As days grow shorter and the root cellar slowly empties of its contents to the public, I can't help but be thankful for those of you who have contributed to the growth of our farm by either purchases or those of you who have contributed in other ways via a helping hand or contributing tools and other useful items.
This year on our farm, we were able to produce over 13,000 pounds of produce despite what many farmers are calling one of their worst years in terms of weather. While the number looks amazing, I can assure you it is still away off from being at an amount that affords a much more comfortable lifestyle. We can blame that on cheap oil subsidizing transportation costs from all parts of the world and when you look at the average diet, that is only about 13,000 meals. Something to be proud of for sure, but it still it still lacks the numbers that the region requires by a long shot. To feed Prince George for a year we would need to produce approximately 87,600,000 pounds of food.
Because of Prince George's residents, we were able to continue to build the farm and invest further into securing yet more food security for Prince George and reduce the dependence on outside sources of the one product we all can't live without (that is until someone creates the Soylent green from the 1973 sci-fi film).
Because of Prince George's residents, we were able to educate children and young adults on the importance of growing food and supplying them with the knowledge on how to create it themselves. Here at Hope Farm Organics, we not only believe in growing vast amounts of food for the local population, but also providing the tools to those who want to do the same. We truly believe that to teach a person to farm is an investment in an optimistic future.
As our production increases as well as our land base, we are seeking individuals tough enough to learn what it takes to produce larger volumes of food for the public. We are creating a cooperative of sorts on our farm this year in an attempt to give those who are willing, the advantage of learning from our mistakes without having to invest in purchasing land or making the same mistakes we had made. Starting a farm is easy, said no one, ever.
By starting this cooperative we hope to alleviate some of those hardships while simultaneously creating more producers for the region ,which in some sense is a food desert in terms of actual production per capita. So while everyone is sitting down to their holiday meals with friends and family, think about who grew that food that sustains you now and provides the medium for company.
Jeremy Loveday, a Victoria city councillor and poet said, "everyone is a food activist when they are hungry, but questions come slow to the belly full." So just before that moment of indulging, while hunger pains and smells of deliciousness waft over you, I implore you to think of who produced that food you seek and what if, just what if, the trucks did not deliver the food you eat now during this cold snap?
We cannot keep our heads in the sand for much longer, so buy local, create more food security, reduce economic leakage and enjoy your meal. Because 87,600,000 pounds of food is a lot of food to produce, and without consumers making changes in their purchasing and eating habits there will never be the number of farmers in the area to meet that demand if time came when it was necessary for this production to exist.
Time to be proactive instead of reactive.
