I’m excited to find out what projects come out of the woodwork when even more people get involved!

I agree wholeheartedly in the urgency of getting started. I just re-read though your post http://slowcoast.ca/2009/10/19/cooperation-catalyzing-community/ in which you have outlined clearly many of the main and pressing issues of food security. If we were members of this co op model it would fully engage us in the process of building community food security. The test for us was placing that model over our own experiences: we found that we had raised similar issues and are looking for similar solutions. It’s a great working model! I would say to others in your community who are sincere, put the workings of this model to the test and see it for yourselves. We have thought of using a wiki website as a way to interact with the varied and collective responsives of people’s experiences.

Beringian

I’d say that the quick-n-dirty answers to your questions are as follows:

• Q: Is there a general perspective, in your community, of what food insecurity looks like? A: No, although there is a small but active segment of the community which is tuned in and concerned.
• Q: Are there gender, class, race, ecological, physical or mentally challenged peoples, experiencing barriers in fulfilling their needs or desire of food security? A: Definitely. The extent of the problem is unknown, being hard to measure, but it’s real and probably getting worse fast.
• Q: Is the community ready for challenges and changes to social habits and culture in meeting the needs and desires of community food security? A: Almost not at all. Even the people who are the most concerned about what the future holds seem to be waiting for Superman to save the day…

But we need to start from where we are. I only hope that a good model of dynamic community activity springing from the grassroots might inspire some more of the same. I’m disappointed by the lack of imagination in the responses so far to the challenges we face. We have to get beyond protesting, digging in our heels, and playing by the bogus rulebook that got us into this mess. I guess we’ll find our way(s) out of the futile and broken patterns of the past… eventually. But we need to start breaking trails in all directions from where we’re stuck. Some will be dead ends, but some will get us where we want to go. Right now it feels that we’re all taking a circular firing-squad approach and putting all our energy into finding The One True Path Forward. That sounds comforting, because then no one needs to think hard or try to bust out of the rut we’re in.

As the Flaming Lips sing, in “Waiting for a Superman”:

Tell everybody
Waiting for Superman
That they should try to
Hold on the best they can.
He hasn’t dropped them, forgot them or anything;
It’s just too heavy for Superman to lift.

You’ve written another intriguing post calling for community action. On growthechange, we have experimented with growing 95% of our food and producing 80% of our power. Our next step, is what you have called a “functioning food system”. What we have found is the level of energy and time that is need to grow a resilient food culture, in dramatically changing ecological and social conditions, is beyond a “self-sufficient” or survivalist level. In the local community we are/were living is predominately illiterate (about 60%) and supportive of the notion of rugged individualism, along with anti-intellectualism and superstition. Then there are the 2-4 local large family farms that have the best land, about 1500 acres, at least 1200 of which is not farmed each year, but which we (or any other newcomers) are unable to use, rent or buy because of a lack of local family ties, and a general laizze-faire capitalist food culture. In our story these have been entrenched barriers for community change.

From my view, the important questions to answer, when looking to engage in a resilient food culture would be:
Is there a general perspective, in your community, of what food insecurity looks like?
Are there gender, class, race, ecological, physical or mentally challenged peoples, experiencing barriers in fulfilling their needs or desire of food security?
Is the community ready for challenges and changes to social habits and culture in meeting the needs and desires of community food security?
My view is that a community, not growing staple nutritionally rich foods locally, is already food insecure.

I really like the Mycelium analogy, and I would add that most of the living organism is under the surface, sharing a vast network of indigenous interconnected organic relationships. The fruiting body is the mechanism for expression and proliferation of ideas. It sounds to me that what you are calling for is a Food Renaissance.

Creating something that goes in a different direction from the status quo might be futile, but at least let’s hope it’s fun — more fun than the extreme futility of pretending that nothing is wrong.

There is no time to waste, for sure, but I feel that the efforts of the very few will not be enough. The reality of our global situation will have to hit this town with a powerful punch before it wakes up and smells the coffee (Tim Horton’s coffee, of course!).