OT: #EATING gardens holiday update

Submitted by MrSmith on

Hello Everyone,

It has been a while and a good season for football went on.  It was a good season, even so there was some disappointment.

Just a short update on the gardens.  Pahokee is doing great, theres a pre-school/daycare program associated with our local church.  The kids are eating the Mulberries and loving it!

Here is a picture the Mayor sent me a few days ago with his new healthy lifestyle and morning smoothies.

 

In Flint we had a good time.  Our Pilot garden program went great, despite the water challenges. We grew a lot of tomatoes, fed the neighbors, and had the kids from around our garden excited to check out what grew.  They got to try squash for dinner.  The older shut in neighbor from down the block came out and dug out the potatoes.  I feel great everytime I go to the garden and Flint is struggling but I think it helps people to see us care.

If you missed what we are doing in Flint here is a video from Double UP Foodbucks and you can see our kids and garden in it!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3FNxb5JM5U

Our website is teamgardens.org and our cool #EATING shirts that support the garden are available there.

 

Mr. Yost

December 9th, 2016 at 9:02 AM ^

What you're doing is awesome, using your platform and doing something postive in our communities is what it's all about.

Michigan Man or not...we could not be more proud, and thankful. Thank YOU for making a difference.

Naked Bootlegger

December 9th, 2016 at 9:06 AM ^

Thanks for the update, MrSmith.  It's always great to hear how things are going with #EATING.  You're doing work.  Work that matters.   Happy holidays to you and all involved with this wonderful community program.

ST3

December 9th, 2016 at 9:43 AM ^

I hope you will continue to do this good work and keep us updated on progress. This never gets old or routine. On the other hand, I hope we as a society can figure out how to solve these issues so that you won't have to be doing this 10-20 years from now.

Blue in Yarmouth

December 9th, 2016 at 9:55 AM ^

Helping those less fortunate is a calling we should all take more personally and you are a great example of what can come of doing that. You're an inspiration, thank you! Happy Holidays!

Rez

December 9th, 2016 at 11:12 AM ^

Hey Vince! Thanks for stopping by the blog and providing an update. A lot of us are really into your work and never tire of hearing how your team has impacted both communities of Flint and Pahokee. A couple questions for you regarding Flint:



1) How are you rebuilding trust within the community? I have worked with professionals and academics throughout multiple levels of the food system and have learned that it is indeed safe to grow food within the city. Many members of the community are hesitant to begin eating something from the ground because their city has so recently poisoned them. The uptake of lead in the roots of the crops is so slow that it would require years to reach harmful levels that could possibly be ingested. These people have been lied to over and over again by city officials and policymakers, so when someone like me comes in and says "it's ok to eat the food and is actually beneficial to your health" they (understandably) might not believe that. Some programs, such as Edible Flint, have been offering soil testing kits and rain barrels for about 10% of the retail price in order to provide peace of mind to the residents. What does your program do to get people on board with growing their own food?

2) Are you working on promoting community-based agriculture or the resources and education to jumpstart individual, household gardens? Do you provide any education on how to prepare the food in the kitchen (after it leaves the garden)?

3) Many Flint residents live within a "food desert" where they do not have access to large-scale grocery stores and instead must rely on minimarts, gas stations, and liquor stores for sustenance. In tackling this issue, do you think it would be more feasible to integrate food grown in community/urban gardens to these existing retailers, or rather improve access to grocery stores by providing a comprehensive "grocery route" through the public transit system?

As always, I am so proud of the work you do. I hope that one day we can collaborate and help promote accessibility to healthy foods. Go blue!

  

MrSmith

December 9th, 2016 at 2:57 PM ^

Hello and I am at work so I can't type up tbe essay that I have about all of Flint and how challenging it has been and how we are meeting those chalenges and all that.

Flint is really sad sometimes.  There is a CVS building now that is a Little Debbies Snack Shack and that hurt my heart to see.

I think for someone in my position, I already have a built in trust from being a football player.  That is the way the USA is and that is the resaon why Martavious and I started #EATING- the kids look up to us and listen. They watch what we do and copy us.

 

Drop me an email, this is a group project and we would love all Alumni to connect

Badkitty

December 9th, 2016 at 12:48 PM ^

I don't know why this is OT. What you're doing should remind everyone that there are more important and meaningful things in life than arguing about sports minutiae and apparel. Thank you for everything you've done and may your program have continued and increasing success.




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