A hike with folks from the Haddam Land Trust earned me a photo credit in the Hartford Courant. I certainly don’t think it’s my best trail photo, by any means, but it does show what a nice job was done laying out the trail. The Washburn Preserve trail is a lovely, quick little walk. Check it out if you’re in the area.
Latest video in my work with the Connecticut Forest & Park Association. I attempted to capture as much of a busy, spread-out event as I could, and used the remarks of the visiting Commissioner of the DEEP to hold it together. (Thanks Topher Polack for your help and suggestions.) Shot on DV (yes, videoTAPE!), edited in iMovie, it’s already on their Facebook page, etc. Despite the lack of snow (or even wintry temperatures), the event was a great success. Hopefully this short video helps them blow their horn a little.
You may have heard of “food deserts” – neighborhoods lacking super markets or any opportunity to buy fresh, healthy food. Food swamps are neighborhoods with plenty of food – except it’s all crap. Fatty, salty, nearly nutrition-less food churned out from fast food restaurants and convenience stores.
I heard the term last week from Mark Winne, an author and food activist who was the keynote speaker at the Rockfall Foundation’s annual symposium. The charitable organization helps preserve the land of Middlesex County for public use, and saw the topic of hunger and “food security” as an opportunity to re-connect with the county’s agricultural legacy – and address issues forced to the fore by the poor economy.
The issue hit home on several fronts. In his welcoming remarks at “The Kate”, Old Saybrook First Selectman Michael Pace said that calls for assistance to the needy have gone up 100% in the last 3 years. Outbreaks of salmonella or listeria from factory farm products are in the headlines. Middlesex Hospital was concerned enough about some children’s lack of nutrition that they co-sponsored the event. “People are on the edge” said Winne.
Yet, obesity is on the rise across America, even more so disproportionately among the poor. So why has the demand for food assistance also risen?
Winne argues it’s because what we eat or don’t eat is determined by the political influence of large food businesses like Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland, and other members of the “industrial food complex” . Such huge corporations skew the opportunity for what Winne calls “food justice”, where “everybody has enough food to eat, it’s good food, it’s available and affordable.”
So then, against such large national (and multi-national) forces, what is the local response? Part of the answer to getting to “food justice” may be cutting out the middleman – the industrial food complex – by bringing more local, unprocessed food to those in need. That requires increased local agriculture and farmer’s markets in impoverished neighborhoods.
Connecticut is actually ahead of the curve in many ways, especially in preserving farmland, said Winne. “But also in making sure that farmland is put to work, and not just preserving it for aesthetic reasons.”
Nationally, the local food and organic segments are growing. There’s been a 20 per cent growth in farmer’s markets in the past year. Often pictured as just another way for the affluent to get some heirloom-variety of arugula on a leisurely Sunday, organizations like New Haven’s City Seed are trying to bring fresh food to urban areas. The poor, in this case, are the target market.
One way to better reach them is to accept the forms of money they use. Izzi Greenberg, director of Middletown’s North End Farmer’s Market said her market accepts EBT, food stamps, and other low-income subsidies.
“This is a whole other revenue stream”, said Greenberg. “It is going away from ‘Well, we really don’t want poor people at our market’ to ‘These are people with money to spend and that’s good for our farmers.’ So really kind of flipping that and thinking of it in a new way.”
The challenge of bringing rurally grown produce to the urban poor is complex. Winne recalled that Hartford once had 13 chain supermarkets, but now has none. Many might assume “Big Food” has simply abandoned urban areas for no good reason. Not necessarily so. One grocery store owner at the symposium noted that any large business in the inner city is faced with a host of issues, including crime and security. In higher-crime neighborhoods he said, “shrinkage” – losses due to theft and damage – may be twice as high as in suburban stores. Groceries just don’t offer a large enough profit margin for that level of loss.
To deal with these issues, Hartford and New Haven have developed “Food Policy Councils”. Will Middlesex County develop something similar? Food for thought.
Below, some reaction to the symposium.
Coming next (probably) – some thoughts on scientific (il)literacy.
Today’s walk. Despite the July-like humidity, temperature, and mosquitoes, it’s autumn in the woods. The palette is definitely changing. Longfellow Estate (Wadsworth Mansion grounds), Middletown, CT
A few sights and sounds as riders began arriving for the 6th Annual Motorcycle Mania on Main Street in Middletown.
These were the early arrivals. The event started at 5pm and ran, officially, until 9pm. No doubt it’s still running UNofficially in some places, even as I type this at 11pm.
Seth Godin’s recent blog post about who pays for the media hits the nail on the head.
He’s right; over the past 20 years ago most goods we consumed have increased in quality – with the exception of the news media. The low end now is lower than it was a couple of decades ago. I was working in local news back then, and I could see the erosion of quality starting already. Overnight Neilsen ratings and the presence of ‘the clicker’ had broadcasters focused on selling airtime. That was a switch. They used to sell an audience, one they had built over time. They used to battle for attention; now they battle for ‘eyeballs’. They don’t really seem to care if those eyeballs are glazed and vacant.
I like to think the proliferation of sources means both good and bad examples are multiplying. If we decide not to pay for the bad ones (either with money or our attention), just maybe the good will outlive the bad.
6/23 The forecasts say we’ll be dodging showers for the next couple of days. Luckily the weather was better last week, when Middletown had it’s annual “Cruise Night” on Main Street.
The cars prompted another adventure into “pocket videography” with my little Sony Cyber-shot. I put this video together strictly to amuse myself.
I love this event. I bumped into my friends Dan & Kathy and their little girl, and old MxCC buddy Steve Lovelace of Moving Pictures production company.
Lots of fun cars to look, and plenty of fried dough, Vecchitto’s Italian ice, and other ‘fair food’. But most especially, lots of people strolling downtown, enjoying the city.
An enthusiastic crowd turned out for Middletown mayoral candidate Dan Drew last night at the Cantina Restaurant. The fundraiser, organized by former mayor Domenique Thornton, featured an appearance — and hearty endorsement — by third district congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.
DeLauro who seems to always be in perpetual motion, only paused in her praise of Democratic achievements in Middletown to make certain that one of Drew’s children, in the midst of a coughing fit, was alright. (He was.)
