Artisans & Entrepreneurs: Cheese Greater

The demand for FireFly Farms’ cheeses — including a rare goat’s-milk blue — seems insatiable. By Marian Burros • Photos by Molly McDonald Peterson   When Michael Koch and Pablo Solanet bought an old farm in Garrett County, Maryland, in 1997 and turned it into their weekend getaway, it was not with the thought that [...]

One of Us?

Kathleen Merrigan is working hard to change federal agriculture policy from inside the USDA. By Marian Burros Until last spring, phrases like “sustainable agriculture,” “local food,” and “mobile slaughterhouses” were only whispered in the halls of the Department of Agriculture, the agency where industrial agriculture and biotechnology reigned supreme. Then Kathleen Merrigan—a 50-year-old assistant professor [...]

Vouchers for Veggies

Helping food stamp recipients shop at farmers markets near and far. By Marian Burros • Photo by Kristen Taylor With names like Boston Bounty Bucks, Fresh Checks, and Double Dollars, programs at a few farmers markets across the country—including some in the Capital foodshed—offer economically vulnerable people a deal they cannot refuse: as much as [...]

No Whining in Winter

Some D.C. area chefs are making an extra effort to use local, seasonal ingredients even in these long winter months. And diners are learning to like it.

Got Dairy Farmers?

The price paid to dairy farmers for fluid milk has dropped by almost 40 percent since August 2008. The crisis is serious enough that Congress is taking action to keep dairies from going out of business.

Milk’s positive image has been taking a shellacking on many fronts for several years now. Should humans drink it? Is it safe? [...]

A Provocative Kitchen Garden

When the White House announced Michelle Obama would be planting an organic vegetable garden on the South Lawn, cynics claimed it was nothing more than a photo opportunity to burnish the new First Lady’s image. They could hardly have imagined how a 20-by-50 plot of snap peas, kale, tomatoes, and squash would have such a [...]