For some reason this subject has come up several times recently. What I mean by amateur foods are those grown in someone’s home garden.
Many of us know what it’s like to have a glut of zucchini’s (courgettes) or when all 100 apples come ripe on your tree at the same time. You give them away or you have methods of processing and storing them. You may have neighbors or friends to give them to. Since I grow about 1000 bulbs of garlic every year, it’s always a bit of an issue to find people to eat them.
What about selling them or giving them away to other people in your community?
President Obama has the stated purpose of producing fresh vegetables for a local homeless soup kitchen. James recently posted about an initiative in his community to encourage hobby gardeners to offer their excess to others. I got an email from Maureen telling me about her new site, The Farmers Garden, set up to match people offering their home grown fruits and veggies with those looking for offerings.
I must admit, while I usually try to be positive and encouraging, I’m also not shy about dismissing impossible sounding ideas. I wasn’t very encouraging in my reaction to either of these initiatives.
The basic problem is this. Being a market farmer is a very special skill, and takes considerable effort and dedication. In most places in the world it’s difficult or impossible to run such an operation financially without government assistance. Certainly it’s all but impossible in the face of government subsidized factory farms, or cheap imported alternatives.
While market shoppers may not be as picky as some, everyone expects their food to be reasonably free of blemishes, insect damage and generally look good. Harvest gluts need to be managed with succession plantings and other season extension methods. Varieties of plants need to be selected that fit in with the general business model of a market farm, and these are usually different from what we choose to grow at home. A selection of produce needs to be offered that’s consistent with buying most of your food in a single place, and since people eat 365 days a year this sort of variety needs to be offered year round. Most of us also depend on a relationship with the person we buy our food from, in order to have some assurance of it’s quality and safety. It’s a tall order.
As much as I like the idea of communities coming together and sharing their food, and it’s certainly a great way to meet your neighbors, in my opinion what can come from a home garden is no substitute for market farmers. It doesn’t matter if a whole community offers their excess produce. It doesn’t seem like this kind of system will ever be able to provide a significant contribution to local food needs. Or can it?
Hopeless idea or food system of the future?
Does anyone have first hand knowledge of a working system like this?
Interesting. There is a local church/food bank with a garden. Volunteers from the community planted and are caring for a huge garden to add fresh produce to the food bank’s offerings. I read about it in the paper and the garden looks nice from the road.
Not yet, but we’ve recently set up a scheme at my allotment site, to supply a local greengrocer with fruit and veg. We’re gpoong to start with apples, and see how it goes. The money will go to site funds.
Our city’s main foodbank accepts garden produce and through local media encourages gardeners to “plant a row for Harvest” (Winnipeg Harvest is the name of the foodbank). http://www.winnipegharvest.org/help/food/growarow I have no idea though how well it works.
http://www.growingpower.org/blog/archives/5
This link will take you to read of an inspiring man who visited our town.
When I get a few minutes later today I will write of neat things going on here in Virginia. With all the bad press the U.S receives, it’s easy to lose track of how many giving people there are here doing great things. Don’t lose hope!
Here in Charlottesville,Va.People from all walks in life are involved in our vibrant food ‘scene’. We have the new ‘Local Food Hub, a non-profit facilitating getting the food from garden/farm to consumer, they have a test garden & warehouse. They organize getting food from producer to people who are in need too. They offer practical advice on succeding as a farmer. They have a website.They have the backing of many prominant citizens.
A truck is parked at at least 1 of our farmer’s markets to make it easy for people to donate produce, baked goods,etc. which is then delivered. The board on aging is involved and youth & family services. Soup kitchens recieve
oops pressed submit button too soon. to continue soup kitchens receive the extras from caterers, farmers & restaurants.
The “backpack’ program– Kids who would otherwise be hungry on weekends take home on Friday a backpack of food. This is fresh produce, etc. People are working on a ‘Farm to School’ program for lunches every day.
There are gardens in housing projects w/the help of an experienced farmer.
A ‘local currency” is given to people of low income to be spent at the farmer’s markets.
Our Farm tours are shown on Youtube to teach people seasonality of produce. ALOT can be produced on a small piece of land. A chef has a radio program from our big city market, each week he highlights a grower’s produce in a dish which is given out as samples. There are tastings& festivals&workshops. Restaurants have gardens. Tourists help keep restaurants alive.
In the popular small market I help run we welcome the farmer and the person w/ a handful of onions as an equally important vendor and it works. A church loans us their parking lot, there is no annual vendor fee, just a small percentage given if you make over $50, kids sell for free. Kids are interested big time.
I read of the idea of a kid in a distressed city, maybe Detroit who has created a “buy local’ card to be punched w/ each purchase, with a reward of some type, maybe it’s that you get a discount. All this creativity I’ve listed here is just a part of course, but I think it shows both the sharing part, so that not only the rich eat well. & the work being done to keep growing economically possible for the grower.
People with money and power back many of these things and that’s part of the organizing. We do have a lot of that here.
So much of this stuff just started in past few years. We work also to keep taxes for farmland low and all these things help that.
iT’S EXCITING!
Sorry – different subject, but I’ve just posted about the alpine strawberry seed you gave me – with pictures! And some of the plants did go to the allotment that grows food for our local hospice, The Martlets, so it’s sort of related.
http://portlandfruit.org/
Here is a group that is doing it with success. It’s totally possible! This is just one part of a diverse movement that is small and growing.
Hi Kristin, it looks great! Of course it’s easier to share fruits and nuts with others than vegetables, and it makes sense that something like what you do works well. Good luck!
Thanks too to everyone else who left comments here!
Two types of initiative here in the UK that might be of interest.
First, fruit gleaning, as represented by Abundance Manchester (http://abundancemanchester.wordpress.com/) and Abundance Sheffield (http://www.growsheffield.com/pages/groShefAbund.html)
Second, free food grown in public places in a small town in West Yorkshire. Kind of a pick-your-own operation without a cash register. The project is called Incredible Edible Todmorden (http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/projects).
Thanks for the links Carol!