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Outlet profile

Civil Eats

U.S. center-left (food-system reform, sustainable-agriculture perspective)

Owned byOwned by Civil Eats, Inc., an independent nonprofit (501(c)(3) via fiscal structure) founded by journalists Paula Crossfield and Naomi Starkman; no corporate parent.
FundingPhilanthropic and reader-supported: foundation grants (for example Cedar Tree Foundation, Clif Bar Family Foundation, Schmidt Family Foundation), individual donors, a membership program, NewsMatch matching campaigns, and some advertising/sponsorship. It began with a 2013 Kickstarter that raised $100,000.
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

Paula Crossfield and Naomi Starkman launched Civil Eats in January 2009, growing out of a blog tied to the Slow Food Nation event in San Francisco. It operated for about four years with no funding, then raised $100,000 on Kickstarter in fall 2013. It moved to a nonprofit model supported by foundations, donors, and members, and the James Beard Foundation named it publication of the year in 2014. In March 2024 it appointed veteran food journalist Margo True as editorial director. The outlet publishes original reporting, analysis, and commentary, and maintains a food policy tracker. Its funders are largely foundations interested in sustainable food and farming, and its coverage generally centers on environmental, public-health, labor, and equity concerns in the food system, which gives it a reform-oriented slant even though its news reporting is sourced and fact-based. Since January 2025 it has reported heavily on cuts to USDA programs, canceled grants to small and minority farmers, federal staffing losses, the 2026 budget request, and the dietary guidelines and MAHA agenda, generally from a critical perspective.

Sources

  1. Civil Eats – Wikipedia
  2. About Civil Eats
  3. Civil Eats Kickstarter
  4. 2014 JBF Publication of the Year: Civil Eats
  5. Civil Eats Appoints Margo True as Editorial Director
  6. Under Trump, Local Food and Small Farms Are Facing Setbacks
  7. Trump Budget Request Cuts Nearly $5 Billion From USDA
  8. Calley Means Resigns from Trump Administration

Profile compiled 2026-11-01; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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