Meet Me At the Table
My goal with this blog is to bring you perspectives from my past, peppered with insights and facts on the future of food, farming and health – providing “food for thought, action and personal responsibility.” As a registered dietitian and a sixth generation farm owner in Kentucky, the connection of farm to plate is part of my DNA. I have spent my career navigating the connections between food, health, agriculture and consumer behavior. Together, we will dig into the complex and ever-changing story of who grows our food, what’s in our food, and how food affects our health and ultimately our lives.
From A Family Farm to Many Tables — The Halverson Family Has a Place at Your Table
The sights and sounds of combines running across soybean and corn fields over the past couple of months signal its harvest time in the Bluegrass state and most of the country. Whether we’re harvesting corn, soybeans, apples or potatoes, most of what is gathered ends...
Five Ways to Make Food Safety the Centerpiece of Holiday Meals
It’s Thanksgiving Week … and our thoughts are turning to food! While the price of the average Thanksgiving meal is almost three dollars cheaper than last year, the meal cost is still 25% higher compared to 2019. With the increased cost of our holiday meals, so should...
The Story Beyond the Plate — A Reflection of Mongolian Culture and Land Intertwined
I learned from my father to pay attention to the land! Even though my father’s travels never extended beyond his tri-state region after World War II, it did not squelch his desire to know the status of agriculture wherever I traveled. During my travels over the years,...
Summer Memories on An Index Card
As it would be no surprise to anyone, I have volumes of recipe books, not to mention my recent addition of a NYT Cooking subscription. But it’s my wooden recipe box of 45+ years filled with dog-eared, ink smeared, and handwritten index cards that hold a lot of summer...
Food for All — Moving from “Yes/No” to “Yes, And”?
“Food is a right for all,” the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations tweeted recently, adding that food must be available, abundant, and accessible to be sustainable. That’s a simple statement with which we all would agree. Yet, the complexity...
Bee-Friendly Food: A Feast for All
Spring is beautiful in Kentucky. Dogwood, redbuds and tulip trees abound and tulips, daffodils, iris and azaleas brighten our surroundings. Garden centers bustle with energized customers looking for the perfect outdoor flowers. Farmers’ markets open with the abundance...
A Slice of Derby Pie™ Is Always a Winning Ticket
The sun shines bright on my Kentucky home the first Saturday in May (regardless of the weather) as the Kentucky Derby takes center stage. While many of us in Kentucky don’t attend the Derby annually, the day is always celebrated with traditional foods and yes, a...
Commitment to Sustainable Agriculture Didn’t Start Yesterday: The Birth of No-Till
Climate change, sustainability, regenerative agriculture, Earth Day — these are words that can excite and ignite action while also creating anxiety and concern. With the recent annual celebration of Earth Day, highlights of the climate crisis and successes are in the...
Is Milk by Any Other Name Still Milk? The Continuing Saga
With the plethora of plant-based “milks” sharing space with dairy milk in the grocery store, the question of what is “milk” has been a source of contention over the years and a continuing saga. However, this is a question that can only be resolved by the Food and Drug...
From Frozen Tundra to Frozen Foods — Nature’s Pause Button for Preserving Fresh
With the early budding of spring flowers and trees in Kentucky, we are about to see nature’s pause button in action as temperatures drop below freezing! Even though the early flowers and budding fruit trees may not fare well, this is not the case for today’s supply of...