Market Farming

["breck" <bcarden AT breckinridgegroup.com>]

Elsie,
Your heart-felt email was much appreciated by me. I've raised a family on a
very tight budget, but managed to scrape by without having to put up with
our dehumanizing government's helping hand. Thank goodness my family could
help us thru some rough spots (not everyone is so fortunate). At farmers
markets I have tried to help those where it was evident that they could use
a hand. I'm sure most other farmers try to do the same, but it’s hard to
recognize all that need help. The billions upon billions we spend on
corporate give-aways and wars might be better spent on assuring that our
babies receive good fresh nutrition. As a side note, you mentioned the
"essential" part of a baby's diet and hope you were making reference to the
criminal encouragement of manufacturers to by a product that is seldom
preferable to "momma's" formula.
Breck  
________________________________________
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Heirloom
Grower
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 4:56 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] WIC! Wicked!

Thinking back on the days when my children were small, and we were receiving
WIC, the fact is that the people who can qualify for WIC are very
financially challenged. Most of them cannot afford to eat a balanced diet.
WIC serves as a nutritional lifeline to most of them. Particularly
furnishing "necessary" formula for babies. This "essential" part of today's
baby diet is so prohibitively expensive that the manufacturers should be
ashamed.
 
I administer a food pantry out of a mission church to a disadvantaged
community. As I spoke to a few of these people about nutritional issues, one
old lady looked at me and said, "But Miss Elise, I can't afford to eat
anything but starches." I looked at her and knew it was true. These people
barely make it from paycheck to paycheck. And if they miss one they are
usually out on the street. They are not extravagant or wasteful. Most of
them cannot afford to seek medical care. None of them can afford to buy meat
and fresh vegetables. Lots of them have difficulties affording the
transportation to get to the places where they can buy the veggies. Many of
them have to walk to the local grocery and can only bring home what they can
carry.
 
Here, except for one Kroger, one Wal-mart, and one very basic fruit and
vegetable stand, the nearest place to look for such things is 15 miles
away--a 30 mile round trip. Wal-mart's "fresh" vegetables are trash...I have
a picture of "tomatoes" that were a "special bargain" that I took a few
months back. The things have weepy brown ooze seeping from huge lesions all
over them. The kale was wilted almost to the point of paper dry. The
apricots that day were so past prime that they totally collapsed if you
tried to pick one up. I could list about 15 items that I examined that day
that were not even fit to feed to pigs. 
 
And so, lots of these folks live on ramen noodles, rice, beans, peas and
store brand mac and cheese, corn bread, biscuits, gravy. Maybe there will be
a can or two of some fruit or vegetable thrown in every now and then as a
treat.
 
So please do not judge these young parents too harshly. Probably they would
love to buy lots of things from you. They just can't do it and keep the rent
paid and the lights on.
 
I have been there, and I remember how it was. My babies would have gone
hungry if I had not dug up and planted a garden in my back yard.
 
Elise
On Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 2:58 PM, Sharon and Steve <shopkins AT tdstelme.net>
wrote: