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WHAT’S GROWING

Now’s the time to tell your neighbors about the Network. See those persimmons ripening next-door? Encourage them to join. The more members we have, the greater our group will be.

This just in: the master (p) of writing for eyes of the elite of the food system movement, M. Pollan himself, published a little rhyme in the NY Times in response to President Obama's speech last night:

On Friday July third we volunteered to help out Karen Hurst to pick fruit for Village Harvest. Village Harvest is a non-profit organization which helps out the community's hungry by picking fruit from peoples backyards and local orchards. This program was established in March 2002. The fruit that is picked is distributed to food banks. Some of the fruit is used to make jams and preserves, which are sold at craft fairs and non-profit organizations to raise money.

The food justice leaders got together with Village Harvest to pick fruit from three local homes. We got the basics on how we were going pick, sort, and package the fruit. We harvested 500 pounds worth of plums, lemons, oranges, and bigger than average apricots.

Our trip to Quesada Gardens was inspiring. Their block used to be a street full of problems and then one community member decided to change that.  Then their whole garden started with the help of the rest of the community members and the residents on the block.  Hearing the story on how the vision and mentality of the block changed made me realize that anyone can grow to make the world a better place.

City Slicker Farms was also a place that really caught my attention. Their goal is to get people aware that they can have healthy foods right in the community that they live in. They go around and help people in the community start their own garden in their backyards. Our goal this summer is to get to know what food justice actually means. I think that City Slicker is a great example of food justice. They make people aware that they can make their community a better place with homemade grown fruits and vegetables.

It is my last day as an intern at Collective Roots, and I feel very sorry to leave.  Thinking back on the range of projects and events I worked on throughout the last two months, I am truly amazed.  From meeting public health workers to completing organizational tasks and from working in the garden to visiting farms with the Food Justice Leaders, I had the opportunity to experience almost all sides of Collective Roots' work. 

Since July 1, 2003, the Ravenswood City School District has relied on Sodexo USA to supply meals for their young students.  While this agreement has provided a large number of children with free and reduced price lunches, it has come at the cost of poor nutrition.  The agreement gives Sodexo a budget and allows Sodexo to keep the profits if it is under budget, but if Sodexo goes over budget the district pays extra to make up the difference.  This provides Sodexo with incentive to spend as little as possible so that they can make a profit.