WUFT · The Giving Garden In the lush pine forests of Maine, the seeds of the Gainesville Giving Garden were planted in the mind of a young girl. Meg Boria-Meyer, 28, is the founder of the Gainesville Giving Garden, 225 NW 12th Ave. She grew up in Maine with …
Read More »Volunteers on a Gainesville farm find joy in the harvest
It’s harvest day. Daniel Robleto and his wife, Aviva Asher, wake up at 7 a.m., brush their teeth, eat their breakfast and begin their morning harvest. Robleto and Asher, both 40, are co-owners of Nicoya Farm, a small vegetable farm in Gainesville. They devote their lives to providing organic food …
Read More »Strawberry festival helps rebuild an Ocala man’s life
As customers lined up to buy the high-demand strawberries from Plant City farmers, their purchases would be the foundation for someone’s new home and life. Over 10,000 people attended the ninth annual “Habitat Ocala Strawberry Festival” at the McPherson Complex in Ocala on Saturday. Put on by Habitat for Humanity …
Read More »Food deserts leave lasting impact on local community health
Imagine having to walk more than 20 minutes to buy some fruit. This is the reality of nearly 40% of the U.S. population living in food deserts. As currently defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, a food desert is an urban area where you have to travel more …
Read More »Retirement for one couple means running The Blackberry Pig Farm in Hawthorne
Alan and Linda Clayton moved to western Putnam County to retire more than 10 years ago. Then they got bored and bought a 5-acre farm in Hawthorne they named The Blackberry Pig Farm, where the couple raises chickens, turkeys, cows and pigs. Now they participate in three different farmers markets around North Florida where they sell beef and pork, among other things.
Read More »Egg shortage cracks down on Gainesville consumers and businesses
Gainesville businesses are feeling the pinch in the price of eggs, and now they're contending with an egg shortage caused by the bird flu.
Read More »After Hurricane Ian, sowing hope
Editor’s note: Katie Delk is a 2022-2023 Florida Climate Institute Fellow reporting a series of articles about the impact of climate change on Florida’s farmers—and how they are adapting. Robert McMahon, in his faded denim jeans and straw hat, edged to the roof in a boom lift, three cows shuffling …
Read More »Florida beekeepers rally community in Hurricane Ian recovery efforts
B. Keith Councell is a beekeeper stripped of his bees – 2,800 of them spread across his farms in Arcadia, Cape Coral, Pine Island and Fort Myers. His honeybees were among the 400,000 Florida bee colonies in Hurricane Ian’s path in September. Ian decimated 100,000 total hives, which were toppled and drowned in 12-foot storm surges as high as eight beehives. The state’s surviving bees were left starving from the storm’s destruction of foliage, the bees' source of energy and protein. Deprived of bees, feed and equipment, beekeepers have found relief among themselves.
Read More »UF Environmental and Horticulture Club is holding its poinsettia sale Dec. 8 and 9
The University of Florida Environmental Horticulture Club is holding its 26th Annual Poinsettia Sale. The club carries over 4,000 plants and offers a variety of more than 40 types of poinsettias in its greenhouse. Located at the greenhouse behind Fifield Hall at 2475 Memorial Road on UF’s campus, the sale …
Read More »Transition from trucker to CBD sales was a healing journey
Local hemp farmer Tyler Griffin said his path to helping people heal from pain and other discomforts has been full of interesting turns. Griffin is the owner and founder of Southern Sun, a company that specializes in quality, all-natural and affordable CBD products. The hemp used to produce Southern Sun’s products is homegrown at his family’s farm in Archer, Florida.
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