URBANA — Previously confidential statewide data tracking coronavirus cases across Illinois shows that there have been at least 50 different outbreaks in Champaign County traced to restaurants, stores, churches, nursing homes, hospitals and in a county office. The internal database kept by the Illinois Department of Public Health has tracked case counts for nearly 2,600…
In the midst of what has otherwise been a heavy, unrelenting year, many Midwesterners have found solace in the dirt. So-called “COVID gardens” have…
At a campaign rally in Wisconsin last week, President Trump announced U.S. farmers will receive an additional $14 billion in coronavirus relief aid….
Ja Nelle Pleasure never used to think twice about putting food on the table for her family. In fact, the Pleasure family revolved around food. One of…
CHICAGO – The U.S. food supply depends on millions of migrant and seasonal farmworkers, who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 because of circumstances in which they live and work. Outbreaks of COVID-19 on farms have killed more than a dozen farmworkers nationwide, and infected thousands more, according to tracking from the Food and Environment Reporting…
CHAMPAIGN – Nearly 16% of Champaign County residents struggle to afford food, according to a 2020 Feeding America study. A new bus on the streets of Champaign-Urbana is aiming to alleviate that. The new Mobile Market is the product of a partnership between Carle Health and the newly formed Champaign-Urbana City Farms. The pay-what-you-can food…
RANTOUL – At least eight migrant workers who were infected with COVID-19 waited several days before isolating because the company they worked for, Bayer, declined to pay for expedited tests, Champaign County health officials said. The company’s rejection came after its occupational health team had agreed to pay about $5,000 in quick testing for about…
Before the pandemic, the food pantry at St. Patrick Church in Urbana, Ill. served meals to more than 100 families per week. They operated with the help…
Aaron Kleidon kneels to stoke a campfire under a massive copper kettle, as hundreds of gallons of molasses-colored brew churn and bubble inside. He shakes a few handfuls of dried sweet clover into a cotton sack, which will steep in the beer and infuse it with a subtle vanilla flavor. Like all of the beers…
A group of Black farmers says the ag giant’s nearly $11 billion settlement of Roundup-related lawsuits earlier this summer wasn’t enough — they want the corporation to stop selling it.
URBANA – A University of Illinois Extension team has designed a map for people to locate food resources in their zip codes. It’s tailored to families and individuals who struggle to afford food. Included on the map are grocery stores, farmers’ markets, food pantries, and school and summer meal sites. The map also pinpoints Supplemental…
Midwestern farmers are beginning to assess crop damage after a high-wind storm, known as a derecho, ripped through the region Monday. Iowa and Illinois were two of the hardest hit states, with tens of millions of acres of crops impacted and reports of widespread infrastructure damage. “It’s by far the most extensive and widespread damage…
When you walk into Cyndy Ash’s barn, one of the first things you notice is a huge burlap sack, bursting at the seams with wool. “We’re sitting on about…
CHICAGO – Thousands of workers travel to Illinois each year to work on farms, with the largest influx to central Illinois in the summer and fall. Amid concerns about COVID-19, the state’s department of public health is partnering with medical clinics to make testing available to farmworkers. The Community Health Partnership of Illinois, based in…
The number of families experiencing food insecurity has hit a record due to the pandemic, and Black and Hispanic families are disproportionately…