Welcome back to The Aggregate Aggregation, our weekly roundup of news and publications that caught our eyes over the last week or so. You can read Volume 15 here.
This was a week of highs and lows, from continued reactions to the USDA’s reorganization plans to a call to sneak zucchinis onto your neighbors porch. This week also kicks off official summer celebrations of our nation’s farmers markets, so be sure to make your own plan to get to the market ASAP!
Let’s make it a conversation! Let’s start the discussion in the comments.
Digging Deep: Summer Abundance
Today is National Sneak a Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day (of course). Yesterday, guest writer Stephen Stresow-Cortez shared his story about this kooky holiday and we received a ton of positive reactions. Summer is a time of abundance in the garden and the field, sometimes too much abundance. Sharing the literal fruits of our labor reinforces community bonds and turns one (or two, or eighteen) zucchini too many into a gift. As a reader reminded us, Indigenous botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer emphasizes the importance of the “gift economy” as a means for perpetuating lasting, meaningful relationships between people, and with the land. We hope you all get out and share - or sneak - your harvests this weekend.
Zucchinis were the theme of this week’s The Veggie newsletter from the New York Times with a special zucchini recipe bingo!
For those with access to a New York Times Cooking account, you are welcome:
Zucchini Pancakes | Summer Vegetable Skewers | Orzo Salad With Lentils and Zucchini | Smashed Zucchini With Chickpeas and Peanuts | Chilled Zucchini Soup With Lemon and Basil | Crispy Zucchini Hero | Summer Pasta With Zucchini, Ricotta and Basil | Sheet-Pan Zucchini, Tomatoes and Feta | Zucchini Salad With Bread Crumbs
Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
Surface Level
🇺🇸USDA Reorganizes and More Federal News
USDA Opens Public Comment Period on Department Reorganization Plan (Morning Ag Clips).
How Will the "Big Beautiful Bill" Impact Ag Policy? (Morning Ag Clips).
The One Big Beautiful Bill: A Setback for Sustainable Farming and Food Justice in New York (NOFA NY).
Farm Bureau Shares MAHA Recommendations (Morning Ag Clips).
Secretary Rollins Announces Local Food Purchases for Communities in Need (Morning Ag Clips).
Senate passes first funding package ahead of shutdown cliff (Politico). It would send more than $27 billion to the Agriculture department and FDA. Both represent a roughly 2 percent boost over current levels.
More than 250 farm, food and nutrition groups wrote to Kennedy and Rollins urging the MAHA Commission to support the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program to boost access for low-income consumers to purchase fruits and vegetables. (Politico)
Bipartisan Proposal Aims to Make Up for USDA’s Cuts to Local Food Funding (Civil Eats). In a press release, Pingree said the Local Farmers Feeding our Communities Act is intended to make up for Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ cancellation of more than $1 billion in funding that helped food banks and schools source local food from small farms.
USDA to make $230 million in purchases for food banks struggling with heightened need (Politico Pro).
🥕Farmers Market Celebrations
USDA Announces Daily Program Celebrating the Great American Farmers Market on the National Mall (USDA Press Release).
AFT Kicks Off 17th Annual America's Farmers Market Celebration (Morning Ag Clips).
👀Everything else that caught our eyes
Potatoes Evolved From Tomatoes 9 Million Years Ago (Morning Ag Clips).
What’s a Potato? A Nine-Million-Year-Old Tomato. (New York Times).
NASA’s PACE Enables New Method for Monitoring Global Plant Health (Morning Ag Clips).
Welcome to the Grocery Store Where Prices Change 100 Times a Day (Wall Street Journal).
What did we miss? Drop a link to your favorite story of the week (or month, or year) in the comments. Tell us why it resonated with you!
What we’re reading
A list of sources the editors at The Aggregate check regularly for our agroecology+ news.