food justice Archives

May 8, 2013

My Garden

Posted 5:27pm

…

That evening I sat on my front porch and stared at my green grass and budding bushes. I wanted to throw a 2 year old style tantrum, of not understanding why the world was so unfair. I was ready to take control of my food system. I was ready to get back to the dirt and simpler times. I was ready to turn my yard into a demonstration of how to do so. But for reasons beyond my control, I could not.

How was it that the ecological revolution I saw budding in myself and my backyard was so easily derailed by the previous industrial one of my predecessors?…

April 14, 2013

Finding Fellowship at the Farmers Market

Posted 1:22pm

I love Wednesdays. Wednesdays mean seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and catching up on the goings-on in the neighborhood. We congregate, and we share. The tantalizing smells of freshly baked bread, hot coffee, and a potpourri of home-grown herbs awaken my senses. I hear old men reporting to one another about the past week… Read more »

April 2, 2013

We are Fossil Fuels

Posted 11:52am

“From dust you were made, and to dust you will return.”

Our bodies were created of earth; they are sustained by what we intake, which is grown by, or feeds off the earth; and ultimately we will return to the earth.

I wonder however, if the modern world version of the phrase should be, “From fossil fuels you are made, to them you cannot return”

March 6, 2013

“Not Even A Tomato”

Posted 6:42pm

“I just want to peek inside real quick. Okay?” I said. The plastic sign read “Village Pantry,” with a big red tomato on it. It was right around the corner from an apartment I was considering, and I was curious to see what I would be dealing with.

“Of course,” my dad agreed with a laugh, as I jumped out of the car and through the doors of the corner store. I quickly darted up and down the isles, glancing at beef jerky, chips, and candy bars. I picked up a sandwich or two in the “Bistro” case, noting the offsite packaging plant.

After my curiosity was satisfied, I walked out of the store and back to my car.

“Did they have a good organic section?” Dad joked.

“Not even a tomato,” I replied before pulling out of the parking lot, “or a can of beans to stock the pantry.”

March 1, 2013

When I Hear Word “Organic”…

Posted 2:44pm

When I hear the word “Organic”…

I picture myself in the grocery store. I feel frustrated at having to pick and choose which items are “worth” spending the extra money. I worry about the chemicals on my leafy greens and fruits. The sentence that runs through my head is this: “Organic food is great, but it’s too expensive.” I think that the ‘O’ word deserves a little attention…

September 11, 2012

Huerto-Garden de-of la-the Familia-Family

Posted 9:51am

We have been honored to be able to support Huerto de la Familia through donations to the One Great Hour of Sharing. Huerto is a dynamic initiative which works in Oregon to expand opportunities and training in organic agriculture and business creation to families with the least access, but whom have great potential to benefit. Many of these families are Latino, thus the Spanish name. I learned a lot from these wonderful short videos Huerto created this year, and you may too.

The first film in a three-part series, Harvest of Pride: Cultivating Community features the stories of families, social workers and community practitioners. While news media continue to focus mostly on the “hunger problem”, the film points to the largely ignored epidemic of food insecurity among Latinos and immigrants.

August 22, 2012

Glean On Me

Posted 4:00pm

With the scale of such extravagant waste in mind, we sat down with Aaron Tornes from a Louisville non-profit Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light (KIPL) to discuss the ways his gleaning network—Glean Together!—is working to reduce the amount of waste in his local food system.

May 24, 2012

This is the Jamm!

Posted 12:00am

The strawberry season in Kentucky is only 2-3 weeks, so when the time comes, you have to get your hands on as many berries as possible.

May 15, 2012

Food Fighter Feature: Cutting Costs and Building People

Posted 6:00am

When it comes to food and fairness, few populations are more consistently disregarded than our nation’s incarcerated individuals. Sentenced to time away from friends and families, and kept indoors with little access to fresh air and community engagement can leave inmates even more broken and disjointed from society than ever before.

The cost of detention does not present itself solely through spiritual degradation for inmates; it also presents a very real financial cost to American taxpayers at roughly $129/day (estimate based on 2009 California State Prisons cost analysis). This money goes to inmate healthcare, security, feeding, administration and rehabilitation. One jailer in Woodford County Kentucky decided as part of his term to cut some of those costs and engage inmates in taking ownership for their food and their well-being.

This week’s Food Fighter, Jailer Johnny Jones

May 3, 2012

Food Fighter Feature: Goodness Grows

Posted 6:00am

Youth take the lead on promoting Food Justice in Georgia The Heritage Presbyterian Church in Acworth, Georgia proudly boasts the motto that: “Love Grows Here”. Well, love isn’t the only thing growing at Heritage Presbyterian. Community is creeping up the trellises and leaders both young and old are being born everyday. I spoke with one such… Read more »

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