Pitch a Tent or Roll up My Sleeves?
Why I’m not selling my produce — yet.
I was born in the South which may attribute to my liking of rockabilly music. The song I Can Help by Billy Swan, covered many times over is one of my favorites. It’s got a nice swing, it makes me feel good, and I am hip to the jive of helping people. “I got two strong arms, I can help, It’ll sure do me good — to do you good, so let me help!” Ok fine, my arms aren’t that strong, but it’s still a good song.
One of the reasons I started a garden was as a food source for my family. We plan to preserve a good portion through canning and fermentation, send the scraps to the worm bin, but what about the rest? I’ll need to do something with the hundreds of pounds of produce envisioned in my mind's eye, right? Depending on the yield, there could be enough for a little side-hustle to generate income. But there’s no way I would come out ahead for the relatively small garden in my backyard, or would I?
I looked a bit into pitching a tent at a farmer’s market and selling my lush, beautiful produce. There a number of local markets but I’ll just talk about the two big ones. For stand A it’s $25/week, and for stand B $18/week. Stand A takes place on Saturday, stand B, an afternoon during the week. There are options for whole season, however I don’t know if I am ready for the commitment. Still all of this is depending on the yield, and the likely outcome that I wouldn’t turn a profit. Probably not the best idea right now. Let’s get through a growing season first. #Goals.
It’ll sure do me good, to do you good so let me help!
— Billy Swan
Rags to… Privilege?
For the youngest years of my life growing up, I thought it was normal when people from church would bring over bags of groceries, or boxes filled with canned goods. Didn’t everyone get a weekly food delivery from church? I thought it was normal for both of my parents to have full-time jobs, and for my dad to work nights. I thought it was normal to eat milled-wheat porridge for daily breakfast. We paid a reduced price for lunch because “there were more kids in our family,” not because my parents didn’t make enough for us to afford full price lunches. It was later in life I found out the reasons for attending church meals were because we wouldn’t have eaten otherwise. Both of my parents worked tirelessly to give their four kids the opportunity to achieve more. We moved several times, but ultimately landed a place in “Middle America”. My siblings are all living fruitful, happy adult lives. My parents did a great job. My naïvety as an adult has taken me away from an issue that haunted/threatened my family as a child.
I’m privileged. I enjoy my job, I have lived in different locations across the midwest, I have a partner and a dog that I love, and amazing friends. As an adult, I don’t worry about when or where my next meal comes comes from. For the most part I’ve been fortunate to have a roof and a hot meal. My parents worked hard so that my adult life would be different.
Large Cities and College Towns in the Midwest:
In large cities like Milwaukee and Chicago, signs of poverty are observable. They are among the poster cities for segregation, poor schools, and racial disparities. It’s easier to avoid the unsafe or ghetto neighborhoods by staying away from those parts of the city. Although I was never afraid of living in either of these beautiful cities, obvious income gaps and poverty can be seen driving from one neighborhood to the next.
In smaller college towns, it might be a matter of crossing a highway, or a street and the houses get a little smaller, but the signs are not as candid. Sure there may be one part of town some might consider “not so great” but all in all, “it’s so progressive.” Farmer’s markets with similar prices to grocery stores, great schools, highly educated populations; everything seems fine, right? Wrong. College towns are notorious for poverty segregation. The university takes care of it’s contributing students and paid staff, however those who live outside of the umbrella don’t always benefit. The poverty rate in my county is one of the worst in the state with more than 30,000 people who live below the poverty line, a large percentage of those are food insecure. In short, people need food, and those people are in a closer proximity to me than I realized.
An estimated 16.3% of the population — or 1 in every 6 — are food insecure in my county, above the national average of 12.7%. 85% of those receiving food stamps have at least one working adult, yet the wages aren’t sufficient enough to keep their family fed. Despite living amid tens of thousands of acres of farmland, there are so many that go without a basic need on a regular basis.
Here’s what others are doing to combat this issue
People are beginning to realize the importance of being close to their food, especially us Millennials. A recent article by Kimbal Musk shows the work his organizations do in large urban populations and across the midwest to increase the access to locally grown food. Rooftop and vertical gardens continue to grow momentum and are sprouting all over the country.
Growing Power : A non profit that works with communities to develop Community Food Systems. They conduct workshops on growing methods, educate the community with youth programs and trainings. They also work with farmers to expand the local food network through mobile farmer’s markets, and other support programs.
Washington DC and Detroit are examples of how communities and local governments are working in tandem to provide food to those living in food deserts. The Federal Government also has grants available for those who are willing to assist in the expansion of getting produce to rural communities. Who knows if the Federal programs will survive past the first year of the current administration, but we can remain hopeful, and continue to vote.
How I’m taking action
It’s been established that people close to me need food. I am growing food. I can help! A few weeks ago I started volunteering at a local soup kitchen (DBSK), which runs on 100% volunteer labor. Not one person gets paid to keep this organization going, and it runs entirely on the communities’ support. Because of food service laws, DBSK doesn’t take anything canned, preserved or dried in a home kitchen. They do, however take fresh produce from local farms and backyard gardens. This is why I’m not going to try to sell my produce.
The DBSK feeds over 200 people a day. Sure, it’s not 30,000, but it’s making a dent. I also have the opportunity to hear stories and share experiences with my community. I wish I were able to volunteer for a shift in the kitchen, but it’s during work hours, and there’s a backlog of volunteers waiting to get a spot on a cooking shift. #Goals. At the moment, I am in charge of making runs to local restaurants, food coops and other places willing to donate. I bring it back to the kitchen to label and store.
Here’s what you can do
If food insecurity is something that you feel passionate about, great —make something happen! Respond to this article and let’s start a conversation! If it’s not, that’s ok. Everyone has their own way of contributing to society. You do you. I’m not here to judge.
United Way and Hunger Free America have options for contributing locally. See what areas you can contribute within your means. People all over the world need food. Start with those in your backyard or at least make a conscious effort. If it makes you feel good about yourself, do it. Or don’t. The choice is yours.
Rather than trying to earn pennies on the dollar, people need my help now. People shouldn’t have to worry about where their next meals are coming from. I’ve decided to roll up my sleeves and share my learnings and fruits of my labor with those who need it. So let me help. The rest will come in time.
—
I write to share my experiences and thoughts about a variety of topics. I don’t want to be one of those writers who has opinions and rants on about everything without taking action. Nor do I want to tell you what to do. If you like this material, show some ❤️.
