This podcast series "Grounded Hope" is available on Spotify, Google Podcast, RadioPublic, and more!

Grounded Hope Episode 2: Black Farming is NOW AVAILABLE.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO EPISODE 2: Black Farming

Episode Description: The number of Black-owned farms has drastically declined since the 1920s, and now make up less than two percent of total U.S. farmland. In this episode, we'll talk with one of the organizers of the Black Farming Conference Beyond 40 acres and a Mule, learn how three childhood friends created an urban farm out of an abandoned dumping ground, and hear about the joys of eating food that you've poured your essence into from a first-time grower.

Click HERE for Resources for Educators

Please visit the Grounded Hope podcast website www.GroundedHope.org to learn more about the podcast, listen to the episodes, find resources for educators, and ways to "dig deeper".

Podcast Description: Wet springs, climate challenges, trade woes, supply chain breakdowns, and COVID-19 concerns are rapidly changing the face of farming across Ohio. Globalization of farming—like globalization of industry—has hollowed out communities and left the population of an agricultural-rich state food imperiled. Yet within this crisis lie deep opportunities for change—a change that is rooted in practices from the past and helps to heal the divisions that also plague us—inequality, racism, the rural-urban divide.

The Grounded Hope podcast pairs Podcast Director Renee Wilde with the team at the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions to produce a series of audio products that collectively introduce the people of Ohio to the past, present, and future of Ohio agriculture. Listeners will learn how historical farming practices--including those of indigenous people and early Black farmers--hold ideas for how our degraded soils can be regenerated. They will travel Ohio cities and back roads to meet current farmers and learn how they are rebuilding local food systems that can be resilient in the face of pandemics and climate change. They will hear about unusual crops and the hope they hold for new products--including fibers, medicines, and foods. And they will be invited to examine how Ohio economics is embedded in agriculture and how that both supports and challenges the state and its communities.

The major questions we will address include:

• How has agriculture historically defined our current state?

• What are new and old economics that can help us collectively move forward, including CSA’s and cooperatives of all kinds?

• How have historical and current immigrants transformed the face of Ohio agriculture and how can we use their lessons to create an agricultural system that serves all of us?

• What are the political and economic forces that have shifted our agricultural practices?

• How do the lessons of the Dust Bowl help us think about current issues like algal blooms and flooded fields?

• How can transforming agriculture solve many converging crises, including biodiversity collapse, pandemics, and climate calamity?

This podcast has been made possible by support from the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions and Ohio Humanities.

Sponsorship opportunities are available! Click HERE to learn more.

Please contact GroundedHopePodcast@communitysolution.org with any feedback or support. We would love to hear from you!