The Community Table

I am still ruminating (pun intended) on questions about community relationship-building and what makes for sustainable, healthy living. I have re-read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and I hope to attend a discussion based on the book at Third Pres. in Rochester this Sunday. I have also just completed Gary Hishberg’s Stirring It Up. Gary is the CE-YO of Stonyfield Yogurt, a company that is committed to organic and to building a business that is not only profitable, but good for the earth. Yesterday, I picked a bucket full of blueberries. My vegetable garden (patch) has been drinking in all the rain and there are signs that it just may yield some decent produce this summer. My experience with the food culture in France was a fresh reminder of how rewarding it can be to eat food that is prepared with fresh ingredients and eaten around a table with others, for pleasure, without attachment to efficiency.

Meanwhile, I had an epiphany about the communities of Ontario and Walworth. This is a community with a strong agricultural identity. Orchards and vineyards still grace our landscape, and vegetable gardens, even modest fields of crops can be found here. Yet we are also a community of new housing developments, ball fields, and businesses. The 104 corridor is lined with auto dealerships and gas stations…with fuel prices rising, what is the future for these places of business? It seems like there’s an unprecedented number of homes for sale right now. I have frequently heard laments that we lack community cohesiveness—that we are a community of individuals, households, and organizations without a center that holds.

I wonder if such a ‘center’ could be found be reclaiming our agricultural identity to establish a healthy, sustainable food culture for Ontario? Could a farmer’s market bring people together? Could our new community center be a venue for classes on organic gardening, cooking organically, even canning, freezing, preserving foods grown locally? Could a web site be a place to share stories and recipes? Given the popularity of the ubiquitous fund-raising meals of various civic and church organizations, could it be time to add periodic meals that feature an all-organic menu – not as a means of raising funds, but to raise awareness and to build relationships around a common concern for the health of our bodies and the healing of the earth?

As I continue ruminating...and reading....and experimenting with the food culture in my own home, I wonder what the fruits of this Sabbatical season will be?

Blessings to all,

Cheryl