Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter.
Several years ago when eating at a good friend's home, we joined in her
family's table blessing: "We are thankful for this food, and that we are
together." Doesn't that just about sum it up? We loved it. When our daughter
was old enough, we taught the blessing to her and it became part of our
family's supper ritual. Now our girl is about to turn four, and of late has
been having a hard time making it through the entire grace before pulling her
hands from ours and digging in. When that happens we all take a breath and
start the blessing over. If we race through the words, or miss half of them, it
doesn't really count. It is the pause that is important.
All told, our blessing takes just a few seconds, but those few seconds are
important to me. In them I arrive more fully at the table, after rushing
around preparing food and taking care of the business of the household. In them
I really look at my family and at the food in front of us and in seeing them
and it more deeply can move into the evening with more grace than I otherwise
would.
It's a good week for a much longer pause. Though it is easy to look around and
see much that needs fixing, there is also so much for which to be grateful. On
my list are Rae, Nick, Kathy, Paul and Emily – the farmers from whom my family
buys much of our food. I am grateful to them, and to all family farmers, for
their labor and the love they put into it.
In a time of increasingly rancorous political polarization, I am grateful for
every instance of civil and engaged debate. Last month I wrote a short article about
Walmart's plans to begin stocking local food
in its grocery aisles. Figuring that some of you would have something to say
about the idea, we had intended to open up the article for public comments, but
somewhere in the flurry of preparing the newsletter for publication, we forgot.
Several people took the time to write to me, which I appreciated. They raised
such disparate valid points that we thought the whole conversation ought to
continue. With their permission, we are reprinting them below. If you would
like to add your two cents, please do! We would like to hear what you think.
And if you missed the original article,
here it is.
On my list of things to be grateful for is Judith McGeary of the Farm and Ranch
Freedom Alliance. Judith has been working tirelessly to protect small scale
farmers from illogical and overly burdensome regulations in the upcoming Food
Safety Bill. Legislative action is hard slogging work, and Judith and her
comrades have stayed with this one for some 18 months now. Thanks, Judith! The
final vote is near, and success is within reach! Judith says the Senate needs
to hear from a lot of people, so please see our action alert below, and call
your Senator in support of the Tester Amendment.
Finally, I am grateful for the millions of people who are making a habit of
purchasing some of their food locally. We are creating a sustainable food
system, one strong family farm at a time! May this new system serve all of us
well: may we all find wholesome, affordable food there, may the labor that
went into raising it be valued, and may the food itself be consumed with
gratitude.
In this Thanksgiving week, may your tables be laden and your hearts and bellies full.
Erin
Erin Barnett
Director
LocalHarvest
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