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Sustainability News

ASU Student Clubs and Organizations Involved with Sustainable Food Systems

July 10, 2021

These clubs and organizations at ASU are a great place to meet others with interests in sustainable food systems and get hands-on experience with projects. Check them out on SunDevilSync to learn more about how you can get involved! If you know of any other ASU clubs or organizations that should be added to this list, please let us know! You can email the Swette Center at swettecenter@asu.edu 

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Kudos to the Student Worker Team

April 29, 2021

As the 2020-21 school year comes to an end we want to appreciate and celebrate the contributions that our team of student workers has made to the Swette Center. The Swette Center has been made stronger thanks to each of their contributions, creativity, and good humor. We’ll miss them in our weekly team meetings, and wish them the best on what comes next in their academic careers! 

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A Firsthand Look into Ranching on Tribal Lands with Santana Nez

April 2, 2021

By Mackenize Martinez, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders. 

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Cattle Ranching and Conservation 

March 20, 2021

By Mary Rochelle, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders. 

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Duncan Family Farms' commitment to sustainable agriculture

March 14, 2021

Photo of basil growing in greenhouseBy Claire Robertson, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders. 

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Remembering to Use Our Racial Equity Lens

February 24, 2021

By Kana Miller, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders.

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Storytelling Fundamentals with Frank Sesno

February 24, 2021

By Stu Lourey, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders.

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Sustainable Citrus Farming in Yuma Valley with Mark Kuechel

February 20, 2021

By Wesley Conner, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders. 

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Conservation Districts: Arizona's Best Kept Secret!

February 17, 2021

By Eric Hemphill, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders.

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Baking bread during the pandemic? Time to try heritage flour

February 10, 2021

By Dory Cooper, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders. 

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The Role of Various USDA Agencies in Arizona

February 8, 2021

By: Fran Alvarado, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders.

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Arizona Food Bank Network and their fight against food insecurity

February 4, 2021

By Marcus Miller, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders. 

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In Quarantine with USDA’s Melanie Galvan

January 9, 2021

By Cam Petersen, Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate student 

This blog is part of a series from the December Arizona Immersive program of the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Students virtually toured the state, meeting with farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, government staff and non-profit leaders. 

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Wednesdays from Washington: What's Next for Rural America?

August 19, 2020

USDA Photo by Preston Keres

This blog post was written by Arizona State University graduate student Karli Moore. In addition to studying Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership at ASU, Karli is an Associate Program Officer at the Native American Agriculture Fund.

As an avid traveler, I’m always interested in how people outside of the United States conceptualize our country. It’s certain that US popular culture is overrepresented on the global scene, but the predominate picture of the nation is heavily skewed to NYC, LA, and Miami. In truth, it’s not just people across oceans who have this urban-centric view; a sizeable (and growing) population within our borders has no realistic perception of rural America today, much less what the future holds for people like my family living on a farm.

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Wednesdays from Washington: Influencing Policy as a Nonprofit

July 22, 2020

This blog post was written by Arizona State University graduate student Kathleen Yetman. In addition to studying Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership at ASU, Kathleen is the Executive Director of the Prescott Farmers Market.

On our second full day in Washington D.C., we heard from food policy experts from all kinds of backgrounds. I was particularly interested to hear the stories of representatives from nonprofit organizations who have been working on food policy. Our nonprofit food policy panel included Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, Kumar Chandran, policy director for FoodCorps, and Michael Fernandez, director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues. Because I work in the nonprofit sector myself, I was especially curious to learn how nonprofits advocate for better food policies while also maintaining a program-centered mission.

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