How to Get Out of the Food Desert

An above ground garden bed behind our house

There has been a lot reported in the news media this past week about the Food Desert. I won't pretend to understand the political side of these issues - because I don't - but I do have some suggestions for how to provide more food to more people at the lowest possible cost.

What solution do I propose? Teach people to grow their own food. It's not difficult. It doesn't take a lot of space. And it doesn't cost a lot of money.

When I was growing up in Mid-Missouri every neighbor and every relative had a garden patch behind their house. They grew green beans, peas, corn, strawberries, potatoes, okra, squash, lettuce, kale, spinach, and much more.  They ate fresh vegetables and canned the extras to eat during the winter months. There was always plenty to eat. Growing food was a skill grandparents and parents taught their children.

During the past 20 years there have been fewer and fewer gardens grown in patches behind houses. Fewer people know how to grow food and I can only guess that fewer parents and grandparents are teaching those skills to their children. I can't understand why.

Education and finding a job are important, but there is no better skill a child can learn than how to provide food for themselves and for their future families. If families do not pass these skills down from one generation to the next, who is going to teach it? Schools? Churches?  I think everyone bears this responsibility.

And finally, instead of reporting on the Food Desert I'd like to see more reporting on practical stories and articles that promote hands on food production. It would promote more independence, less dependence, and I am sure it would reduce the cost of public assistance provided by taxpayers to those who simply haven't been taught about possible alternatives.