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Being Progressive Wasn't Enough to Feed the Hungry

Finding a new way to use our "hands" and "thumbs"
Cinser

Just a little over 10 years ago, Burlington was considered a forerunner in food sustainability – we had a community composting site that many used; individuals and coops farmed the “interval” – the delta area of the Winooski River. But when the energy crisis came, there wasn’t enough food to go around. People were hungry. Forward thinking Vermont was suddenly behind the times. It wasn’t enough to be progressive, to be voted one of the healthiest places in the country; things had to change.  It started with people’s backyards. Suddenly, everyone was planting food. The grass came up; the vegetables went in. People who didn’t know how to grow their own food used the local alternative weekly newspaper, “Seven Days” to couple with someone who did. Garden-savvy folks, many without their own land, would plant, tend, and harvest for others for a share of their bounty. These people became known as the “thumbs.” Usually the landowners paid for the seeds and provided the tools. Thumbs could get a bigger share if they provided these things themselves. The city council started a fund to provide special programs to outfit the thumbs. Thumbs paid off these outfitting packages by donating a very small portion of all of their shares to the Burlington Food Shelf to feed the hungry. 

Meanwhile, this still wasn’t enough. People were still hungry. One block of Spruce Street decided to ask the city if they could have a good sized plot of the interval to farm as a collective. The city loved this idea and took off with it – they created a plot lottery for interested groups of people who lived on the same block or on adjacent streets or intersections. They called these groups “geos” If the geo was willing to come and clear a plot themselves (if they won), the group received two entries into the lottery; otherwise, the city would clear it for them. This initiative was highly successful. People in the geos divided up the work – sometimes they all worked together and sometimes they worked in pairs or small groups. Some of the people were elderly or unable to work because of physical limitations, but the geo took care of them and found other ways for them to contribute. Some of them kept planting journals; some of them became seed keepers; others shared recipes or offered to help can and preserve food or to teach others how.

Soon other people realized that there was a need for those with the knowledge and the ability to “put food by”, to preserve it in a way that didn’t rely on refrigeration – power interruptions could destroy the hard work of many. These people became known as the “hands.” There were several types of hands: some worked just for their geo; others farmed themselves out to landowners for a small part of the harvest just like the thumbs. Small hands would come to a landowner’s home and show them how to can, sometimes with their own equipment – the city provided the same sort of aid to hands as it did to thumbs – sometimes they used the landowners’ equipment; and sometimes they processed the food in their own homes.

The city realized the need for preserving the food – they outfitted vacant houses to be used by groups of hands – the hands worked together to process the food from their adjoining geos. This eventually grew to the point where many of the hands chose to live cooperatively. Once again, a portion of the harvest went to the hands and the hands each paid a small portion back to the city for use of the house. A small portion also went to the Burlington Food Shelf.

Meanwhile, the rich still ate in the few restaurants in town. The leftovers were taken to the interval where a goat farm was created. These scraps fed the goats. The goats provided milk and cheese. Homeless people were invited to work on the goat farm and received lodging and milk and cheese for tending the goats. Geos began to trade fresh and processed food for milk and cheese products. A portion of this food went to the workers and a portion to the Burlington Food Shelf.

This system has been working fairly well. We’re still working out the kinks – figuring out what to do when one geo gets blight and the others don’t, for example. People have been good about not picking from others' fields. Between the Food Shelf and the goat farm we’ve managed to feed most of the fringe. Some older kids and young adults are starting to think that it’s funny to pull up plants or smash produce. Maybe we’ve done too good of a job; they don’t remember being hungry. Maybe they’re angry that they have to weed and hoe and pick off bugs. We’re working now on a way to ensure that everyone’s food is safe without turning our city into a police state. We’re looking for some good ideas.

Jan 14
food cooperative_farming communi


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  • deanfrz
    Mar 02
    Plausible, but only during a crisis as described. That is, unless people decided to wake from their consumerist haze.
  • Alice Faraday
    Mar 27
    Kudos to the people that didn't sink into despair, and got up to grow something! Sustainability is important in this changing world - you can't always depend on a breadbasket region for your dinner anymore.
  • deanfrz
    Apr 02
    sorry I sounded my typical killjoy, I dont know where I get off saying things like "Plausible", like I'm Mr. Spock.
  • SetanaZen
    Apr 29
    I think some kind of reward system might help the thieves stay away. People who vandalize just need something else to do. Maybe start a graffiti wall event annually or encourage a risque' youth event or center, something that appeals to them, not you, but that happens to have been founded by you! This should encourage respect, and the opportunity to promote respect for the cause. Let them know that there will be consequences for people who disrespect the community. This type of social interaction may help catch the responsible parties, as the youth become loyal.
  • sidai316
    Jul 19
    Grand ideas. Work goes fast in crisis simply for fear of the alternative. But what about making it fun? If the kids are still in school during these hard times you could engage the schools to have a gardening contest. That would help interconnect the school systems on this gardening idea and it would also work to train the next batch of local farmers. Inside the schools themselves there are often labs (in high schools at least) which could be allowed to do school research projects finding just the right seed, soil, water and light mixtures for the exact climate you're in. Any plant has it's generalized preferences, but those can always be improved upon over years with careful observation. This would kick start it, and grades could be given out accordingly. This sort of thing would help keep kids focused like textbook work cannot as they actually get to eat the food they're growing. Just a thought...hope you like it.