Taking Food for Granted
How many ways do we reference our food security without thinking about it? When someone is busy, they say they have a full plate. Our ‘breakfast’ is hardly 'breaking a fast' as we sometimes snack right up until bedtime!
Food security: the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.Until the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains, I took food security for granted. I was fortunate to grow up on a farm on which we raised cattle and some pigs. My parents also put in a big garden every summer and we stockpiled potatoes and carrots in the root cellar to get us through the winter. My Mom froze beans and peas we grew. We had a milk cow for many years, so we had as much milk as we wanted, and my sister and I got to split the check for the cream we sold.
Over time, I had mostly forgotten about the toilet paper panic that occurred early in the COVID-19 pandemic. However, torrential rain beginning November 13 has resulted in severe flooding and mudslides that have disrupted all three major highway routes connecting our city of Kamloops, British Columbia in Canada with Vancouver; there are no predictions for when these routes will reopen.
Already there are no fresh fruits or vegetables in the grocery store I typically shop at. Seeing numerous empty shelves is frightening, although I am confident that air shipments of food and other essential items will soon be arranged.
In contrast, the current generation of Batwa people have never known true food security. Previously they were hunter/gatherers and farming was not part of their culture. Redemption Song Foundation aims to change this, both through supplying food and teaching and facilitating agriculture practices.
People who are malnourished can’t learn or develop to their full potential. This is born out by scientific studies, and real-world experience.
Please help us at Redemption Song Foundation (RSF) help the Batwa people so that one day their food supply is stable and they can take food for granted as most of us in the Western world do.
November 30 is Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving around the world. We at RSF are calling it "Giving FoodsDay" and are not only giving each family a package of food and seeds, but are raising money to buy supplies to start agricultural businesses so they can not only raise their own food, but raise enough money to be content and not struggle so much. Donate today to our 501(c)(3) charity!
