The Investigative News Network is pleased to welcome the Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN) as its newest member.

FERN is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)3 news organization that produces investigative reporting on food, agriculture, and environmental health.

"The continued growth of INN is a testament to the strength of the nonprofit news movement," said Kevin Davis, CEO & Executive Director of INN. "FERN is the 62nd organization to join our network, and its coverage of food and health issues will complement the work of many INN members."

FERN's Managing Editor and Founding Director Paula Crossfield said her principal motivation to join INN is for the opportunity to collaborate with other nonprofit newsrooms.

Founded in October 2009, FERN began operations in September 2010 and is based in New York City. Its recent investigations have exposed questionable government subsidies for crop insurance and the effect of plastic contamination of food.

The Investigative News Network was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Los Angeles. INN was created to help the increasing number of nonprofit newsrooms pool resources, collaborate on editorial projects and get wider distribution of their work. INN is composed of organizations that produce nonpartisan investigative and public service journalism of regional, national and international scope. INN members produce original multi-media, long-form and ongoing stories and analyses of public data to inform the communities they serve.

Read more about FERN.

Correction: FERN began operations in September 2010, not January 2011.