Food Security Issues hit home with youth working at the K I EcoCenter

Last Tuesday, I was invited to come to the K I EcoCenter on Capitol Ave and 28th Street to meet some youth working on a community garden project. While I was facilitating a conversation about local food, environmental vitality and human health I realized that there was a definite pattern in the conversation. These youth had a clear picture of the benefit of food security in our homes, neighborhoods, state and country.

Here are a couple quotes from the boys that stuck with me.

"Local Food is a better alternative to corporate farm crops that use chemicals. It is important to have a garden because it's another way to feed yourself."

"Why local food? Because we need to help our country and state."

"Local Food makes you healthy, it makes your strong, and it makes you smart. It is important to have a garden, so that you don't have to go out and buy food, but you already have the food in your yard."

"It's not only do you have a garden for food, you have a garden for plants and flowers."

"Have a garden, in case you can't go to the store."

"It's cheaper and makes you more independent. It you grow, you can feed more people other than yourself."

"The purpose of our garden is to teach us how important it is to know how to grow food."