Monday Afternoon Amazement

Today's amazement includes my marveling over the amazing things that have taken place in my life this past week.

First of all, we were honored to be visited by Virginia's First Lady, Mrs. Dorothy McAuliffe. Mrs. McAuliffe has a passion for getting local, chemical-free foods to low income children and our farm was the first farm she visited as she explores avenues to make her dream of healthy food for all children a reality.  Sitting next to her at a picnic that followed the tour, I found her to be well educated on the issues of food insecurity and the need to connect local farms with low income families.  A bonus was discovering her to be a warm, gracious person.

Stopping for a photo op with Mrs. McAuliffe

Another amazing event was being second time presenters at the Wild Goose Festival.  This year we again exposed attendees to the realities (and horrors) of industrial agriculture and invited them to be liberated from this oppressive model by partnering with local farmers or to even grow their own food.  

One of the presenters on our panel was a well-known (in certain circles) woman who gave her talk just before ours.  Public speaking is not my forte and knowing a relatively famous person was on our panel upped my anxiety.  What happened just before our turn really raised my blood pressure.

The presentation she gave was not at all what we expected and I was rattled by the time it was our turn to speak.  As she comes from a community where food has been elevated to an elitist state, this particular presenter mocked those who seek out "sustainable" food.  As I stared at the notes for my presentation, which began by my introducing us as sustainable farmers, my mind raced, trying to find a way to not look foolish.  Bill whispered to me that he would open our presentation and then we could continue as planned.  He defended our position and we presented our program.  I kept making eye contact with the previous presenter and at one point, laughed, and told her I wasn't able look at her whenever I used the word "sustainable."  This got a laugh from everyone, including her, and helped lighten the tension.  

The final outcome from our program was that most of those attending the session agreed with us and felt the other presenter didn't understand the problems with health and food choices outside of her culture.  Friends who attended said people were very attentive when we spoke and most were busy taking notes.  We also were stopped by at least 15 people over the course of the weekend who said they agreed with us.  There is a vast difference between an area where shoppers use the food movement as an vehicle for prestige and a region where poor food choices are killing people and causing health care costs to sky rocket (not to mention the cost to the environment).

Ours were not the only two presentations.  Another presenter was Olufemi Lewis, an amazing woman who has started a program called Ujamaa Freedom Market.  This program has a food bus that travels to low income neighborhoods in Asheville, North Carolina, delivering healthy produce as a foil against the "candy bus" that goes through those same neighborhoods, offering nothing but sugar laden fare.  The program came about because Olufemi noticed that this candy bus only went to low income neighborhoods where most of the residents were African Americans; she noted that this bus did not go to the affluent, mainly Caucasian neighborhoods.  Olufemi says her current struggle is getting community members to change their eating habits, to learn how to cook produce, and to wean themselves from processed food.  We know that she also understands that people in our region need to be educated about and buy (or grow) sustainable food.  Not because it's trendy, but because it will save lives.

Despite the moments of stress - both with the First Lady's visit and with the presentation - it has been an amazing week.  It is wonderful to see the message I've been preaching become more mainstream.  Good for people and good for the planet.

Quote for the Day

To commemorate returning from our fourth attendance at the Wild Goose Festival (and the second time as presenters representing the local food movement), I'm sharing a Wendell Berry poem:

What We Need Is Here

by Wendell Berry

Horseback on Sunday morning,

harvest over, we taste persimmon

and wild grape, sharp sweet

of summer's end. In time's maze

over fall fields, we name names

that went west from here, names

that rest on graves. We open

a persimmon seed to find the tree

that stands in promise,

pale, in the seed's marrow.

Geese appear high over us,

pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,

as in love or sleep, holds

them to their way, clear,

in the ancient faith: what we need

is here. And we pray, not

for new earth or heaven, but to be

quiet in heart, and in eye

clear. What we need is here.

Explanation

Random goat pic

While it may seem that I have neglected my blog lately, it has been for a good reason - we've had a lot of activity going on behind the scenes at the farm.  In addition to our regular twice-weekly deliveries and Saturday farmers' market, we've been busy prepping for an important visitor.  The First Lady of Virginia, Mrs. Dorothy McAuliffe, is coming to visit the farm today!  We're so excited to to be ambassadors for sustainable, chemical-free farming in our state (and the rest of the country).  Mrs. McAuliffe has a special concern for childhood nutrition and food security and an interest in boosting agriculture in the state.  Here's some of the press on her visit.

We also have an upcoming presentation on the alternative to the current industrial food model.  More on that later.

Quote for the Day

"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."

~Henry James

Wellness Wednesday

Photo by Leanne Brown

I often hear people complain that it's too expensive to eat healthy.  Well, author Leanne Brown has come up with a cookbook that reveals the lie in that belief.  Her cookbook, Good and Cheap:  A SNAP Cookbook is available as a free download.  In this book, Leanne teaches readers how to eat well on $4 a day ($4 a day is a typical foodstamp budget.)  The photos are beautiful and the recipes sound delicious. My only criticism is that some of the ingredients are a bit exotic and not readily available in many low income areas (her comparison was low income communities in New York).  However, she has some great tips on saving money by breaking out of the our current mindset of what we "need" (i.e., skip prepackaged drinks; eat oatmeal rather than over-priced cereals.)  Looking to make good, cheap meals?  Go here to get it.  

Leanne also has a Kickstarter campaign going to get print copies into the hands of low income families and individuals who do not have the luxury of the internet.

Power vs. Small Farms

Last week I blogged about how we are not allowed to use the "o" word when describing the methods that we use to farm.  (Hmm, I wonder how I can describe the "o" matter that we put in our compost pile since that is the only thing that will break down into beautiful soil; synthetic material certainly won't - but I digress.)

Here's another instance where a small farmer is persecuted by the authorities in North America.  While the initial raid took place in 2010, this exemplifies how the powers (both corporate and government) work overtime to shut down farmers who are trying to produce clean, healthy food, to raise animals in an ethical humane way, and to preserve our agricultural heritage.  Montana Jones now faces a 12 year prison sentence and over a million dollar fine even though she did nothing wrong.  This photo from the article captures her heartbreaking experience:

Source

Clearly, small farmers are a threat to the safety and security of citizens in North America large corporate interests.

Monday Morning Amusement

Am I the only one who sees a problem with the placement of these billboards?