It would be great to have a simple answer, but alas, there’s no way of knowing for sure.  But even though a concrete number isn’t available, there are some things that we do know…

• We know that one in three children attending Petaluma City Schools is now enrolled in the federal meal assistance program (which means that their families do not earn enough to put healthy food on the table on a daily basis.)
• We know that the number of students enrolled in the federal meal assistance program has increased by 50% in just the last four years (from 2004-2008). 
• We know that more and more elderly people in Petaluma are lining up at free food pantries each week, just to get enough food to make it through the week. 
• We know that it takes a family of four living in Sonoma County (two adults plus two school age children) a minimum of $52,000 a year to make ends meet in Sonoma County.*  (It actually takes even more that this in Petaluma.) 
• We know that 30% of families living in Petaluma earn less than $50,000 a year. 
• We know that the price of food generally has increased more than 15% in Sonoma County over the past five years, and that the price of healthy food has gone up even further.   This means that more and more families are forced to feed their children the least healthy food available (fast foods and foods high in “empty” calories, sugar, etc.)

These aren’t just opinions–these are facts. 

So, although we can’t roll out a nice neat number to quantify the folks living in Petaluma who are hungry, we know enough to know that its far too many (how many is too many, anyway?). 

*These figures have been establishd by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development (ICCED), a national research, consulting, and legal organization dedicated to building economic health in vulnerable communities.  To learn more, and for a brief explanation about the The Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard, and how it relates to the government’s federal poverty level, click here.

On Saturday, November 15th, 27 volunteers came to the Bounty Farm to help build, perhaps the first community greenhouse in Petaluma. Led by master carpenter John Branscome, these volunteers helped raise the trusses and anchor them into place, build tables and windows and cover the greenhouse with a thick plastic film. Unfortunately, I had to give instructions from the side lines due to a sprained ankle that kept me from helping construct the greenhouse. Many of the regular farm volunteers commented how exciting it was to help construct the farm’s greenhouse; “This is way more fun and satisfying than prepping garden beds,” one volunteer exclaimed. I certainly felt great satisfaction at the end of the work day when a beautiful, 18 ft by 40 ft greenhouse stood erect on the northeastern edge of the farm. We thank the Exchange Bank for providing Petaluma Bounty the funds to build this community resource. In the spring of 2009, we will begin to start crops in our new greenhouse for the next season at the Bounty Farm.

No Bounty Farm Work Days in December or January

The winter months bring shorter days and cooler temperatures that allow the pace of growth at the Bounty Farm to slow down enough for farm manager, Amy Rice-Jones, to go on vacation. This has been a tremendously successful first year at the Bounty Farm and we cannot thank all of you volunteers enough for helping out at our monthly work days. We hope that you get rested in December and January and are ready to come back to the farm on Saturday, Feburary 14th, for our first work day of the new year.

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for

the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including

food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social

services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment,

sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of

livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

Article 25, Section 1

I welcome your comments and questions and thank Petaluma Bounty for providing the space for this discussion.

Terry Hankins

Farm manager Amy Rice-Jones has enjoyed the challenge of starting and running an urban farm for Petaluma Bounty.

“As a child, Amy Rice-Jones was not interested in spending time in the garden…’I did not have an interest in agriculture as a child,’ said Jones, farm manager of Petaluma Bounty. ‘My mother is an avid gardener and she would nag me to pull weeds in our garden when I was growing up.’”

“It wasn’t until her freshman year in college that her feelings began to change… ‘I came to realize how important growing food for oneself and your community is to the health of our planet,’ she said… ‘Growing food organically is at the heart of community care for me.’”

Click here to read the entire article.

These realities call for a radically different approach to food and agriculture. We believe that the food system must be reorganized on a foundation of health: for our communities, for people, for animals, and for the natural world. The quality of food, and not just its quantity, ought to guide our agriculture. The ways we grow, distribute, and prepare food should celebrate our various cultures and our shared humanity, providing not only sustenance, but justice, beauty and pleasure…”

Thus begins the Food Declaration, drafted by the Roots of Change (ROC)  organization, whose mission is to create a sustainable food system in California, the nation’s largest producer of food and agricultural products, by the year 2030.   To read the entire Declaration, add your name to it, or learn more, click here.

Michael Steger, a psychologist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, wondered which behavior makes people happier—seeking pleasure or doing good?

Steger and his colleagues put the question to a group of undergrads as part of a study… Read the rest of the article to find out what he learned.

*    *    *

Are you looking to boost your HQ (happiness quotient)?   Whether it’s working on the Bounty Farm, helping to start a new community garden, harvesting food for families in need, or a slew of other actitivies, we have plenty of opportunities at Petaluma Bounty for you, your family and friends.   Just fill out our on-line volunteer form and let us know about your volunteer interests and availability.  We promise we’ll help you to feel happier (and build a healthier Petaluma food system in the process)!

“I’d like to share with you some inspiring photos of the wondrous transformation that took place this past spring at McKinley Elementary School.  A magical plot of land at the center of campus sprung to life in a short 14 weeks under the stewardship of not just a few, but EVERY SINGLE CLASS,  grades 1-6.  It’s a great testament to all the teachers who participated in launching the McKinley School Garden Program, as well as to Principal Devine who made it possible for everyone to be involved. 

Every child in school had a hand in creating, planting, harvesting, and learning in the garden.  From singing songs and musical serenades, to mulching, measuring, magnifying, composting, worm-boxing, digging, shoveling, raking, bouquet-making, and ultimately sitting down to enjoy a school-grown salad, it was an unforgettable experience.   I would like to thank all of you for making it such a pleasure (and so easy) to be a part of such a joyful, meaningful group effort.

I would also like to thank the McKinley Community Gardeners for all their assistance, as well as the Washington Creek Boys & Girls Club who tended the school plots over the summer.” 

What would that mean for Petaluma?  If we invested $560,000 ($10 per Petaluman) to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and prevent smoking and other tobacco use, we would save almost $2.7 million in health care costs within five years.   But that’s just part of the savings…

How would we quantify the improvements in childhood development, student learning and test scores, classroom management issues and other factors influenced by better nutrition and physical activity? 

How about the reduced stress  and greater well-being of family members in households that are currently food insecure and can’t afford to put healthy food on the table? 

What dollar figure do we put on the quality of lives of the people who would experience reduced rates of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure; reduced heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke; and reduced rates of forms of cancer, arthritis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?  We can wait for another report to come out to tell us the dollar savings, but most already know the answer… 

Business Journalist Samuel Fromartz (who writes for such publications as Fortune Small Business, Inc., Business Week, The New York Times, and many others) shares his take on the organics movement and where its headed.  He also cites Petaluma Bounty:  “In an interesting case in Petaluma, California (about 90 minutes north of San Francisco), an inventive non-profit called Petaluma Bounty…”  To read Fromartz post, click here.