request.

Register for in-person meetings:
- SAN DIEGO 4/16: https://bit.ly/3PyMHsK
- ARCATA, 4/30: https://bit.ly/4sw2xTS
- CHICO, 5/19: https://bit.ly/3NMoA9K
- FRESNO: date & location to be announced soon

Find more information on this project: https://bit.ly/4sQJWS6

Join us in SAN DIEGO for a meeting to discuss how to build a strong and adaptable food system supporting small and mid-size producers.