“So, it clearly comes down to priorities,” wrote Steve Friebel in his June 20 refutation that hungry children in Clark County have only their parents to blame (“Examine causes of childhood hunger,” Our Readers’ Views, June 20). Steve and others will be heartened to know that in the Fruit Valley school community, parents are not scapegoated for systemic dysfunction.
To address a broken system that inherently denigrates low-income wage earners, five years ago a school resource center coordinator, two Ridgefield farmers and a few volunteers collaborated to bring Ridgefield-grown produce to elementary school families facing food insecurity.
Today, this network has grown to 22 organic farmers, two elementary schools, and a cadre of volunteers and community partners. This grassroots group is a stellar example of food justice in action. From the beginning, families were invited to have a seat at the table — respected as full partners in the co-creation of an equitable and resilient food system. Their model ultimately has the possibility to benefit all communities and all people.
Each of us is embedded in a food system. Will we continue to enable malnourishment, environmental degradation and greed?
My priority is to support the Farm to Heart Initiative (www.apriljoyfarm.com/farm-to-heart). What’s yours?
