Idyllic farmers markets, despite good intentions, leave farmers disillusioned and yearning for reinvention

By Elizabeth Zach, staff writer Lalitha Vish farms a small plot of land in the heart of Silicon Valley and . . .

Southern California water district moves to buy Delta islands

Southern California’s largest drinking water supplier intends to buy four farming islands in the San Joaquin River Delta to lay claim to the area’s water.

John F. Mealey awarded RCAC’s 2015 Bill French Award

Valley Housing Coalition (CVHC) Executive Director, is the recipient of the 2015 Bill French Award. RCAC is recognizing Mealey’s more than 30 years of service in California’s Coachella Valley to bring affordable housing to thousands of low- and very low-income families. From a $10,000 seed money grant from the Aetna Foundation, Mealey directed CVHC’s growth to its current value of about $550 million.

Who are these women?

In the past three decades the number of women-operated farms has increased substantially in the nation. Between 1978 and 2007, when the last agriculture census was completed, the number of women-operated farms in the U.S. grew from 306,200 to nearly a million. Who are these women? RCAC staff writer and Stanford fellow, Elizabeth Zach, traveled the rural West to find out.

More rural hospitals are closing despite a growing need for them

Rural residents tend to be older, sicker and poorer than city dwellers, according to Diane Calmus government affairs and policy manager at the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). However, since 2010, the number of rural hospitals has markedly decreased, and in more recent years, continues to see a steady decline in services.