When I found out about the Co-op’s volunteer day at Shalom Farms
earlier this summer, I jumped at the opportunity to tag along. As a FeedMore
Chef I have had the pleasure to work with the beautiful produce Shalom donates
to our Community Kitchen, where it is used for meals in the Kids Café and Meals
on Wheels Programs. I wanted to be a part of what that days harvest was to
yield; I wanted to better understand where the food I was cooking with was
coming from; and I wanted to meet the individuals who make so much food so
easily accessible to so many insecure families.
If you are visiting this website and reading this blog then you
are one of the lucky ones. You understand the need for a drastic change in the
way our nation’s communities and families are educated and nourished. You
understand the value of quality foods and how they affect our lives. You are
aware that “meal time” is one of the most important traditions in our culture
and cultures around the world, as it brings families and neighbors together,
further strengthening the fabric of our communities. If our meals are composed
of foods that are unhealthy and tainted with harmful pesticides, chemicals, and
ingredients that could never occur in nature, and produced by way of unsafe and
unsustainable methods, then our neighborhoods are bound for figurative and
literal mal nutrition.
We must repair our communities. We must educate and nourish our
youth. We must provide our next generation with the knowledge needed to eat
well and the courage necessary to take a stand against poor food practices. A
great way to start is by coming together as a community to volunteer our time
and energy. This Friday’s Co-op Volunteer Day in FeedMore’s Community Kitchen,
where we feed 1400-3500 kids a day, means you are bound to make a tangible
difference in a child’s life. I began as a volunteer at FeedMore, and believe
in its mission and value to our city. This Co-op is a way to honor our values
through action. Let’s get the ball rolling to create the momentum for change.
-Brandon Walton, Co-op Member/Owner
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