In Washington DC’s Ward 8, adults who are diagnosed with hypertension, pre-diabetes, or diabetes are now being prescribed a visit to their local Giant supermarket. Instead of picking up antihypertensive medications or insulin from a pharmacist, some patients fulfill a $20 produce prescription using their grocery loyalty card and consult with an on-site nutritionist. The […]
Refresh hopes to return to SXSW March 13-22, 2020 in Austin, Texas! YOU can help us get there by voting for our panel, “The Data-Driven Food System: From Soil to Supper,” before the selection period ends on Friday, August 23rd. How to Cast Your Vote Visit our SXSW page: https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/96531 Create a #PanelPicker account Confirm […]
Every year, 133 billion pounds of food go to waste in the US—that’s roughly 30–40% of the nation’s overall food supply, totaling between $161–218 billion in economic losses. At the same time that one-third of the nation’s food supply went uneaten, 40 million people lived in food-insecure households in 2017, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Inaccurate food labels are one of the primary culprits of the waste crisis.
Refresh Working Group member Kevin Krueger, who manages food program purchasing and sustainability programs for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, attended Davos On The Delta last month in Memphis, Tennessee. Kevin shares his insights and takeaways as founders of agtech startups gathered to learn more from one another and to connect with prospective investors.
By developing software that creates acreage reports while integrating with existing farm management systems, Deb and her team have managed to make a necessary but tedious process much easier with the development of MyAgData. Not only does it save farmers time, it also ensures that they provide the most accurate information possible. This is a crucial part of purchasing crop insurance and participating in USDA sponsored programs.
The food system in the US is vast and complex. The Maryland Food System Map is a powerful illustration of that complexity, given the magnitude of data you might need to evaluate in just one state. However, the map is also an important tool in cutting through that complexity.
Food is Medicine refers to a movement focused on using dietary improvements to prevent and treat illness, thereby improving both individual and public health. Along with that growing understanding about the relationship between food access and public health, new technology is helping to support and promote the role of food as medicine.
Among the vast spectrum of conferences in food and farming, EcoFarm remains one of my favorites. Over the course of its 40 years, the annual conference, organized by the nonprofit Ecological Farming Association, has grown from a handful of workshops to hundreds.
Over 38 million people use the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As you might imagine, this generates a lot of data about what people are purchasing. And just about anywhere there’s data, there’s debate about who should have access to it.
Mobile apps already play a major role in how we interact with food. As technology advances, some of these tools are beginning to incorporate advanced forms of artificial intelligence, allowing us to personalize our diets and make healthier choices.