In the midst of crisis
Many alive today, excluding those in active or recently active war zones, have never experienced a time such as this. Home quarantine, the cancellation of major events and barren grocery store shelves are largely familiar to us because of Hollywood films.( In the midst of crisis)
Here in Lexington, many of us are in our third week of isolation away from our normal lives of school, work and socializing. The mind can quickly become a hellish landscape in the absence of regular routines and a sense of some control over daily life. In times of fear and confusion, the only thing that makes sense to me is to get outside and garden.
Christine Smith JONGHEE LEE CALDARARO
During my childhood in South Florida, my mother filed for bankruptcy when it was clear that she could not repay her debts and when the harassment of bill collectors became unbearable. In moments when fear threatened to overtake her, she remembered her Ackee tree* outside and how well fed we would be with the load of fruit our tree provided. Remembering our access to our own food calmed our nerves in a time of crisis and uncertainty. In addition to feeding us, growing our own food helped to put our crumbling world back into solid perspective. We realized that we would still be alive and healthy even in the face of a process that felt shameful and all annihilating. It reminded us of a kind of wealth that existed beyond bank accounts and credit cards and it gave us a touchstone of stability when we considered what our future might look like.
Gardening often gets loaded down with expectations of how it can save the world and everybody in it. As a gardener and head of community gardening organization Seedleaf, I admit I am responsible for ardently supporting many of those claims. But here is what I know to be absolutely true: being able to grow your own food breeds a sense of confidence in one’s self along with a sense of solidity and strength in the face of the unknown. The garden shows us that the world will still be here even when all the structures we’ve erected are threatened or fall apart. Gardening feeds and nourishes us when we do not possess the funds to enter a grocery store. It reminds us that we will not wash away in the tumult of the moment, that we too are strong and competent and that we can take care of ourselves, our communities and our families. And lastly, for all of these reasons, it gives us emotional solace as we face our fears and rapidly changing circumstances.
Read Also : Immune System and its link with Eating Healthy and Organic Food
Seedleaf started 2020 with the following theme: “Everybody Can Grow” to demonstrate the idea that everyone, through a bit of work and attention, can grow vegetables, flowers and herbs. Now as we think of adjusting to potential months of isolation, that message is more important than ever. Lexington needs community garden spaces that instill community resiliency and provide access to individuals wishing to grow food for themselves and their families. We also need garden spaces that help to provide fresh produce for individuals who are unable to garden. This moment is demonstrating that we need a diversity of supply points within our food system that go beyond markets and grocery stores. These additional supply points can and should be gardens that provide nutritional and emotional sustenance in times of certainty and in times of crisis such as now. For more information on how you can get gardening now, wherever you are,
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