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Free Lunch at the Library

Catherine Saint Louis

July 30, 2017 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cincinnati, Ohio

From New York to Ohio to California, librarians have teamed up with the USDA summer food service program, along with other non-profits, to feed kids dependent on free/reduced-price lunches during the school year. Using census data to locate communities of greatest need and data to measure participation trends, the collaborative has witnessed a surge in effectiveness and impact across the states. Families, librarians, and public officials alike express satisfaction and enthusiasm for the initiative and its future.

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Foodstuffs: Giving Food Stamp Recipients a Place at Farmers Markets

Ben Henry

July 27, 2017 |

New Hampshire Public Radio |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Dover, New Hampshire

While farmers’ markets popularity has increased in the last decade, the higher prices mitigate equal access to such provisions -- and, by extension, the health benefits. As a result, non-profits and farmers' markets across New Hampshire are collaborating with a state program, Granite State Market Watch, to enable low-income food stamp recipients to use the markets. The state matches every dollar worth of stamps, providing needed purchasing power to enjoy the fresh bounty as well as an increased customer base and revenue stream for the local farmers.

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Injections and Implants Could Revolutionize HIV Prevention for Women

Sophie Cousins

July 26, 2017 |

News Deeply |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: France, Paris

Injections and implants preventing HIV could be an important breakthrough especially for individuals who can not travel regularly to a health clinic, have trouble remembering to take a pill, or who want to secretly protect themselves.

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Ghost Gear Busters: Paying Fishers to Collect Derelict Nets, Traps

Erica Cirino

July 26, 2017 |

News Deeply |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Barnegat Bay, New Jersey

"Ghost gear" describes the nets, lines, and other debris lost off the back of commercial fishing boats in staggering amounts each year, and it spells death for hundreds of thousands of marine animals and birds who get tangled in it. Previously, there was little financial incentive to pull this litter back out of the water, but a new public-private partnership called Fishing For Energy is paying fishers to gather up ghost gear and help recycle it, as well as developing new technologies to prevent bycatch and educating communities about the issue.

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Madagascar skirted famine – barely. Now, it's boosting resilience before drought returns.

Peter Ford

July 25, 2017 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Madagascar, Ambovombe, Androy

Drought in Madagascar grows worse each year as its minimal public infrastructure and extensive poverty slow efforts by the UN and various NGOs for food and water distribution. But in recognizing the severity of the cyclical water shortages, organizations are piloting new approaches. These include solar pumps from portable groundwater sources; distribution and cultivation of drought- and rot-resistant seed strains for staple crops; cash-stipends for "productive goods," delivered by phone to bypass the problem of damaged roads -- which are building newfound resilience among residents.

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In Ethiopia, model drought defenses are put to the test

Ryan Lenora Brown

July 24, 2017 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s cosmopolitan capital, has long been considered a world apart from surrounding rural communities, all of which suffer from reoccurring droughts and civil war. However, thanks to international aid and government intervention, things are looking up for the whole of Ethiopia, dubbed one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Success is particularly linked to a government program designed to predict natural disasters before they occur, and an innovative economic development program, which employs Ethiopia’s poorest in exchange for labor on public works projects. So far, these measures h

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In Extreme Community Policing, Cops Become the Neighbor

John Buntin

July 22, 2017 |

Governing |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Rockford, Illinois

In efforts to diminish violent crime, police agencies are revisiting a model law enforcement strategy of the 1970s, "community policing," as an alternative to the more recent "broken windows" style of the late nineties. Research substantiates its effectiveness, too, in building citizens' trust of law enforcement, helping a community's ability to solve its own problems, and, in turn, decreasing crime rates. Despite redefined priorities in the wake of 9/11 and post-recession budget cuts, community policing is again on the rise and bringing positive results, too.

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A Cheap Fix for Climate Change? Pay People Not to Chop Down Trees

Brad Plumer

July 20, 2017 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Uganda, Hoima, Kibaale, Western Region

In a randomized experiment in western Uganda, scientists demonstrated the effectiveness of paying rural farmers not to chop down trees since deforestation contributes to CO2 emissions worldwide. They studied for two years the declines in forest cover between a control group (no payment) and the participant group (paid). Building on a United Nations project in which wealthy nations pay poorer ones in an attempt to equalize the costs of responding to climate change, the outcome of the project proves the existence of a low-cost environmental policy solution to stemming rising global temperatures.

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Mexico launches pioneering scheme to insure its coral reef

Fiona Harvey

July 20, 2017 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Cancún, Quintana Roo

Climate change is a mounting threat to coral reefs, which serve not just as critical habitats for ocean life and a draw for the tourism industry, but also as a buffer to the increasing storms caused by changing weather patterns. In the first scheme of its kind, private businesses, nonprofits, and the government in Mexico's Yucatán Penninsula are combining financial resources to take out an insurance policy on their coral reefs. The insurance will help rebuild the reefs after storms and man-made damage, and fund new ways to keep them healthy.

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Modern clinic in Kenya's last frontier

Rebecca Mutiso

July 19, 2017 |

Mediamax Network |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya

In remote areas of Kenya, health care is hard to access and medical professionals and technology have been hard to come by. A new partnership between the government, Phillips, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has resulted in a new health care centre with state of the art technology, health care training systems, and more personnel to better serve women and children.

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