Backyards Feed

This entry was posted July 16th, 2009 and has 4 comments.

There is an epidemic of poor nutrition in this country which disproportionately affects the less fortunate. This leads to diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and many other illnesses that are largely preventable. The questions that I have been thinking about recently are, ‘How do we address this issue in our communities and make a lasting difference?’ ‘Is this something that individuals can fix or do we need the government or large organizations to handle it?’

This spring I planted a garden at my parents’ house which is now starting to produce a good amount of vegetables. My entire family has been really excited about the progress and has enjoyed being able to pick fresh vegetables right out of their yard. My dad has been especially into it and called me yesterday to say that next year he wants the garden to be 2-3 times as big. I loved the idea, but then started trying to figure out what we would do with all of the extra vegetables.

First, I thought maybe we could get a spot at a local farmer’s market and sell the extra veggies. Or, maybe I could even start a little CSA and let people I know come pick them right out of the yard, for a small price. Neither of these really stuck with me, so I put the idea on hold and went out for a run. And as so often happens, the best idea came to me towards the end of a tough run.

Here is the idea for BackyardsFeed.com:

We will use as much of our backyard as possible to grow high-yielding, nutritionally-dense vegetables that will be given to local families that do not have access to fresh vegetables because they can either not afford them, do not have a grocery store within a reasonable distance, or just do not yet understand the importance of healthy eating.

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