FAIRVIEW, N.C. - North Carolina's organic farmers are concerned about their livelihood because of a bill proposed in the North Carolina House. House Bill 379 places the State Board of Agriculture in control of commercial planting in the state, and would prevent local cities and counties from passing laws protecting organic farms in their communities. The bill has support from large biotech companies that make genetically modified seeds.

Jamie Ager owns Hickory Nut Gap Farms, one of almost 200 commercial, organic farms in North Carolina. For four generations, his family has raised organic meats and fruits for consumers in the western part of the state. He believes his farm and those like his are at risk because of House Bill 379. Ager gave voice to his frustration.

"Stay out of the way," he warned. "You know, we don't need more regulatory burden on creating a food system that consumers are demanding."

To ensure their certified organic status, organic producers must protect themselves from contamination by genetically-modified materials, such as pollen and synthetic pesticides. Although the bill places authority over planting only with the state, Ager and others are concerned that the legislation could be used to protect companies that make genetically-modified seeds, by increasing their use and therefore threatening organic production in the state.

According to Fawn Pattison with Toxic Free NC, large corporations that make genetically-modified seeds are the ones pushing for this legislation.

"This is not a bill that does anything to help any North Carolina farmers, North Carolina consumers," she charged. "It really is purely in the service of large companies that want to protect their corporate patents, and they've asked the Department of Agriculture to file this bill."

House Bill 379 was proposed in 2005, but failed to pass through the State Assembly. Roland McReynolds with the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association explained that the bill is motivated by the fact that nine years ago three California towns banned the planting of genetically-engineered crops. But, he said, no one has proposed that in North Carolina.

"This is not a problem that exists, and it's not even a problem that would be likely on the horizon, and yet there's this pressure to pass this legislation," he asserted.

The language of the bill has been attributed to a meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC, an organization which writes proposed legislation, generally conservative, and then lobbies to pass it in states around the country.


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Oregon is participating in a federal food benefits program for children, called Summer EBT.

Dollars from the program will go even farther to purchase produce, through the Double Up Food Bucks program.

The Oregon Legislature approved the state's participation in the Summer EBT program, making nearly 300,000 children eligible to receive $40 for food each month over the summer.

Mason Durfee, Double Up Food Bucks organizer with Oregon Food Bank, said the additional benefits can be used for the Double Up program.

"Essentially, that increases their total monthly budget that they have," said Durfee, "but also what's really cool about Summer EBT is any of the Summer EBT benefits can also be used to earn Double Up, because they're just being treated as additional SNAP dollars on someone's card."

The Double Up Food Bucks program allows participants with benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to buy fresh produce and have the dollars they spend matched - essentially doubling their purchasing power.

Double Up Food Bucks coordinator with Oregon Food Bank, Jas Eppesheimer, said the program is available at a variety of venues across the state.

"The benefits at participating farmers markets are amazing, grocery stores and CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - farms," said Eppesheimer. "So, shoppers can bring home just a lot more fresh produce."

The program matches up to $20 of purchases per day at participating farmers markets. At participating grocery stores, up to $20 spent on fruits and vegetables can be redeemed for produce on the next visit.

The program can also go toward CSA memberships. Oregonians can find participating organizations at doubleuporegon.org.

As COVID-era benefits near expiration, a recent Child Wellness Summit brought together nonprofits to tackle urgent child well-being and food-insecurity issues.

Missouri families grappling with inflation and high living costs are facing increased challenges, particularly in providing food, utilities and health care for children.

Jocelyn Fundoukos, director of communications for Operation Food Search, said that Missouri's child poverty rate doubled in 2022, leaving one in six children at risk of hunger. She said during the pandemic, her group was able to increase the amount of meals they served significantly. Unlike other states, Missouri has chosen not to retain certain pandemic benefits, such as flexible summer-meal distribution methods.

"It meant that we could serve more meals in a drive-through fashion. Now, it has returned to kids being required to eat the meals on site. So that obviously makes it trickier to get the food to as many kids as we could," she explained.

Data from Missouri Kids Count show last year, 33% of children in St. Louis lived in poverty, and 26% experienced food insecurity, meaning their families had no access to sufficient or quality food.

Fundoukos said getting enough healthy food can also be challenging because of such factors as "food deserts" in rural areas, lack of transportation, and others that prevent families from reaching available resources. She said it's important to understand that parts of the state may not have a local grocer, but perhaps just a convenience store with limited perishable items such as fresh produce.

"Kids may be getting something to put in their stomachs to sort of stave off the extreme hunger, but they're not getting the nutritious food they need to grow and thrive or to even be able to focus in school or sit still and pay attention," she continued.

She said summit participants emphasized the need for greater collaboration across different sectors to address complex issues holistically. St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, United 4 Children and Missouri Kids Win all participated in the dialogue, which was facilitated by Focus St. Louis.


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Volunteering is a "leap of faith" - donating time and in-kind support to help others who are struggling - but research shows people who pitch in, improve their own mental and physical health.

Barbara Guenther is the manager of volunteer programs for New Mexico's Roadrunner Food Bank.

She said volunteers aren't always sure what they're getting into, but typically describe the experience as very rewarding.

While volunteer hours dipped during COVID, she said more folks have been returning - with upwards of 175 volunteers helping out every week, or at least once a month on a regular basis.

"For the last two years at least, coming out of the pandemic, our volunteers have donated more than 50,000 hours a year," said Guenther, "and I'm anticipating at the end of our fiscal year, probably close to 60,000."

She said those hours equate to about 25 full time employees. What's more, she says the monetary value of the volunteer time performed for Roadrunner is estimated at $1.4 million.

April is "National Volunteer Month," with mental health experts noting that volunteering can improve physical and mental health, provide purpose, teach new skills and nurture relationships.

Guenther said Roadrunner Food Bank attracts volunteers from all walks of life - corporate, civic and schools groups - and those who want to connect to the group's mission of getting food into the hands of hungry people, without barriers.

"What I find interesting," said Guenther, "is that a lot of times people will come as part of a group and that's their first contact with us and they say, 'Oh hey, this kind-of got me in the door but I want to come do this as an individual.'"

She said one way people volunteer is at Roadrunner's Albuquerque warehouse - typically working two hour shifts, sorting produce and dry and canned goods.

Those goods are later delivered statewide by trucks to food pantries, senior centers, low-income housing locations, group homes, shelters, school partners, health clinics, and other locations.