“Food forests” help Black and Brown communities gain access to fresh produce and cooling shade
On a quiet street in East Germantown is a small farm blooming with red bok choy, turnips, Brussel sprouts and nasturtium, all grown organically. Located within the confines of Awbury Arboretum, this is one of Philly’s “food forests,” also known as forest gardens.
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Look back at how activists in 2020 set their sights on creating a better, kinder city
Imagination ran wild this year as activists and protesters envisioned a city much different than the one we live in.
Philadelphians marched down Broad Street, climbed the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps and gathered at Malcolm X Park in West Philadelphia, demanding change with chants, signs and determination. Temple University communication professor Jason Del Gandio notes that the same unrest swept other cities too.
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What Does the Future Hold for FarmerJawn’s Christa Barfield?
Food businesses experienced one theme this past year: change. For FarmerJawn’s Christa Barfield, there was more than enough change to go around. During the pandemic, FarmerJawn, a Black-owned farming community supported agriculture business, decided to leave its greenhouses behind due to differences with the landlord and infrastructure issues.
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Germantown mutual aid program dreams of a permanent “free market” for the people, by the people
If you travel to The People’s Lot, you will see an array of volunteers, organizers and neighbors unloading boxes of produce, but also sharing laughs and stories.
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I Love Thy Hood aims to solve Philly’s litter crisis with bright orange trash cans
Matthew George and his fiancee Bria Howard are taking Philadelphia’s litter problem into their own hands.
The couple began I Love Thy Hood, a program that supplied vivid orange trash cans to neighborhood businesses and residents in July of 2019. Thirteen months and one pandemic later, it has tripled in size, expanded beyond Germantown and offered inspiration to others seeking ways to clean their communities in the midst of a citywide sanitation crisis.
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From schools to scourge: Why 7 Philly schools remain empty 5 years after going on the auction block
Broken glass, withered pieces of cardboard and used diapers lay at the front door of former Fairhill Elementary School. Graffiti pierces through a careless paint job. Windows are pried open.
Marilyn Rodriguez, who lives around the corner from the school, once taught in its classrooms. She has watched the building’s condition deteriorate steadily since the School District of Philadelphia closed it after the 2013 school year.
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New help is here for Philly seniors who want stay in their homes
Bobby McCurdy, 76, lives on his own in the four-bedroom Sharswood home he inherited from his mother. Living alone at this stage in his life doesn’t bother him — he likes the freedom to do what he wants, when he wants, he said.
But what McCurdy does mind is the house itself. A crack trails across his plastered ceiling. The television sits against a wall painted Persian blue, but a leak from the upstairs bathroom has discolored the paint. Repairs like this were easy for him in the past; these days, he needs another option for maintaining his home.
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Nichole Renee Currie 