Lily, the Food Insecurity Muppet: Winter CSA ’11 – Delivery #2
Zea absolutely loves Sesame Street. It began will Elmo, but her love has spread to all of the characters. The Sesame Street I knew as a kid can still be found in more modern episodes, with a few new muppet characters in the mix – like Abbey Cadabby (a fairy) and Murray (the new M.C. of the show). This year Sesame Street introduced a new muppet named Lily, to highlight the issue of food insecurity. Lily, who has starred in one episode so far, doesn’t always know where her next meal is coming from.
Seasme Street's Lily
The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing €œwhen all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life€. What’s interesting about this term, I think, it that it underscores the concept that just because someone isn’t starving doesn’t mean that food access is hunky dory. This definition hints at the idea that to be food secure is about more than calories, it’s about nutrition too.
As a farm we are actively involved in getting food to people in need. We donate excess produce and unclaimed CSA shares to food pantries; we help fundraise for the CSA Coalition’s partner shares program that helps low-income families get CSA shares. Despite this involvement, this new muppet still surprises me. I had no idea that there’s an estimated 17 million American children €” nearly 1 in 4 €” who have limited or uncertain access to affordable and nutritious food (according to the USDA). Kudos to Sesame Street for highlighting this issue for both Zea and I.
Lily the muppet reminds me to be grateful for every meal, not just that there is food in front me but that the food is healthy and nutritious. In our country, there are places where there’s no farmer’s markets, no nearby grocery stores, and only the processed availabilities of a convenience store. I can’t imagine. This knowledge certainly helps me appreciate my beets much, much more.
I hope each of you has a safe, delicious, healthy Thanksgiving. And if you feel so moved to help towards the cause of food security, here are just a couple ideas for you:
– You can purchase either a cookbook ($15 through us) or calendar ($11.95 through us) from the CSA Coalition. All proceeds go to the partner shares program. You can order it directly through MACSAC or through us. Primrose will happily get a hold of the book/calendar and deliver it to your dropsite at the next pick-up if you like. Simply email your order to me and snail mail us a check.
– You can volunteer or donate to the Community Action Coalition or the Middleton Outreach Ministry ” two pantries that we give food to as well.
– You can come to the MadWest winter farmer’s market at the Lussier Center and purchase vegetables for their pantry. At the end of each market a community food pantry opens up.
– If food security on a more global level is of interest to you, consider buying a cow, goat, chickens or other gift animal for a family through Heifer International’s gift animal catalog.
Thanks for your support and we hope you all enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving!
Sincerely, Mike, Cassie, & Zea
In the Box:
- Beauty Heart Radish (whitish, green on outside)
- Beets
- Bok Choi
- Butternut Squash
- Carrots
- Festival Squash
- Garlic
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Leeks
- Lettuce
- Onion, mixed
- Potatoes, russets
- Spinach
This Week’s Recipes:
Winter Delivery #2 – Wednesday, November 16th – REGs only
