Lovely Dan Imhoff account of lunch with @AliceWaters: The juicy Bronx grapes she placed in my hand as I drove off literally stuck to me on the way home as did one of the last things she said: “When I think I have an idea that I have talked to lots of people about, I don't let it go,” she said. “School Supported Agriculture is what I believe in right now. I'll let it go ... if it really doesn't work. But I was always that way with Chez. I was sure it was going to work. And I don't know whether it's about love or determination, but they kind of go together for me." danimhoff.substack.com/p/lun…

Marion folded her arms, looked into the camera, and said: "Presumably, you asked me here for a reason." That was mid-pandemic, my students star-struck into small talk. Ten minutes in, she'd had enough. Vintage Marion. Happy 90th to the most matchlessly lucid person I know. Thank you @foodtank for hosting a great celebration: ow.ly/IZSb50ZRunE

One week away 📅 "The People Who Feed Us" asks a simple but urgent question: who benefits from the food economy and who should? Join our panel of labor, policy, and ownership experts Oct 1 at 1 PM ET. Free, register today. ow.ly/omfo50ZQMUj

What a powerful day at @AspenInstitute for "Strengthening Nutrition and Health for Rural Older Adults." Huge thanks from me and @AspenFood to our facilitators, who brought their expertise and leadership to guide these conversations: 🔹 Rani Snyder, @johnahartford 🔹 Patrick Stover, Florida State University 🔹 Robert Blancato, NANASP 🔹 Holly Freishtat, @MilkenInstitute 🔹 Elizabeth Burger, @SunflowerFDN 🔹 John Auerbach, ICF 🔹 Deirdre McGinley-Gieser, @_MealsOnWheels Together with participants from across the country, this group dug into the real barriers rural older adults face in accessing good nutrition, and started mapping out what it will take to close those gaps. Thank you to Chef Kevin J Devine and Carolina Gomez of @cravecateringco for a day of delicious food! Want to see what came out of the room? Sign up for our newsletter to get the full recap and next steps: aspenfood.org/subscribe/

"I've really liked living here. It's been a good place." — Wendell Berry, in a recording made just weeks before his death. On @BosPublicRadio, I remember the writer who spent 50 years making the case for small farms, tight communities, and land we actually care for. More: aspenfood.org/corby-kummer/

Food systems problems are too often solved for people, not by them. @AspenInstitute Food Leaders Fellow Jaime Hansen, in collaboration with the @GW_GlobalFood (thanks to support from the Longer Tables Fund), developed a toolkit that flips that script. The human-centered design process turns community members into co-designers: generating ideas, weighing trade-offs, and pitching real solutions. Case in point: at the Swipe Out Hunger Student Summit in Boston, 10 students from 8 campuses used it to produce 3 fully developed pitches on campus food insecurity, in 2 hours. Check out the toolkit: scholarspace.library.gwu.edu…

Who benefits from the food economy and who should? Our Oct 1 panel brings together voices in labor policy, farmworker advocacy, and employee ownership to explore what a fairer food system could look like. Register: aspeninstitute.zoom.us/webin…

I asked Wendell how he defined manners. He mentioned the etiquette book his parents raised him on and then said what actually stucke: "You just didn't do things to hurt people." From my last visit with Wendell Berry.

Ever wonder how one apple tree can grow FOUR different kinds of apples? I break down the art of grafting and share why the Roxbury Russet (yes, named for Roxbury!) is worth seeking out at Boston farmers markets this fall. Listen to the latest from @BosPublicRadio: ow.ly/BXGJ50ZJ08F #BPR #NewEnglandApples

Every meal depends on a long chain of labor, from the fields to your table. Join us Thurs, Oct 1 (1-2 PM ET), part of our Conversations on Food Justice series produced with Global Food Institute at the George Washington University. Free & open to all. More: aspenfood.org/2026/08/07/con… Our panelists: Michael Brady Ltd, Vanessa García Polanco, MS, Jose Oliva, Emma Scott, and Moderated by Ivy Ken.

Every meal depends on a long chain of labor, from the fields to your table. Join us Thurs, Oct 1 (1-2 PM ET), part of our Conversations on Food Justice series. Free & open to all. More: aspenfood.org/2026/08/07/con…

Terribly sad news: Wendell Berry died today. Here's a long, good obit in @nytimes.com. How lucky I was to spend an afternoon with him only a few weeks ago. And how startled, and sad, I was to see myself five people away from Wendell in a photo in the Times obit. nytimes.com/2026/08/31/us/we…

Ever gotten a CSA box and had zero idea what to do with the nine bags of greens? You're not alone but here's why farmers and Chef @SarahStegner love them anyway. Watch this moment from our @aspenideas Climate conversation: ow.ly/o8Iw50ZEYWU

We're back at the Farm Collaborative! Five years ago, this market was part of Food Leaders Fellow Eden Vardy's action plan. We returned with the fifth cohort to this gorgeous building. But what touched our hearts is that he and his team specifically designed an amphitheater for the fellowship's annual performance of The Visit and the outdoor dining area for the cohort's final Aspen dinner. This is how much the fellowship experience means to our fellows. Thank you, Eden! Thank you for the beautiful farm to table dinner by Chef Phillip of Pan and Fork.

"Somewhere along the line, we lost the true purpose of food."-Isabel Mace That quote from Isabel Mace stuck with all of us as we kicked off the fifth cohort of @AspenInstitute Food Leaders Fellowship. We were treated to a beautiful supper at the Catto Center at Toklat after a guided hike hosted by @ACESaspen . Our first meeting brings together a new group of people working to rebuild the connection between food, community, and care. Over the next 18 months, this cohort in the same tradition of their predecessors, will dig into what it really means to lead with food as medicine, as culture, and as justice. Join us in welcoming the newest Food Leaders Fellows.