Latest Rural community development Stories
Market Open Every Tuesday and Friday from May to November HARRISBURG, Pa., May 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Farmers Open Air Market will return to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center on May 4, providing Harrisburg area residents and visitors an opportunity to purchase affordable, locally grown food directly from producers, Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding said today. The market will be open from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday until November. "Farmers...
MILWAUKEE, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Walmart Foundation has awarded nonprofit lending organization Ways to Work, Inc. a $2 million grant to expand its program offering low-interest auto loans to working families. As a result, Ways to Work expects to add 10 offices around the country and provide reliable transportation and financial literacy tools to thousands of families. The grant from the Walmart Foundation comes as new research shows borrowers using the program have improved their...
A portion of the proceeds from this author event will be donated to Fonkoze, Haiti's alternative bank for the organized poor WASHINGTON, April 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Perry Hooks and Loretta Yenson, Co-Founders of Hooks Book Events, are pleased to partner with the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center and Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland to announce an exclusive book-signing event with internationally renowned, best-selling author...
Co-op Hall of Fame Honors ACDI/VOCA Staff as First International Inductee WASHINGTON, April 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This May 5, the late Ato Werqu Mekasha of Ethiopia will be the first international inductee in the U.S. Cooperative Hall of Fame - the U.S. cooperative community's highest honor. Werqu, who died last year and had been an ACDI/VOCA staff member, worked tirelessly with Ethiopian government, businesses and local farmers to lead large, transformative cooperative development...
Will Focus on Institutions Serving Up to One Million Clients WASHINGTON, March 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Grameen Foundation today announced it is expanding its technology for microfinance initiative to provide enhanced support to high-growth, mid-size microfinance institutions (MFIs) serving up to one million clients. It also plans to extend the Mifos® platform to enhance connectivity to mobile payment systems and improve the integration of the Progress out of Poverty Index(TM)...
HARRISBURG, Pa., March 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Federal grants aimed at increasing direct farmer-to-consumer sales and improving access to locally grown food are now available, state Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding today. The deadline to apply is April 15. Grants of up to $100,000 per project are available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farmers Market Promotion Program to improve and expand domestic farmers markets, roadside stands, community-supported...
WASHINGTON, March 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Despite the usual abundance of nearby farms, local farm products are largely missing from most schools' lunch trays. An emerging "farm to school" movement aims to fix that by matching local farms with local schools, cutting out the middleman, and scaling up students' nutrition. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has been joined by Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and 12 other senators in introducing legislation to expand farm to school links to boost...
SOMERVILLE, Mass., March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America" is the theme of the quarter-century anniversary of Farm Aid, the nonprofit organization led by board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. Farm Aid's mission is to keep family farmers on the land and to create a family farm-centered food system in America. Farm Aid representatives say planning for the 25th anniversary concert and the events leading up to it is in...
Potential to improve children's diets without burdening school finances while helping local farmersDuring the school day, children eat roughly one-third of their nutritional needs while at school. Besides lunch, breakfast and snacks may be served, providing ample opportunities for obesity-prevention strategies by offering more nutritious food. With economical constraints interfering with schools to provide children with increased amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, a study in the...
MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Land O'Lakes achieved strong, and in some cases record-level, financial results in 2009, despite a weak economy. That was the message from the national food and agricultural cooperative's President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Policinski, who addressed approximately 1,000 delegates and visitors today at the Land O'Lakes 89th Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. After reviewing the company's 2009 performance, Policinski outlined the important role...
