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Barn Raiser
@barnraiser.bsky.social
Your independent source for rural and small town news
https://barnraisingmedia.com/
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Newsletter
barnraisingmedia.com
For Mayo, that endurance across generations defines the Centennial Farms she helps steward. “You see it again and again,” she says. “Blights, market downturns, and even wartime shifts—families pivoted, adapted, and kept going.” barnraisingmedia.com/at-gilliard-...
At Gilliard Farms, Food, Healing and Heritage Grow Together
For 150 years, a family of Gullah Geechee descent has preserved their story through Gilliard Farms and organic practices.
barnraisingmedia.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:00 PM
At 9 a.m., Project Feed the Kids in Grand Traverse County, MI, is packed with volunteers as they prepare bagged meals to be distributed throughout the county. The program has seen a surge in need since November 1, when food stamp benefits lapsed. barnraisingmedia.com/as-snap-bene...
As SNAP Benefits Lapse, Rural Americans Step Up to Meet Their Neighbors’ Needs
Food pantries like Project Feed the Kids, local restaurants and cafes have begun offering free meals to those who didn’t receive SNAP benefits.
barnraisingmedia.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:15 PM
In an age of AI disruption and rising authoritarianism, our future depends on grassroots leadership

barnraisingmedia.com/democracy-be...
Democracy Begins With Place-Based Organizing
As a local organizer in small towns and rural areas like these, I’ve heard countless people describe politics as a distant, partisan spectacle. The national media thrives on a red-vs.-blue drama that…
barnraisingmedia.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:01 PM
In Virginia, UMWA organizers and local Democrats answer the call of solidarity

barnraisingmedia.com/mineworkers-...
Mineworkers Are Not Backing Down This Election Season
The Trump administration made huge promises to coal workers. UMWA organizers say the administration has abandoned coal workers.
barnraisingmedia.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
New Rural Policy Action Report highlights 26 legislative solutions that would benefit rural communities

barnraisingmedia.com/forty-organi...
Forty Organizations Offer a Plan to Revitalize Rural America
A new policy roadmap offers rural-led common-sense policy solutions to combat corporate greed, protect resources and help rural communities thrive.
barnraisingmedia.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:02 PM
In an age of AI disruption and rising authoritarianism, rural Indiana organizer Kate Hess Pace, executive director of Hoosier Action, explains why place-based organizing is key to our future survival.

barnraisingmedia.com/democracy-be...
Democracy Begins With Place-Based Organizing
As a local organizer in small towns and rural areas like these, I’ve heard countless people describe politics as a distant, partisan spectacle. The national media thrives on a red-vs.-blue drama that…
barnraisingmedia.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Beardstown, Illinois, shows how immigration crackdowns impact rural communities and the nation’s food supply.

barnraisingmedia.com/immigrants-r...
Immigrants Revitalized a Meatpacking Town. Trump’s Deportations Threaten Its Stability.
For decades, Beardstown has been a case study in how immigrants have revitalized rural towns. The Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns now threaten that.
barnraisingmedia.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:02 PM
“The 21st century seems replete with examples as to why autocracies are, to put it mildly, very stupid”

barnraisingmedia.com/when-fantasy...
When Fantasy Meets Reality: The Folly of Kings
Human civilization is best when it is not ruled by autocrats writes novelist Robert Jackson Bennett, who explores our fascination with kings
barnraisingmedia.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:03 PM
For 150 years, a family of Gullah Geechee descent has preserved their story through family land

barnraisingmedia.com/at-gilliard-...
At Gilliard Farms, Food, Healing and Heritage Grow Together
For 150 years, a family of Gullah Geechee descent has preserved their story through Gilliard Farms and organic practices.
barnraisingmedia.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Food insecurity rates are rising faster in farm-dependent counties than almost anywhere else in the nation

barnraisingmedia.com/these-rural-...
These Rural Counties Grow Crops for the World. They’re Also Going Hungry.
Food insecurity rates are rising faster in farm-dependent counties than almost anywhere else in the nation.
barnraisingmedia.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:03 PM
After decades of struggle, indigenous leaders and organizers have shown how to win against billionaires and large corporations

barnraisingmedia.com/when-we-win-...
When We Win: Stories From the Frontlines of Ecological Resistance
After decades of struggle, indigenous leaders and organizers have shown how to win against billionaires and large corporations.
barnraisingmedia.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM
For 150 years, a family of Gullah Geechee descent has preserved their history on family land, where organic farming principles and stories of freedom have been handed down through six generations.

barnraisingmedia.com/at-gilliard-...
At Gilliard Farms, Food, Healing and Heritage Grow Together
For 150 years, a family of Gullah Geechee descent has preserved their story through Gilliard Farms and organic practices.
barnraisingmedia.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Farm transfers are complex. Anna Sekine helps farmers pass their land to the next generation.

barnraisingmedia.com/farm-transfe...
Keeping Farmland in Farmers’ Hands
AFT’s Brooks Lamb, author of Love for the Land: Lessons from Farmers Who Persist in Place, recently spoke with Anna about farm succession planning and creative approaches to securing the future of…
barnraisingmedia.com
November 1, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Today kicks off our #NewsMatch campaign!

There’s never been a more critical time to stand up for nonprofit newsrooms like ours. Through 12/31, the impact of your donation is QUADRUPLED!!

Will you show your support today and get a 4x match? donorbox.org/barn-raising...
Barn Raiser’s Year-End 4X Match Campaign | BARN RAISING MEDIA (Powered by Donorbox)
Your tax-deductible donation to Barn Raiser powers trusted, independent journalism spotlighting critical issues and amplifying the diverse voices shaping the future of rural communities. From now…
donorbox.org
November 1, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Community Kitchen explores how a restaurant can make food equitable for all—from the farmer to the diner

barnraisingmedia.com/mark-bittman...
Mark Bittman’s New Restaurant Aims to ‘Turn the Food System on Its Head’
Community Kitchen, a pilot restaurant launched by Bittman, puts support for farmers and low-income neighbors at the center of the table.
barnraisingmedia.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Beardstown, Illinois, shows how immigration crackdowns impact rural communities and the nation’s food supply.

barnraisingmedia.com/immigrants-r...
Immigrants Revitalized a Meatpacking Town. Trump’s Deportations Threaten Its Stability.
For decades, Beardstown has been a case study in how immigrants have revitalized rural towns. The Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns now threaten that.
barnraisingmedia.com
October 30, 2025 at 6:01 PM
From the author of How to Cook Everything comes a new restaurant initiative that puts support for farmers and low-income neighbors at the head of the table.

barnraisingmedia.com/mark-bittman...
Mark Bittman’s New Restaurant Aims to ‘Turn the Food System on Its Head’
Community Kitchen, a pilot restaurant launched by Bittman, puts support for farmers and low-income neighbors at the center of the table.
barnraisingmedia.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:30 PM
It was President John F. Kennedy who rightly said, “the farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.” barnraisingmedia.com/populist-ide...
Populist Ideas for Democrats to Win With in 2026
Taking on private equity. Reining in Big Pharma. These are just a few ideas for Democrats to champion if they want to win in next year’s midterms.
barnraisingmedia.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:04 PM
One 85-year-old retiree tells me in no uncertain terms: “Democrats used to be the party of the working man. But not anymore! The Republicans and the Democrats—both don’t do a thing for working people.”

barnraisingmedia.com/mineworkers-...
Mineworkers Are Not Backing Down This Election Season
The Trump administration made huge promises to coal workers. UMWA organizers say the administration has abandoned coal workers.
barnraisingmedia.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM
New Rural Policy Action Report highlights 26 legislative solutions that would benefit rural communities

barnraisingmedia.com/forty-organi...
Forty Organizations Offer a Plan to Revitalize Rural America
A new policy roadmap offers rural-led common-sense policy solutions to combat corporate greed, protect resources and help rural communities thrive.
barnraisingmedia.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Why a touted Argentina beef buy has U.S. ranchers stewing

barnraisingmedia.com/whats-the-be...
What’s the Beef?
While the Trump administration’s plans to import beef from Argentina may sound good to consumers, it’s a gut punch to farmers.
barnraisingmedia.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:04 PM
While the Trump administration’s plans to import beef from Argentina may sound good to consumers looking to save money at the grocery store, to farmers it’s a gut punch that couldn’t come at a worse time.

barnraisingmedia.com/whats-the-be...
What’s the Beef?
While the Trump administration’s plans to import beef from Argentina may sound good to consumers, it’s a gut punch to farmers.
barnraisingmedia.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Barn Raiser
Forty Organizations Offer a Plan to Revitalize Rural America | When rural people have a seat at the policy-making table, we build an economy from the bottom up and middle out, not the top down, writes Rural Democracy Initiative's Michael Chameides in @barnraiser.bsky.social.
Forty Organizations Offer a Plan to Revitalize Rural America - Bucks County Beacon
When rural people have a seat at the policy-making table, we build an economy from the bottom up and middle out, not the top down, writes Rural Democracy Initiative's Michael Chameides.
buckscountybeacon.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:06 PM
As the government shutdown grinds on in D.C., last week 40 organizations, including regional, statewide and national groups from diverse geographies, released an action plan to guide organizers and policymakers.

barnraisingmedia.com/forty-organi...
Forty Organizations Offer a Plan to Revitalize Rural America
A new policy roadmap offers rural-led common-sense policy solutions to combat corporate greed, protect resources and help rural communities thrive.
barnraisingmedia.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:15 PM