Local Food Initiatives

I feel that there are many local food initiatives in progress, two of which I learned about in this class such as The Roots Heritage Garden and The Harry Chapin Food bank. Local food initiatives help to bring control of our food back to a local level. This empowers communities and creates a sense of belonging and that control is being put back into the hands of the consumer. I feel the more people can become involved with their food, like through the Roots Heritage Garden, the more likely they will become educated about what they are eating, where it comes from and how they should be feeding their bodies. Some shortcomings of programs like this are funding and sheer manpower. Without funding and community support, gardens like this cannot flourish. Many individuals find it hard enough to find time in their day to go to the grocery store, if one is even available within the area, let alone go work on a garden. I also think that as a society, we crave instant gratification and working in a garden does not always provide that; it takes time to cultivate and grow everything, which could lead to frustrations, desperation and rejection of the project. Another shortcoming with local food initiatives is that they have a higher chance of being affected by donor and volunteer fatigue. Volunteer fatigue is a term we talked about in our group discussions during class, meaning that because of the constant demand and dependence on volunteers they may become burnt out. For example, in the Roots Heritage Garden they depend on volunteers and individuals committed to coming to the garden continuously. If there ever was a shortage of this, which I can imagine at times there could be, the garden would suffer immensely. (Picture source)

As the 5^th EC principle states, “Adopt at all levels sustainable development plans and regulations that make environmental conservation and rehabilitation integral to all developmental initiatives.” I feel this principle applies to local food initiatives because once the garden (a sustainable developmental plan) becomes established, it would help to rehabilitate our communities’ notion on food. This EC principle continues to note that maintaining biodiversity is necessary because it helps to preserve our natural heritage. This point especially applies to the Roots Heritage Garden (RHG), because by growing produce/vegetables that flourish in SW Florida it preserves foods that have always been here and creates a diversity of foods other than those found in the super markets. As we learned in class, it appears we have

options, when we really don’t. By growing our own food, we can reintroduce food biodiversity! The 9^th EC principle also ties in nicely with the idea of the RHG stating, “Empower every human being with the education and resources to secure a sustainable livelihood, and provide social security and safety nets for those who are unable to support themselves.” This is exactly what the RHG strives to introduce in our community! By empowering people with the knowledge of how to grow their own vegetables, it would encourage them to teach others and help to gain food security. (Earth Charter) (Photo Source)

If people can begin to support themselves, there would be less reliance on fast food corporations and can help to break the negative cycle of food decisions. I feel that the RHG is providing more than food security, it brings a sense of community back to our society. The more we feel connected to the people and places in our community, the more we will feel responsible for what is going on and how people are getting by. This connection could create a sense of family in their neighborhoods, where people would become more prone to helping each other out. Overall, local food initiatives such as the RHG are amazing opportunities to provide stability within our society and hopefully will inspire future generations to change what they consider food and how they acquire it.