My intentions are quite practical. The fact of the matter is that food allows us to survive and grow, it encourages us to develop culture and connection through its sharing around the table, and it graces us with a holistic sense of ecology and community when we dig our hands into the earth to participate in its growth.
Really what it comes down to is I love food. Food is a blessing.
What follows are stories about good food and the lives that are intimately bound with it. Small farmers are the heart of our health, people we should all be on a first name basis with. Last year the staff of the Tacoma Farmers Market took this belief to the streets. They dared their shoppers to answer the question that stretched across the front of the their market shirts, “Who’s Your Farmer?”
As the season progressed and relationships were forged, it became obvious that both shoppers and farmers took pleasure in knowing each other by name. Even more evidence is provided in the growth of farmers markets and CSA programs all over the country.
This is what inspires me to write.
A personal connection with our producers alleviates consumer worries developed by the failings of the large-scale, industrial food system. In this new (or, perhaps more accurately, remembered) paradigm, food is once again a gift of good will and life source from soil to plate, from farm to community. Bigger does not mean better, more reliable, or more secure; when you know your farmer, you know your food.
I want to express my gratitude to the farmers who have shared their stories with me and who have trusted me to craft them appropriately in my writing, my other source of sustenance. Because of them my body and soul remain well fed.
Cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment