[SustainableTompkins] Food justice article & question

[Anne Rhodes]

some thoughts about Elan's question:
> Question: How can we ensure that relocalization/sustainability strategies > (policies, economics practices, agriculture, lifestyle, etc.) address this issue?> 
Small Farmer's Markets in Northside and Southside (at Southside or GIAC) and maybe in Caroline and Enfield, Groton, Newfield.
Teach people how to porch-garden - tomatoes, lettuce, spinach.
Teach the kids at school, and send them home with little plants and instructions.
Localized campaign for donations  - by neighborhood - for either vegetables that people have grown or cash donations to buy vegetables. Special appeal to people who earn more than twice the Living Wage.
Neighborhood gardens.
Plant neighborhood fruit trees, grapes, berries, herbs.
Neighborhood small scale composting set ups.
House parties, inviting neighbors in to try a new recipe  - small groups that visit each other's homes and try something new, and get the recipe. 
Or invites to Southside or GIAC and Enfield Community Center etc. to try new recipes.  Like demonstration kitchens.
Neighborhood greenhouses and hydroponic growing spaces ... high school students learn at school (or BOCES) how to maintain, (and meanwhile learn the biology, math, economics, etc. connected to the project) and teach neighborhood folks.  Surely some Coop Ext. people or Cornell people would get involved.  
Presentations at churches, clubs, service clubs, day care centers, about the nutrition and economic information, and information about how to get involved in growing food on your own or together.
Young Chefs program at GIAC to teach young people how to cook, with local TV program, demonstration sessions for parents and neighbors, dinners.  Bring people from the hotel school down to teach.  Get real equipment donated, and chef outfits, and frech foods ... help the Young Chefs think about going to school to learn this profession.
Block parties in the summer with opportunities for people to learn how to cook with vegetables and make salads etc.  Lots of food and music.  All ages.
 
 
 
 
 
 
> Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2008 08:53:11 -0500> To: sustainabletompkins at lists.mutualaid.org> From: es239 at cornell.edu> Subject: [SustainableTompkins] Food justice article & question> > > Here's a sobering article about how we sustain or don't sustain all members of our communities. > Question: How can we ensure that relocalization/sustainability strategies > (policies, economics practices, agriculture, lifestyle, etc.) address this issue?> > Healthy Diets Out of Reach for Many> > Eating a healthy diet is getting so expensive that many American families cannot afford it. > Not only are fruits and vegetables costly, but food price inflation is reducing the ability of > low- and middle-income households to get the nutrients they need. Recent research confirms > these findings.> > A University of Washington study, conducted over a two-year period in the Seattle area, found that > good, healthy foods increased in price by almost 20 percent, four times the rate of overall food > inflation. Meanwhile, less healthy, high calorie foods held steady in price or actually dropped. > > “We were shocked, said Adam Drewnowsky, director of the University’s Center for Public Health > Nutrition and co-author of the study, The Rising Cost of Low-Energy-Density Foods, published in > the December 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. “The > nutrient-rich calories, the food we should be eating are zooming out of sight, he stated. “So > eating well is becoming unaffordable for many, even in the middle class.> > As healthy foods get more expansive, unhealthy foods stay cheap. “When it comes to empty > calories, it’s very difficult to compete with sugar, noted Drewnowsky. In Brazil, for example, > sugar made locally from sugar cane “is produced at the cost of 30,000 calories for one dollar. > Nothing else comes close.> > The academic findings were recently confirmed by a federal study. Are Lower Income Households > Willing and Able to Budget for Fruits and Vegetables? is the title of a January 2008 report > issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It is not surprising that households > with income near or under the poverty line spend less money on food than higher income households. > But even when they experience a small increase in income, such households will allocate more money > to only two of seven product categories – beef and frozen prepared foods. For low-income > households to prioritize fruits and vegetables, a household’s income must increase more > substantially.> > So, how can low- and middle-income families achieve a healthful diet? “It takes three > things, explained Drewnowsky. “Education, money, and time. If you have all three, you’re home > free. If you have two out of three, you can manage. But if you only have one out of the > three, or zero out of the three, you are pretty much screwed. And a lot of low-income people > have zero out of three. > For additional information, see the USDA report at: > <http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR54/> > http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR54/. The > University of Washington study is on the web at: > <http://www.mdconsult.com/das/article/body/86804079-2/jorg=journal&source=&sp=20186529&sid=0/N/619891/If07018007003.fig>http://www.mdconsult.com/das/article/body/86804079-2/jorg=journal&source=&sp=20186529&sid=0/N/619891/If07018007003.fig> > -- > Elan Shapiro> Sustainable Tompkins Community Partnership Coordinator> Sustainable Living Associates, Principal> Frog's Way B&B> 211 Rachel Carson Way> Ithaca, NY 14850> 607-275-0249 607-592-8402 Cell> > "We must be the change we want to see in the world"> Mohandas Gandhi> _______________________________________________> RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for:> SustainableTompkins at lists.mutualaid.org> http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins> free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
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