Vote with your forks, spoons, chopsticks…
Delicious, sustainable and local

Think globally, eat locally.

Voting is very much on the forefront of our community’s mind. However, aside from the upcoming presidential elections, each of us votes three times a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you are like me, you may vote more than three times a day. While these choices may not be as blatant as elections, we choose between noxious chemicals and sustaining nutrients; between food produced with foreign petroleum and a community-based food network; between stupor and health.

There is a growing movement to eat locally produced food, stemming from a variety of motives. Scientists want to encourage biodiversity among crops, which goes against the grain of streamlined agribusiness. Some want to support the development of local economies and reduce the reliance on imported food. Environmentalists support the movement because small organic farms have higher carbon sequestration rates, no pesticides, and preserve the integrity of ecosystems. Some just like to know their farmer.

I like to eat tomatoes that taste like tomatoes, not like moist sandboxes. I look forward to the spring mostly because of sweet, red strawberries that are red on the inside, too. Imposter strawberries frustrate me to no end. Also, like many Americans before me, I have romanticized farming - digging my toes into the soil, literally having the fruits of my labor. Working the dirt creates a unique sense of place, season, and time.

Farm Locally

San Diego has an ideal climate, suitable for growing food year-round, yet our local farms are disappearing at an alarming rate. At least one group in San Diego is striving to reverse that trend.

Willow Glen Farm, a project of San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project, in collaboration with the San Diego Natural History Museum and Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Co-op, is part of a major movement where agriculture is a key ingredient of enhancing the quality of our lives. This nonprofit organic farm will serve as an education center for schools, future farmers, and the general public. Of course, the farm would provide delicious produce for restaurants and residents.

The property that the Willow Glen Farm is attempting to purchase has six acres usable as farmland, an education center, and farmer housing. An existing wildlife preserve abuts the property on the south. The two wells on the property generate plentiful ground water, eliminating the need for expensive city-water use. The land is located a short drive from most urban schools and communities, making it ideal for both farming and educational uses.

So, what’s next? See the “Hungry for Change” box in page 8. Farmers, chefs, and educators are joining the Willow Glen Farm project to ensure its success.

Step out of the sightless consumer role and choose to support small, local farms. Your taste buds, local economy, and environment will thank you.

Jessica Chatigny is a food lover based in San Diego. She volunteers for Willow Glen Farm and is looking forward to uprooting carrots soon.