We are grateful for the food and nourishment we have and encourage all at this time of thanksgiving to bear in mind the second UN Sustainable Development Goal: to create a world free of hunger by 2030. Hunger and food insecurity have increased alarmingly since 2015, a trend exacerbated by the pandemic, conflict, climate change, and deepening inequality.

The intercropping method of planting corn, beans, and squash together, commonly called The Three Sisters, has been studied for many years. According to Chavonda Jacobs-Young, PhD, Administrator, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, “in agricultural parlance, ‘The Three Sisters’ are crops planted together in a shared space: maize, beans, and squash…. Developed through [I]ndigenous agricultural practices, these three plants protect and nourish each other in different ways as they grow and provide a solid diet for their cultivators.”