The most needed items are canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, soup, and tuna fish. Arizona farmers and ranchers annually donate millions of pounds of fresh produce to those in need. These are just a few examples of how farmers and ranchers are making a difference in the fight against hunger. Food Banks need 150,000 canned goods per month in order to fill food boxes and serve meals to the hungry. For more information about how you can help end hunger, please visit www.firstfoodbank.org.

It's a time to gather groceries for the week, flowers for the garden or a piece of local art for the wall. Farmers' markets mean fresh vegetables, unique vendors and morning traditions. Wilmington had a waiting list for vendors to start the season this year even though the 4-year-old market was expanded a block. She said before Shallotte started its farmers' market two years ago, the couple had nowhere but their own land to sell their harvest. In a moment, people were purchasing his stock...

Canned tuna is much less expensive than the fresh version and, once canned, retains all the nutritional value as well as the convenience of a long shelf-life. Although you can't barbecue canned tuna, there are times when we are in a rush, without the time to fire up the outdoor grill, and need an easy, nutritious recipe, like this one, to quickly get a tasty meal on the table. Most kids who, more often than not, turn up their noses at fresh fish, will happily eat a tuna sandwich. As the...

Every time he delivers a batch of fish for stocking, Musa has to present the recipient with paperwork indicating his fish have been certified disease-free. Such "fish farms" have to be permitted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation and fish produced at those facilities are tested regularly to make sure they don't spread any diseases. VHS, a virus that is fatal to fish but harmless to humans, is only the most recent disease to threaten fish populations. But it's also been a...

REEDSPORT - About a dozen commercial crabbers - and some trawlers and salmon trollers, too - met Thursday evening with one thing on their minds: access to fishing grounds. The companies who own the wave buoy technology and who have applied for parks off of Gardiner, Coos County and Bandon - Ocean Power Technologies and Finavera Renewables - have said the buoys need to be placed on sandy ocean bottoms, between about 25 and 40 fathoms. Several proposals are being considered for wave energy...

State Department of Water Resources officials said the action is expected to last seven to 10 days, until water conditions allow the fish to move to safer areas. The smelt is a translucent minnowlike fish that has little commercial or recreational value. The latest shutdown came after a request from the state Department of Fish and Game, which also asked small water users in the south delta to halt diversions. This may be the first time state water exports have been halted to protect fish....