Ralph Paige served the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund for more than 30 years, 16 as Executive Director. The Federation improves the quality of rural life through housing, community credit unions, cooperatives and training programs. It helps small farmers access the full range of USDA programs and keeps thousands of landowners informed of their rights and...
Pope Francis is making his first-ever visit to the United States this week, greeted by screaming crowds in Washington, New York City and Philadelphia. Unlike most dignitaries, he’s not only visiting the White House, Capitol Hill and the United Nations, but also a mostly immigrant school in a low-wealth neighborhood, a homeless shelter and a prison.
Dubbed “the People’s Pope,” Francis...
The local foods movement has become much more than a short-lived dietary or environmental trend. Can it actually fuel the new Southern economy?
The term “locavore” has become ubiquitous since appearing in the American vernacular about ten years ago. It represents a rapidly growing movement of people choosing locally produced food rather than packaged goods that traveled hundreds of...
Despite improving employment numbers, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Wednesday the poverty rate in 2014 remained virtually unchanged from 2013 – its fourth consecutive year of statistical stagnation. At 14.8 percent, 46.7 million Americans lived in poverty last year (defined as $24,230 or less for a family of four). There has also been negligible change in income for three years in a row,...
Ten years ago, Hurricane Katrina spawned the need for new construction and a skilled workforce all over the Gulf Coast. It also exacerbated already dire economic situations for low-income women in Mississippi. The Moore Community House , which serves low-income women and children in east Biloxi, found a way to address both of those needs when it launched its Women in Construction (WinC)...
