Madison Wis. - Everything has an environmental impact. Your morning showers, washing the dishes, leaving on the lights, driving to the grocery store. They all impact the environment, but sometimes it is hard to make the connection between what you use in your home to their environmental impact. But, today, on a trip to Milwaukee Wis., I learned about the impact of food.
Now, I have always known of the environmental ramifications of meat, hence why I am a vegetarian. However, I never knew the impact food can have on a community, especially here in the United States.
But today, my eyes were opened to the importance of food. A group of 30 SEJ members traveled by bus to Milwaukee Wis., to a place that has been helping their community by growing greenhouse upon greenhouse of food.
Those greenhouses belong to Growing Power a "national nonprofit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds, and the environments in which they live, by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities" (www.growingpower.com).
Growing Power is an organization striving to make change in their community and are doing so with food. There are many places within this city that are called food deserts where there is no access to good food, either from super markets or stores, within miles. For many people there only access to food is fast food often dubbed fast food lanes. In the neighborhood where Growing Powers is based there is no access to food for four miles in a n area were the poverty level is below the national average.
But in an effort to combat this and bring good food to their community, Growing Power fuels their community by providing homegrown food to the area. The best part about the whole process is Growing Power keeps everything in the community. Jobs, money, the food. It all benefits their area. There is no transportation of the food across the country -- everything is local and everything stays local. But not only is Growing Power helping their community by producing sustainable energy they are also helping to battle the growing obesity rate in their area.
After eating a meal of delicious homegrown foods at Growing Power our tour continued to Walnut Way, a community garden located in the heart of downtown Milwaukee. Walnut Way started after Sherry Allen returned to her community to find it in disarray. And knowing she needed to do something she started her own community garden and since then her community has changed. Crime has decreased, the area has begun to rise and poverty has decreased. A simple community garden changed the face of 30 blocks of this downtown area. Not only that, it has spurred other residents in the community to plant their own gardens to help sustain the community.
In going on this tour and listing to the various speakers, I learned the simple things a person in an urban area can do to reduce their carbon footprint. But the most important element to what I learned today was that it doesn't just have environmental implications, what these organizations, workers and volunteers do is community outreach. They are changing their community every day by simply growing food and through this food they are able to have educational programs for children, community outreach projects and volunteer opportunities for the area's youth. A simple concept of growing food with unbelievable ramifications.
But in going on this tour I also learned the time and effort these organizations put into growing sustainable food. A lot of time, but despite this, community gardens have been sprouting throughout the country.
In fact, in our own city we have two community gardens providing locally grown produce. And another city in our state is trying to incorporate the idea of sustainable gardens - Youngstown. It is important to realize the significance of these gardens. They provide elements for urban communities that they don't and can't get any other way. They offer a way to slowly change the lifestyle of urban America from fast food to healthy out of your garden produce.
So I urge all to read up on sustainable agriculture and community gardens and see if you can start or get involved in a community garden in you neighborhood. Or start a small garden of your own in your backyard, balcony or even a windowsill. Think about it.
(All photos taken from the Growing Power Web site at www.growingpower.com. Sorry my camera isn't working :(. But hopefully tomorrow I will have some photos!)
But today, my eyes were opened to the importance of food. A group of 30 SEJ members traveled by bus to Milwaukee Wis., to a place that has been helping their community by growing greenhouse upon greenhouse of food.
Those greenhouses belong to Growing Power a "national nonprofit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds, and the environments in which they live, by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities" (www.growingpower.com).
Growing Power is an organization striving to make change in their community and are doing so with food. There are many places within this city that are called food deserts where there is no access to good food, either from super markets or stores, within miles. For many people there only access to food is fast food often dubbed fast food lanes. In the neighborhood where Growing Powers is based there is no access to food for four miles in a n area were the poverty level is below the national average. But in an effort to combat this and bring good food to their community, Growing Power fuels their community by providing homegrown food to the area. The best part about the whole process is Growing Power keeps everything in the community. Jobs, money, the food. It all benefits their area. There is no transportation of the food across the country -- everything is local and everything stays local. But not only is Growing Power helping their community by producing sustainable energy they are also helping to battle the growing obesity rate in their area.
After eating a meal of delicious homegrown foods at Growing Power our tour continued to Walnut Way, a community garden located in the heart of downtown Milwaukee. Walnut Way started after Sherry Allen returned to her community to find it in disarray. And knowing she needed to do something she started her own community garden and since then her community has changed. Crime has decreased, the area has begun to rise and poverty has decreased. A simple community garden changed the face of 30 blocks of this downtown area. Not only that, it has spurred other residents in the community to plant their own gardens to help sustain the community.
In going on this tour and listing to the various speakers, I learned the simple things a person in an urban area can do to reduce their carbon footprint. But the most important element to what I learned today was that it doesn't just have environmental implications, what these organizations, workers and volunteers do is community outreach. They are changing their community every day by simply growing food and through this food they are able to have educational programs for children, community outreach projects and volunteer opportunities for the area's youth. A simple concept of growing food with unbelievable ramifications. But in going on this tour I also learned the time and effort these organizations put into growing sustainable food. A lot of time, but despite this, community gardens have been sprouting throughout the country.
In fact, in our own city we have two community gardens providing locally grown produce. And another city in our state is trying to incorporate the idea of sustainable gardens - Youngstown. It is important to realize the significance of these gardens. They provide elements for urban communities that they don't and can't get any other way. They offer a way to slowly change the lifestyle of urban America from fast food to healthy out of your garden produce.
So I urge all to read up on sustainable agriculture and community gardens and see if you can start or get involved in a community garden in you neighborhood. Or start a small garden of your own in your backyard, balcony or even a windowsill. Think about it.
(All photos taken from the Growing Power Web site at www.growingpower.com. Sorry my camera isn't working :(. But hopefully tomorrow I will have some photos!)
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