Civil Eats

Civil Eats is an independent, nonprofit digital news and commentary site about the American food system. Its high-quality, original journalism breaks news, educates leaders and policymakers, and serves as a resource for broader mainstream media. Founded in 2009 by Naomi Starkman and Paul Crossfield, who left the organization in 2014, the editorial team now includes Twilight Greenaway, Matthew Wheeland, Christina Cooke, and Bridget Shirvell. The site works with more than a 100 freelance reporters nationwide. Its board of directors and advisory board is made up the top thinkers in the food media landscape.
Civil Eats brings a clear and compelling voice to a complex range of issues. Its 12 years of reporting experience has shown that complicated and often underreported stories on climate change, the environment, social justice, and on policy issues such as health and nutrition, are all made more accessible to a mainstream audience through its nuanced, solutions-oriented reporting. 
For the first four years, Civil Eats operated with no funding and as a labor of love. Now more than a decade later, Civil Eats has achieved significant impact and reach: It raised an unprecedented $100,000 via Kickstarter in 2013, was named Publication of the Year in 2014 by the prestigious James Beard Foundation, inducted into the Library of Congress in 2019, and won the IACP Digital Media Award for Best Group Food Blog in 2020, all with very limited resources. Editor-in-chief Naomi Starkman was a 2016 John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University. 
Civil Eats has a proven track record that includes the following accomplishments:
Journalistic Leadership: Civil Eats has reported on some of the most important food and agriculture stories of our time. Unique in the media landscape, food justice has been central to its reporting since its inception.
Mainstream Media Resource: Civil Eats collaborates with high-profile print and online publications, including NBC News, The Guardian, HuffPost, Eater, "Food & Wine", "New York", "TIME", "The Atlantic", "Mother Jones", "Salon", Harvest Public Media, Slate, Public Radio International, Bill Moyers, Earth Island Journal, and PBS. 
Educating Thought Leaders: The site is on the regular reading lists of policymakers in D.C. and grassroots leaders alike, and its stories appear in daily news round-ups, and are shared on social media by elected officials and notable individuals.