A new report from the American Farmland Trust estimates Idaho will convert tens of thousands of acres of agricultural land to urban and rural development in the coming decades—though planners and landowners have the chance to reduce that number.

As intense flooding destroyed infrastructure in places like Yellowstone National Park and its neighboring communities in June, the heavy rains also refilled many of the region’s reservoirs that had dropped to historic lows earlier in the year.

For Idaho farmers, 2022’s “miracle spring” brought short-term good news – paired with long-term challenges presented by changing climate and precipitation patterns.

Shortly after Russia began its horrific, internationally condemned invasion of Ukraine, Boise’s Mad Swede Brewing Company heard about the resistance efforts of Ukrainian brewery Pravda Brewing, who are using their equipment to manufacture molotov cocktails and have asked brewers around the world to “brew for Ukraine.”

When you think of climate change, you might first imagine the atmosphere. But the speakers at the 2022 Climate Summit in Boise want humanity to look to the ground.

The keynote speaker, Gabe Brown, is a North Dakota farmer and rancher who has transformed his land with regenerative agriculture practices, such as no-till farming, integrated grazing, crop diversity and growing cover crops.

Three Idaho chefs and a Boise baker are semifinalists for the 2022 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards, the James Beard Foundation announced in a press release Feb. 23.

As editor of Project FARE, I’m thrilled to lead our team of writers and photographers in telling stories about Idaho food: the systems that produce it, the environment that supports it, the cultures that shape it, and the people who grow, harvest, distribute and serve it.

For many Mexican families, pozole is a Thanksgiving staple served in place of turkey. Sal Alamilla, co-owner of the restaurant Amano in Caldwell, has enjoyed just such a feast. It inspired Amano’s 2020 Thanksgiving community event: Pozole for Familias.

All afternoon on Turkey Day, Alamilla’s team handed free bowls of house-made pozole to everyone who stopped by the restaurant. Ladled from a single pot, the stew alleviated loneliness, banished hunger, and brought food-insecure families and business executives together at one steamy table.

This year, Pozole for Familias is back! Amano will serve free stew from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 25. The pay-what-you-want bowls of pozole will benefit Inclusive Idaho (II) — a local nonprofit that builds inclusion for historically excluded groups in the Gem State, like people of color and those in the LGBTQ+ community.

Written by Lex Nelson