Pay It Forward With Your CSA
Sometimes we see things that are so appallingly sad, it feels criminal, and as though there’s nothing we can do to make a difference.
Looking at global problems on a big scale and thinking of ourselves as just one small person that can’t do much to make change can result in a feeling of helplessness, but if we skew our position just a tad, we can, in fact make an impact.
Take, for example, one issue I’m particularly passionate about- the lack of ability of many people to be able to afford healthy, fresh food compared to the ease in which they have access to, and the means for, processed, refined, food by-products, devoid of any and all nutrients and rich in disease-causing agents, like hydrogenated oils, corn syrup and toxic preservatives.
It’s absolutely unacceptable that here in the US, it’s actually more expensive for a family on a tight budget to eat organic broccoli, pastured chicken and a side of fresh berries than it is for them to have a meal at McDonald’s. (By the way, how awful is it that we’re in a time where we have to qualify our foods with the terms ‘organic’, ‘pastured’ and ‘fresh’?)
So what can we do to address this problem?
Well, if we look at it as something each of us who have the means to help can do, we can do a lot!
One thing that my local CSA allows is to donate a single delivery or membership as a gift. It’s not only something that those who are the top earners in our country have the ability to do; think about how nominal the fee would be in the grand scheme of things to provide a box of fresh produce to a person or family in need, in your community.
Of course, I’m not professing for a second that all it takes to solve this problem is to donate food, as the entire model is broken, in my opinion, and we seriously need a complete overhaul, but…on the local level, if we each do our own small part, we will make a big difference.
Keep open minded, creative and keep your blinders off so that you can see what and who is around you, and how you might contribute just a little.
