Market Farming

["maury sheets" <maurysheets AT verizon.net>]

Elise,

 

Don’t feel so bad about sending kids home with inadequate protein.  If you can get them to eat the beans and rice together, they are getting as high a quality protein as eating meat.

The amino acids lacking in one are complimented in the other.  Now you know why black beans and rice are so popular in New Orleans.

 

Maury

 

 Sustainable agriculture in southern New Jersey

 

 

 

From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Heirloom Grower
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 12:54 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] WIC! Wicked!

 

Paul,

 

Our facility is an "as needed" facility...people come to us when all other resources have failed. We are a facility operated for the poor, and funded BY the poor. In other words, our food pantry is about the poor sharing what little they have with each other.

 

We give away lots of rice, beans, black-eye peas, split peas and lentils. Also, oatmeal, grits, and pasta. Flour and cornmeal. These things are the basis of our program. But we do provide canned vegetables, tomato sauces, and some proteins because of the storage issue. We just simply do not have refrigeration to provide fresh products. That is for people who have homes to go to and facilities for cooking.

 

But we also have families come to us who are having to live in their cars. Or in a tent in the woods behind Kroger. Or under the bridge by the railroad track. For those folks we try to keep things that can be eaten out of the can. Crackers, spam, tuna, Vienna sausages, potted meat, stews, dumplings. And of course the canned vegetables.

 

The reality of today's food situation is that it is the starches that are most affordable. The poor eat the dried beans and peas and rice. And they make cornbread and biscuits to go with them. They eat very little meat. But, they pretty much don't eat fresh vegetables and fruits any more because they are so prohibitively expensive. And they don't eat much meat, or even eggs any more.

 

I cannot provide, through this food pantry, a truly balanced diet for our needy. But I do like to see our families go home with a few cans of brightly colored vegetables and frutis for their health benefits as well as for the simple enjoyment of the families. And I like to send them home with adequate protein to foster brain development in the kids (this is particularly hard). We may use such items as rice or the ramen noodles as "filler" in the diet, but we try to include things that enhance them visually and make them more flavorful, while at the same time boosting the nutritional value at least a little.

 

Years ago, the lady who ran the daycare where my kids went told me that most of her families lived at or below the poverty level, and that was with both parents working, and often with one of those parents working two jobs. If that's the case for two parent households, then what about the single parent who works a 40 hour week making a 'generous' 8 bucks an hour. In this area, rent on a dump is 500 bucks a month. How on earth to keep the lights and heat on, the childcare paid, the children clothed and school fees paid? Much less to eat! Yes, there is very little left for food.

 

Most of my life I have gardened, but have not the last several years because I crashed emotionally after my son died. But still, I know from having lived it what a good, nutritional diet is. So, over these last several years I have bought it. Three years ago, it wasn't so hard. But today, it is scary how much "basic" vegetables cost. I cannot pay the price any longer.

 

I don't feel so bad for the well off that they eat poorly. They do it by choice. But I grieve over the poor because they really don't have any other option.

 

Elise