Plant Something, Heal Something

Food independence does not require five acres or growing everything yourself. Build another door to food by starting with what you can grow, buying directly from local producers, bartering, and strengthening the community ecosystem around you.

Egg prices didn’t rise for just one reason. We follow the money through bird flu, billion-dollar egg sales and a 2026 DOJ antitrust case alleging manipulation of an industry price benchmark.

Chicken is one of the most common foods on American tables, but most consumers have no idea who controls the birds, the contracts, the pricing data, or the processing behind that grocery-store package. In Episode 1 of Who Controls Our Food?, we follow the money through Big Chicken, from contract farmers and corporate processors to antitrust lawsuits, guilty pleas, major settlements, and the consumer left with the least information and bargaining power.

Del Monte Foods’ Chapter 11 case is more than a corporate headline. For peach growers with years invested in orchards and contracts, a major buyer’s instability can threaten financing, harvest plans, and entire rural economies.

The Black Agrarian Directory was created to help Black farmers, growers, educators, and agricultural professionals find each other again. For too long, the work has been happening in isolation—across states, specialties, and communities. This directory builds the missing connections by mapping the ecosystem of Black agriculture in real time, helping growers collaborate, share knowledge, and strengthen the future of our food systems.

Most ants support the garden, but invasive red imported fire ants can make food beds unsafe. Learn how to identify the real problem, clear active mounds, rebuild disturbed soil, and protect the wider ecosystem.

Food scraps do not have to become landfill waste. Community compost partnerships can connect households, restaurants, churches, and farmers—turning local waste into living soil, jobs, and stronger food systems.

Plant and Heal’s Cuisine Noir feature celebrates Black-owned seed companies preserving cultural memory, strengthening food sovereignty, and helping families grow food, medicine, and freedom.

A USDA farm number may help small and urban growers apply for certain programs—but it does not guarantee money or approval. Here is what it means, what to bring, and where to start.

When the system stumbles, we don’t panic—we plant.
Whether you’re growing collards in a raised bed or herbs on a windowsill, gardening isn’t just about food. It’s about reclaiming power, honoring our ancestors, and showing up for our communities—one seed at a time.

Meet Yaa Tashel of Mama Isis Farm and Market, a New Orleans urban farmer using regenerative growing, food-waste reduction, education, and community care to cultivate year-round change.

Your support helps Plant and Heal put seeds, plants, and practical growing knowledge into more hands. Shop, share, or give—and help another family grow with what they got.