This year I have been able to do more planning and studying and making what we did last year work better. As well as make it more pleasing to the eye. That for me is the real fun! I have been giving a lot of thought to what I am trying to accomplish here. Of course good healthy food for my family and others in my community, but I have a vision for more.
In this country we are in a health crisis. Cancer and disease are affecting so many people. It seems weekly I hear of someone I know being diagnosed and the list is long for those I know that are suffering now.
My vision is to educate and involve the community. I know changing diet isn't the answer to all of the causes of health problems but I believe food choices play a tremendous part in overall health. There is a lack of education to our children and parents to the role food plays in our health. I would like to see a new generation learn and put to practice healthy eating habits.
So what exactly is my vision?
First is education. I am planning a garden club for children and their parents in my community. This club will teach organic growing practice, soil and water conservation, and healthy eating. I want them to understand where their food comes from and what makes it a good choice. They will have the opportunity to have hands on demonstrations, grow their own food and learn simple recipes so they will actually want to eat those vegetables they worked hard to grow!
Second is involvement. In the future I hope to have more land to do some of my bigger visions! I would love so much to be able to grow for the Rescue Mission. A large garden plot dedicated specifically to them that volunteers could come tend as well. What an opportunity that would be! To serve locally grown organic vegetables to those who need it most with the help of volunteers from our community!
An even bigger opportunity would be to support local schools. This would be a gigantic undertaking, but it's not a dream if it's not big! Help from other local growers would definitely be needed. Some of our rural community schools really need help with serving nutritious foods. I visited our local school for lunch on a couple of occasions and was really shocked with the food. Offering educational tours and opportunities for high schoolers to come help out on the farm would be a big step forward in reaching kids who aren't in an environment to learn about good food choices. The fact is there aren't enough organic farms to support the demand. Putting kids in the environment and letting them know the opportunity is there is a way to maybe propel some of these young people into a career in organic production.
Lastly is something I witnessed at the Georgia Organics Conference. They offered garden tours of some of the local growers around that area. I didn't get the tour I wanted, but the tour I got really got the gears in my head spinning. The tour was about community gardens. I didn't really even know these existed. They are gardens in areas for those who don't have the means for their own gardens. We visited three different gardens on the tour. The pride these people showed in what they had grown was amazing! They were hungry not only for the food they were growing but also for education! It was such a blessing to be able to go on that tour and witness what these community gardens were doing for people.
I have a passion for what I do. I absolutely love it and can't imagine not being able to do it. I have such a desire to spread this passion. It really is infectious! Once you start learning about it you want more! I don't know if I will accomplish all this, but a girl can dream!
