Food Forward

With the Holiday Season upon us I want to give a shout out to a great LA Charity: Food Forward! Food Forward is an amazing all volunteer grassroots group of Angelenos who care about reconnecting to our food system and making change around urban hunger.

But first an interesting factoid or two about volunteering... It will make you a happier person. (Hooray!!!)

In 2008 Michael Norton, a professor at Harvard Business School, published research in the journal Science, that proved that money will buy you happiness... that is if you give it to other people. He and his research team questioned 632 Americans about how much they earned and how they spent their income. They also asked them to rate their own happiness. Regardless of income level, those people who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not. In a second study, the team also gave 46 volunteers either $5 or $20 to spend. They instructed the participants to spend the money on themselves or someone else. Again, the altruistic group reported feeling happier, whatever the size of their gift.

Food Forward is what I call a Win-Win. They convene at private homes and public spaces they have been invited to and harvest their excess fruits and vegetables, donating 100% to local food pantries across southern California (such as SOVA and Mend Poverty) and all fruit donors receive a charitable contribution tax receipt for their excess oranges and grapefruits. (Plus you get to climb trees which is one of my all time favorite things in the world to do!)

So What You Can Do to Help (And Thus In Doing So Make Yourself a Happier Person!!!):
-- Pick some Fruit! Food Forward is always looking for energetic volunteers who are interested in fruit picking at both small properties and large orchards, community outreach, volunteer leadership, property scouting and coordinating and much more.
-- Donate Some Fruit! F.F. is also looking for neighbors with mature fruit trees, multi-tree private orchards or gardens with excess fruit and vegetables to share with those in need in our own community.
-- Donate Materials! They are looking for garden and equipment donations such as: Lightly used vehicle, 6, 8, 12 foot lightweight aluminum ladders, Garden gloves, Gardening sheers, and Tree pruners.
-- Donate Money!
(Parts of this post are reprinted from the Santa Monica Observer article on Volunteering)

The SoCal Raw Milk Raid

I know this is somewhat old news (the raid on Rawesome Foods occurred at the end of July), but what happened (the FDA shutting down the store with guns drawn because they were selling raw items such as Raw Milk. Something which by the way is legal in California, but isn't in almost two dozen states in the US) keeps coming up on conversations so I thought I create a post for another who wanted to check out the LA Times article

It's definitely been a hot button year for the topic of Raw Milk. On March 12th of this year Whole Foods removed all raw milk from their shelves. The official explanation was that they were exploring the subject, weighing their options (there's a big insurance issue with a food item that is legal in some states but not others). It has since been completely banned as a company wide policy.

Most of the time E. Coli is cited for these Raw Milk bans, but if anyone has seen (or smelled) a feed lot (or watched the news about people getting sick because of contamination from these lots) know that's not the whole truth.

Truthfully, I have since been drinking Raw Milk for almost five months (thanks to places like Rawesome and the Santa Monica Co-op) and am perfectly fine (actually better than fine since my skin has cleared up quite a bit) If you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, the California Raw Milk Association (CReMA) notes studies that have found that drinking raw milk reduces the risk of Asthma and Allergies. Along with it's health benefits most people who drink Raw Milk cite its superior flavor and creaminess; in the ultimate foodie country of Italy you can even find it in high end vending machines.

So I think it's better and I drink it.

But that's just my opinion. You too can have an opinion, but having an one requires that you have choices. Remember, if the FDA shuts down stores and food clubs (with guns no less) that sell Raw Milk it's taking away your choice. So whether you chose to try out Raw Milk, the more important point of this blog entry is to be informed.

For me, one of the most memorable moments of Food Inc was at the end of the film when the following words appeared on the screen:

When we run an item past the supermarket scanner, we're voting. You can vote to change this system. Three times a day.