Judith Alexander
Food Resiliency Action Group Chair, Local 20/20 Jefferson County WA relocalization effort (Transition Town)
- Port Townsend, Washington
- United States
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Re: Community Garden in Affluent Suburb
2010-02-21 11:34:56 UTC
Our community has been making noteworthy progress in linking people with access to healthy food, through increasingly vibrant Farmers Markets, proliferation of neighborhood based community gardens (from 3 to 25+ in 3 years), a dynamic volunteer gleaning effort that moved 11,000 pounds of unharvested fruit to organizations in its first year, forming an active Farm to Cafeteria committee looking at bringing fresh local food into our schools, and initiating, over 4 months, 15-20 Menu for the Future courses (see www.nwei.org) 6 week discussion courses, each with its own farmer-participant, bringing the realities of local agriculture to the conversation.
The real challenge in changing food habits, (growing, procurement, preservation, cooking, and sharing), is first and foremost one of education. We have been taught to believe food should be cheap and instantly available so we can eat on the run. To reeducate ourselves to value healthful food, local food, and to develop the skills necessary to provide for ourselves well in that regard, is an involved process. The educational opportunity provided through the Northwest Earth Institute course, Menu for the Future, is easily accessible, and invaluable in drawing people into the conversation, in engaging their willingness to take action, as the groups provide a natural sense of community, much as do our community gardens, our gleaning groups, etc. The biggest challenge, in my estimation, in fostering sustainable behavior is the offering of the needed support for change. Groups help. Changing the collective norms of behavior helps. Bringing people together, whether into discussion forums, or action projects like community gardens, is an essential component of the cultural changes that lie ahead for us all. Building strong community as the platform for behavior change makes the challenge of change a fun and receptive process.
Judith Alexander
Local 20/20 Jefferson County WA relocalization effort (Transition Town)
United States
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