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"Data sharing can also drive better business decisions. Knowing the weather patterns at other farms around the world can prepare growers for shifts in the market, from potential yields to pricing trends. ... "So, bringing that data story together helps individual farmers grow and makes sure they have a sustainable business model."

Schools across the country are offering less healthy lunch options as they struggle with dwindling supplies, delayed shipments and fewer cafeteria workers.

"Innovations in digital technology and the use of alternative data sources have decreased the cost and increased the speed of data collection and use. Harnessing this potential requires increased investment by donors and governments and a more effective approach that strengthens foundational data systems and governance frameworks, and supports local knowledge and capacity development. "

Rising temperatures and lack of protection, both politically and from the environment, may be leading to an increase in farmworker deaths.

"an international team of researchers has found that these vegetables can be grown in a variety of soilless production systems in small spaces indoors, with or without artificial lighting. The findings are especially relevant amid a pandemic that has disrupted food supply chains"

Google has launched a new website called Find Food Support, which puts important resources on how to locate free and affordable food in the US in one place. Perhaps the most useful feature the website can offer is a new Google Maps tool that can point you to the nearest food bank, food pantry or school lunch program pickup site.

Grocery delivery service Instacart will soon begin accepting food stamps as a form of payment within its app. The company announced that "in the coming weeks," it's beginning a pilot with grocery chain Aldi to accept food stamps for its same-day delivery and pickup service.

"The dirt beneath our feet is getting poorer and on many farms worldwide, there is less and less of it." "This article is part of a new multimedia series Follow the Food by BBC Future and BBC World News. Follow the Food investigates how agriculture is responding to the profound challenges of climate change, environmental degradation and a rapidly growing global population. Our food supply chains are increasingly globalised, with crops grown on one continent to be consumed on another. The challenges to farming also span the world."

With a rapidly growing population, many are searching for new ways of farming that are less harmful and use less resources compared to current practices. This article advocates for hydroponic farms. "Hydroponic farms offer a pathway towards a more sustainable food ethic that prioritizes the health of our food, bodies and environment without the heavy use of chemicals."

In short, this is a global challenge because it's not just about food and feeding people, but also about practically all aspects of an economy and society.

"More than 2,400 families have started their own gardens, and seven new permanent market spaces have been created. Shorter, localised food supply chains help the city reduce carbon emissions by producing 2,500 tons of fruits and vegetables each year. Compared to imports, local food production has been shown to reduce emissions by 95 per cent."

USDA's 2020 Household Food Security Report - "This report provides statistics on food security in U.S. households throughout 2020 based on the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data collected in December 2020. An estimated 89.5 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2020, with access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (10.5 percent, unchanged from 10.5 percent in 2019) were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 3.9 percent with very low food security (not significantly different from 4.1 percent in 2019). "

NPR discussion on behavioral economist's, Sendhil Mullainathan, book - Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much, co-authored with Princeton psychologist Eldar Shafir. " Poverty, they find, is like a parasite, consuming mental energy that could be put to more beneficial use. "Put simply, being poor is like having just pulled an all-nighter," Mullainathan once told NPR. And that, he says, hurts their ability to escape poverty. As Washington debates sending checks to Americans and increasing the minimum wage, a new study offers evidence for how such policies could help eliminate poverty. Obviously, giving more money to people without much money helps them with money problems. But the study adds to a growing body of research that says that money really does help workers earn more money."

"Given that 95 per cent of per capita calorie consumption worldwide comes from crops that grow directly in the soil or from food sources that indirectly rely on it, the symbolic maternal relationship between fertile soil and human life is profound...A system of agriculture, that places healthy soil at the foundation of bountiful and nutrient-rich crops, should form the basis of what 'The Power of the Plate' refers to as a model of "Regenerative Healthcare" in which neither soil nor humans are treated with toxic chemicals."

"For cities to catch up, they need to apply a data-driven approach similar to what farms are using to more effectively grow crops. Cities must start supporting urban agriculture in targeted ways that work with the urban agriculture industry to transform our current food production and distribution systems into smarter, more localized, and more resilient networks."

"Notwithstanding, the lack of access to sufficient quality of affordable food results in food insecurity, which can be depicted in several states and communities across the globe. However, contrary to popular belief, this food insecurity is not a subsequent of scarcity; in fact, the annual production of food surpasses the benchmark of sustaining one and a half times more food for the world's entire population."

"Despite the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the vulnerable in the United States, the percentage of Americans in food-insecure households held steady in 2020 at 10.5%, figures released on Sept. 8, 2021, show...That food insecurity stayed stable was due to various government actions."

This report outlines the true cost of food, which includes the impacts on our health, the environment, biodiversity, livelihoods, and much more. With this new analysis, governments, advocates, corporations, and individuals are better equipped to catalyze the change needed to develop a truly nourishing, equitable, and sustainable food system in the United States.

"The way Americans eat and produce food costs nearly $2 trillion in health and environmental expenditures alone-and that cost disproportionately burdens communities of color." the statistics they provide are very alarming !

The USDA released a study highlighting barriers that SNAP participants face when trying to eat a healthy diet. Nearly 90% percent identified barriers, with 66% stating that healthy food is not affordable. Additionally, SNAP participants' responses around preparing and storing food were identified as barriers related to food insecurity.