Free Republic

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first city-owned grocery store will be in East Harlem and cost about $30 million, a report said Sunday. The store will be in La Marqueta, a marketplace under the train tracks running over Park Avenue, and be up and running for business by the end of his first term in 2029, according to the New York Times. La Marqueta is already owned by the city. Mamdani was expected to announce the Manhattan market plan at the party he was throwing at a Queens concert hall Sunday to celebrate his first 100 days in office, a milestone that...

Eating a high-quality plant-rich diet that includes whole grains, vegetables, and fruits may prevent cognitive impairment — even when people start that diet in their late 50s and 60s, according to a new study. "It's never too late to start eating healthy to lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias," said senior author Unhee Lim, a professor of population sciences at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center in Honolulu, in an email. Older adults who cut many unhealthy foods from their diet over a decade had a 11% lower risk of Alzheimer's and dementia when compared with adults...

They should have stuck to chicken breasts. Eight Chick-fil-A staffers say they’ve been fired for jiggling their chests for a TikTok video seen by more than 7 million people — including their bosses. The uniformed workers took it in turns to shake their chests to a mashup of “Wanna Mingle x Top of the Cars” in a clip shared last month, including a male staffer who also turned around to twerk. Their cheeky dance moves for the viral trend, under the title “my CFA crew better than yours,” quickly racked up nearly 7.5 million views — but also got the...

Imagine sitting down for dinner in first-century Galilee without a fork or a fast-food burger in sight. You would likely be dipping crusty barley bread into a bowl of savory lentil stew. (Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of red lentil stew...) Life was much slower then, revolving around the seasons and the harvest for basic survival. Food was fuel, but it was also the center of community and deep religious celebration. Sharing a meal meant sharing your life with neighbors and family members in a very real way. Let’s look at what was actually on the menu for...

srael’s campaign in Iran has reached far beyond missile depots and military command. Over roughly a month, it has also hit the architecture of domestic repression: intelligence compounds, police stations, Basij bases, judicial buildings, and senior officials tied to crackdowns. That matters not only because of the damage done, but because of what these places meant. In Iran, repression has never depended on one institution alone. It has been built as a layered system, running from the top decision-making bodies in Tehran down to the neighborhood police station, the local Basij outpost and the courthouse where detainees are processed. A...

The diverse and expansive Persian/Iranian restaurant scene in Los Angeles comes as a direct result of political strife that emerged in Iran in the 1970s, fueled by American intervention that has come roaring back in recent weeks with a new regional war. In the decades since the Iranian Revolution, the Persian community has developed strong ties to Southern California areas like Glendale and Westwood... Iranian food spans centuries, even longer, with historic ties to the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Silk Road routes. The result, says Farinaz Pirshirazi, is a distinct cuisine that goes beyond the popular kebabs that tend to dominate...

Fourth-generation Iowa farmer Mark Mueller is no stranger to the ups and downs of the agriculture industry. But right now, he thinks America is on the cusp of a farm crisis. “I am more concerned now than I have been in my 30 years of farming,” Mueller told NBC News. Even before the Iran war, Mueller said, many farmers felt they were being squeezed. Consolidation in the fertilizer industry and increased competition from abroad have resulted in higher prices for fertilizer and feed — and smaller returns on Mueller’s corn and soybean crops. Many farmers who couldn’t pay their bills...

“We are grateful to support the efforts of local churches in Lebanon who are serving their community,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “Please join me in praying that God will bring peace to the Middle East.” This recent airlift of relief supplies comes in addition to food parcels we delivered through church partners to over 500 families in the weeks prior, containing rice, pasta, lentils, beans, milk, and oil. Samaritan’s Purse has also already purchased urgently needed diapers, hygiene supplies, and crutches in Lebanon and distributed the items to disabled and vulnerable populations. Please pray for the more...

Albertsons is closing additional stores and cutting jobs nationwide as it works to stabilize operations following the collapse of its $24.6 billion merger with Kroger, intensifying pressure on the grocery chain.The Boise, Idaho-based company — which operates banners including Safeway, Vons and Pavilions — has announced a new round of closures in recent weeks as it pivots to cost-cutting and operational changes.

The MONTHLY Victory Garden Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Why wasn't candy and sugary drinks banned before?

Sysco, the nation’s largest food distributor, will acquire supplier Restaurant Depot in a deal worth more than $29 billion. The acquisition would create a closer link between Sysco and its customers that right now turn to Restaurant Depot for supplies needed quickly in an industry segment known as “cash-and-carry wholesale.” Sysco, based in Houston, serves more than 700,000 restaurants, hospitals, schools and hotels, supplying them with everything from butter and eggs to napkins. Those goods are typically acquired ahead of time based on how much traffic that restaurants typically see. Restaurant Depot offers memberships to mom-and-pop restaurants and other businesses,...

"Activist and trial lawyer attacks on herbicides imperil US and global health and nutrition" President Trump recently signed an Executive Order invoking the Defense Production Act to ensure increased domestic supplies of elemental phosphorus – a critical component of glyphosate-based herbicides that are vital for America’s non-organic crop productivity and thus national security. The EO has rekindled anti-pesticide activism and public concern about glyphosate, which used to be the primary ingredient in Roundup for home use but was changed following numerous class-action lawsuits. It’s also created internal conflicts within the “Make America Healthy Again” movement because the President and HHS...

President Donald Trump on Thursday said his administration will announce actions to help U.S. farmers on Friday, as the White House prepares to host hundreds of farmers, ranchers, and executives for an event highlighting the agricultural sector. The move comes as the administration is expected to release long-awaited biofuel blending quotas under the Renewable Fuel Standard, a policy closely watched by corn growers, ethanol producers and oil refiners that dictates how much renewable fuel must be mixed into the nation's gasoline and diesel supply. Reuters reported that the Trump administration will release its 2026-27 biofuel blending volume obligations this week,...

On Thursday, the Center for American Progress, a prominent left-leaning think tank that often cultivates policy ideas later adopted by the Democratic Party, proposed a two-year freeze on the prices of 22 food items, such as strawberries and steak. “Price caps interfere with the very basics of a capitalist economy,” said Steven Kaimin, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute who read the Center for American Progress paper before its publication. “Maybe it’s impossible to produce eggs at $3. Maybe the cost of producing them is $3.50. In which case the eggs come off the market entirely, or … only...

ran’s economy is no longer merely experiencing high inflation; it is exhibiting the structural symptoms of a nation losing faith in its own currency and facing a shift in its monetary regime. Over the past year, a pattern has emerged across markets, policy decisions and price behavior pointing to the early stages of de facto dollarization. In April 2025, when a “five-dollar pizza” shop opened in Tehran’s affluent Niavaran neighborhood, many dismissed the fixed dollar price as a marketing gimmick. At the time, one pizza cost roughly 5 million rials, with inflation reportedly above 40%. Less than a year later,...

@FarmActionUS Rep. Thomas Massie is on the brink of securing a huge win for small farmers. His PRIME Act is officially included in the 2026 Farm Bill. If this passes, it will deliver a blow to Big Ag’s stranglehold on the meatpacking industry. “This would make it easier for local farmers to sell directly to local consumers using a local slaughterhouse.” How? It would cut the USDA out of inspections for local processing facilities. “You don’t need the USDA to inspect a facility that has seven employees.” “So what I’ve proposed is that you could just have the local health...

Post your favorite lemon pound cake recipe.

State leaders have announced that sport fishing for salmon will reopen on the Central Coast starting April 11, with commercial fishing set to begin the following month, marking a significant moment for commercial fishermen who have been unable to fish for salmon since 2022. "It's the news that everybody's been waiting for," said Blake Anderson, Santa Cruz Harbormaster, expressing the anticipation surrounding the reopening of salmon season. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that recreational fishing will commence on April 11, while commercial fishing is scheduled to kick off in May. The Santa Cruz Harbor is preparing for...

Most Americans can’t imagine their favorite restaurant just being out of certain foods. But the threat is closer than we think. It is difficult to imagine that the mighty United States could face threats to its seemingly abundant supply of grocery store and restaurant offerings. America has led the world in creating the modern industrial food system (known as “the Green Revolution”) and remains the world’s top food-exporting nation. Yet economic and logistical fractures have become visible, threatening to burst this illusion of plenty in a matter of moments. America’s farms have been quietly disappearing for decades, and productive farmland...