Ain’t No Shaming in Sustaining: Growing Food Forests

Remember those childhood chidings at the dinner table, “Make sure you eat everything on your plate. There are children in Africa starving.”  And you would think to yourself, “well give them this food.  I’m full anyway.” The word “full” is loaded with meanings of at the limit or capacity; can’t hold anymore.  At face value, it says that all needs are met at this time.  And the expectation is that when we need to refill, we always, undoubtedly, have an opportunity to.  But are times changing?  As we watch nations’ economies around the world deteriorate, we Americans seem to live in an insular bubble.  We’re experiencing economic sequester, the rise of the poverty line, and the consolidation of wealth.  A recent proposed Facebook-based, Camden, NJ protest called for a boycott of a local meat market after it was alleged that the Facebook page of the meat market contained racial slurs and disparaging remarks about the “food stamp” population.  Although the business owner maintains that this page was hacked, many individuals continue protest in the name of “respect for the food stamp spending.”  Now, let’s analyze.  A group of people on public assistance should boycott a business that doesn’t respect them by not spending their food stamps there anymore.  The amazing thing is that food stamps are viewed as economic power although those that hold them have very little power over anything.  Now this piece isn’t about bashing public assistance recipients.  Everyone has their story and it should be just that.  A story or situation.  Not a lifestyle.  But the question is how do we move people from subsistence to sustenance?

At a recent event, I had the opportunity of meeting a Los Angeles-based activist named Ron Finley aka the Gangsta Gardener.  He is an organic evangelist who converts urban food deserts to food forests.  The solutions are simple.  Find some land, get some garden tools, and start planting.  Sounds simpler than it is.  The mindset has to change from a consumer-minded existence to a producer mentality. The city of Camden, NJ is a classic food desert. Approximately 88,000 residents, over 50% under the age of 18 and no longer has any major supermarkets (at press time, the lone major chain supermarket is scheduled to close it’s doors with a new one being built with a target of 2015). It is a city of neighborhood pizza joints, cheesesteak shops, bullet proof Chinese cuisine and corner bordegas. I don’t have any stats at hand on nutrition, obesity, diet-related morbidity, hypertension, diabetes, etc. but I would wager that the incidences in Camden, NJ are staggering. Finley pointed out that the drive thrus were killing more people in his South Los Angeles neighborhood more than the drive by shootings.

In radically attempting to overtake an area for food forestry, you may require permission from the local government and possibly a permit. If it is land that is abandoned and in need of garbage pick up, you may be able to broker a deal with the local government to re-claim the land for certain purposes i.e. a garden. In the cases that the city or town may not be in agreement, you must make a decision as to what would be the best way to accomplish this task. Ron Finley said that he and his crew pretty much squatted and took over city land but not without a fight. You see, there has to be a true element of solution-driven activism in growing urban gardens. Feeding your own has to be a passion and necessity. Not just a Facebook “like” or a “re-tweet”. Some real basic tips to follow to start:

1. Write up a PLAN. Decide how big or small you want your garden to be and what you would like to grow on it. Identify where.
2. YouTube is a great resource of “how to” videos from how to fertilize and enrich soil to how deep different seeds should be planted.
3. Form a pact with neighbors, family or friends. Draw commitment from people to plant, grow, harvest and maintain.
4. Heavily network with various organizations to possibly form a coop.

Seattle is among the major American cities committed to food forests. The Seattle-based Beacon Food Forest is one of the first comprehensive working plans for the concept. http://beaconfoodforest.weebly.com/.

Now no one is telling you to replace your red meat with fruits and veggies but we are sharing ideas on how to provide food to your community without being dependent on others to slaughter your meat or for the First of the month to come so your economic power can be loaded to your benefits card. Sustenance, not subsistence.