There's always a pleasant surprise during visits to sites on the KC Urban Farm Tour. This year was no different when a lively discussion on growing plants from seeds ensued at City Bitty Farm. The owners of City Bitty, a husband and wife team, gave tours of their 2.5 acre property, which included a demonstration tunnel, large rainwater container, and microgreens. One of the tour participants asked Jennifer of City Bitty Farm about their success with growing edible plants from seeds, mentioning his difficulty in consistent plant growth this year. Others described how they saved and used seeds. Another person added that corporate seed producers are engineering the seeds to prevent using them in subsequent years. Still another tour participant remarked that a failsafe way to find seeds that allow growers to save plant seeds is to use "heirloom" varieties. Someone else in the tour group mentioned that Belton's new policy on beekeeping has affected their growing.
The tour continued with a demonstration on sustainability methods and tools. The equipment that was demonstrated at the farm could be used for moderately-sized produce farms. These tools and methods show that businesses like that of Four Season Tools are helping growers produce more locally-grown food.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tent City pops up again in Joplin after tornado
Missouri food banks are continuing efforts to support individuals impacted by the Joplin tornado last month. Now news about historic water releases from upstream Missouri River resevoirs is prompting agencies and organizations to plan for relief efforts, including around the St. Joseph, Missouri area.
A recent news report on the Joplin KOAM-TV website indicated a tent city was created to support tornado victims. A tent city created by homeless people in Joplin was bulldozed in 2010 by city officials. An article in the Joplin Globe reinforced common stereotypes of homeless people rather than explore socio-economic conditions in the area which may have caused the need. “The kinds of reports we’ve been called to are varied: assaults, drinking, various code violations, intimidating behavior,” Police Chief Lane Roberts said. “It runs the gamut, but it’s difficult to control because it’s off the beaten path.”
Missouri River Flooding
The Second Harvest food bank located at 915 Douglas in St. Joe may need to be evacuated to an alternate site due to possible flooding. The evacuation may include relocating all the food in the food bank's warehouse, plus finding workspace for office workers in order to continue operations.
The City of St. Joseph has provided information on evacuation routes and services. The map shared here demarcates the location of the potential flooding area along the Missouri River in south St. Joe, along with its proximity to the food bank.
View 2011 Missouri Flooding - St. Joseph, MO in a larger map
A recent news report on the Joplin KOAM-TV website indicated a tent city was created to support tornado victims. A tent city created by homeless people in Joplin was bulldozed in 2010 by city officials. An article in the Joplin Globe reinforced common stereotypes of homeless people rather than explore socio-economic conditions in the area which may have caused the need. “The kinds of reports we’ve been called to are varied: assaults, drinking, various code violations, intimidating behavior,” Police Chief Lane Roberts said. “It runs the gamut, but it’s difficult to control because it’s off the beaten path.”
Around 20 tornado survivors have been staying in tents there since at least Memorial Day. Most of the people living in Tent City are members of an extended family and are related to the land owner.
Based on plans by area food banks to provide a mobile food pantry to the tent city location to serve those that need food assistance, it appears there is a more compassionate approach to helping people needing services in Joplin.
Missouri River Flooding
The Second Harvest food bank located at 915 Douglas in St. Joe may need to be evacuated to an alternate site due to possible flooding. The evacuation may include relocating all the food in the food bank's warehouse, plus finding workspace for office workers in order to continue operations.
The City of St. Joseph has provided information on evacuation routes and services. The map shared here demarcates the location of the potential flooding area along the Missouri River in south St. Joe, along with its proximity to the food bank.
View 2011 Missouri Flooding - St. Joseph, MO in a larger map
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Statewide Hunger Initiative is Launched in Minnesota - Where were the poor people at the event?
Representatives of Hunger-Free Minnesota, an important statewide Minnesota initiative on hunger, held a press conference today (streamed live on UStream) in Minneapolis. The conference was preceded by a recorded segment which included first-person accounts by people that have recently sought food assistance. These stories documented strong emotions experienced by a range of people receiving food assistance, including veterans, immigrants, a financially-strapped teacher, elderly people, a person making ends meet after a job loss, a woman facing home foreclosure after a divorce -- all people not typically considered as needing food assistance.
After the recorded segment leaders of a coalition of food and health corporations, along with leaders from non-profit emergency assistance organizations, spoke about the Minnesota initiative to fill a gap of 100 million meals. Emery Koenig, a senior vice president with Cargill, spoke about efforts to increase the storage and distribution capacity for emergency food assistance. Pat Geraghty, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota mentioned how a person experiencing hunger is more likely to have diabetes and how a hungry child is more likely to not perform as well in school. Sarah Caruso, president of the Greater Twin Cities United Way, stated that the organization is making a $1 million investment in "prototyped" programs with a "proven track record," though she did not elaborate on the program.
Rob Zeaske, executive director with Second Harvest Heartland food bank in Minneapolis told a story about a family having to give up their dog due to financial problems. He outlined three elements of the Hunger-Free Minnesota initiative: (1) The organization knows the "finish line," that is, the huge gap in missed meals by people in Minnesota. (2) A detailed plan was developed by the Boston Consulting Group, which is a "global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy." (3) A strong coalition of partners is focusing on the programs within the initiative, though details of the programs were not discussed.
Ken Powell, president of General Mills, and Ellie Lucas, campaign officer for Hunger Free Minnesota, also spoke at the conference.
Though the press conference lacked details, the Hunger-Free Minnesota website outlined specifics:
I thought the event would have benefited by having a person off the streets -- unscripted -- speaking for themselves at the podium, or at least have one of the people featured from the recorded message speak out at the event. Would audience members understand conditions of working poor people by listening to their questions to corporate executives?
Despite a lack of dialog between corporate executives and poor people at the event, this statewide initiative shows a significant commitment to addressing the problem with a variety of resources and players, including an effort to get more eligible people to apply for SNAP/Food Stamps. This last project at Second Harvest Heartland includes "six SNAP Outreach Specialists help provide information for distribution to clients, assist with SNAP screening and with SNAP applications including bilingual assistance, provide copies of necessary documents, help take the confusion out of the county application process and offer follow-up advocacy with county workers."
After the recorded segment leaders of a coalition of food and health corporations, along with leaders from non-profit emergency assistance organizations, spoke about the Minnesota initiative to fill a gap of 100 million meals. Emery Koenig, a senior vice president with Cargill, spoke about efforts to increase the storage and distribution capacity for emergency food assistance. Pat Geraghty, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota mentioned how a person experiencing hunger is more likely to have diabetes and how a hungry child is more likely to not perform as well in school. Sarah Caruso, president of the Greater Twin Cities United Way, stated that the organization is making a $1 million investment in "prototyped" programs with a "proven track record," though she did not elaborate on the program.
Rob Zeaske, executive director with Second Harvest Heartland food bank in Minneapolis told a story about a family having to give up their dog due to financial problems. He outlined three elements of the Hunger-Free Minnesota initiative: (1) The organization knows the "finish line," that is, the huge gap in missed meals by people in Minnesota. (2) A detailed plan was developed by the Boston Consulting Group, which is a "global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy." (3) A strong coalition of partners is focusing on the programs within the initiative, though details of the programs were not discussed.
Ken Powell, president of General Mills, and Ellie Lucas, campaign officer for Hunger Free Minnesota, also spoke at the conference.
Though the press conference lacked details, the Hunger-Free Minnesota website outlined specifics:
- Emergency Food System: Strategic initiatives will procure more donated food, support capacity-building and create cost savings within distribution practices.
- SNAP-The Minnesota Food Support Program : Strategic initiatives will increase awareness, decrease stigma, expand outreach and address eligibility criteria.
- Child Hunger and Nutrition Programs: Strategic initiatives will pursue cost-effective school food programs, connect children to summer meal programs and create strong community-based programs .
I thought the event would have benefited by having a person off the streets -- unscripted -- speaking for themselves at the podium, or at least have one of the people featured from the recorded message speak out at the event. Would audience members understand conditions of working poor people by listening to their questions to corporate executives?
Despite a lack of dialog between corporate executives and poor people at the event, this statewide initiative shows a significant commitment to addressing the problem with a variety of resources and players, including an effort to get more eligible people to apply for SNAP/Food Stamps. This last project at Second Harvest Heartland includes "six SNAP Outreach Specialists help provide information for distribution to clients, assist with SNAP screening and with SNAP applications including bilingual assistance, provide copies of necessary documents, help take the confusion out of the county application process and offer follow-up advocacy with county workers."
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Bike Ride on Converted Railroad Trail is a Journey Through Time
Riding bicycles along the Katy Trail in Missouri is a reminder of bygone years between Clinton and Calhoun. The ride east out of Clinton traverses farm fields for three miles, so the sky is clearly visible along the mainly flat route. At this point, the trail crosses several creeks -- Deer Creek, Sand Creek, and two forks of the Tebo Creek, among others -- and the landscape and noises change significantly.
Sights and Sounds on the Katy Trail
The ride along the trail between Clinton and Calhoun is an easy one as the elevation changes little except for small rises and falls leading to creeks. We saw only a few bicycle riders along the trail. Pictures of solitude are a little misleading because of occasional loud motor engines from the highway 50 feet away. However, the visual beauty is accented by the sounds of nature -- what seems like millions of frogs in the area marked "prairie restoration" and the early sounds of Missouri cicadas. The cicadas are as loud as bird screeches, but don't have the synchronized rhythm they exhibit later in the Summer when their buzz is deafening. Some people that aren't from Missouri "freak out" when the cicadas reach their full volume and rhythm -- you have to grow to appreciate the sound. The unmistakable sound is cherished by many people as a landmark of the area. I can still recall hearing these sounds for the first time during return trips to Missouri to visit family in Sedalia and Boonville.
Coal Mining in Missouri
Along the trail between Calhoun and Clinton the landscape shows the barely visible signs of strip mining. If the Calhoun trail marker had not mentioned this history, I would not have thought to look differently at the landscape along the Katy Trail. There are several areas where the long, deep trenches created from strip mining have marked the landscape with open scars of earth still evident or filled with water. A satellite image of this area shows long, slender ponds outlining the areas of the strip mining.
The Tebo coalfield in the area was used for locomotive fuel and later for energy production as noted by a 1984 "Missouri Coal" report.
The report goes on to explain how productive the coal mine near Calhoun was: "The Tebo field was the largest producing area in the state before mining activity increased in the Bevier field in the late 1970s." Further, the Tebo field constituted 10 percent of Missouri's production.
"Most early coal mines in Missouri were underground. Interest in strip mining developed in the mid-1930s, and by the late 1960s, it was the only method used," the coal report states.
The abundance of coal throughout this area, along with other mine operations, may have encouraged my father to develop a keen interest in minerals and mining. After serving the military in WW2, he studied at what once was called the Missouri School of Mines (now Missouri University of Science and Technology) earning a degree in mining engineering.
The Clinton-to-Calhoun biking trail has revealed a breaktaking beauty and opened up an important part of Missouri history near where generations of my family have lived.
Sights and Sounds on the Katy Trail
The ride along the trail between Clinton and Calhoun is an easy one as the elevation changes little except for small rises and falls leading to creeks. We saw only a few bicycle riders along the trail. Pictures of solitude are a little misleading because of occasional loud motor engines from the highway 50 feet away. However, the visual beauty is accented by the sounds of nature -- what seems like millions of frogs in the area marked "prairie restoration" and the early sounds of Missouri cicadas. The cicadas are as loud as bird screeches, but don't have the synchronized rhythm they exhibit later in the Summer when their buzz is deafening. Some people that aren't from Missouri "freak out" when the cicadas reach their full volume and rhythm -- you have to grow to appreciate the sound. The unmistakable sound is cherished by many people as a landmark of the area. I can still recall hearing these sounds for the first time during return trips to Missouri to visit family in Sedalia and Boonville.
Coal Mining in Missouri
Along the trail between Calhoun and Clinton the landscape shows the barely visible signs of strip mining. If the Calhoun trail marker had not mentioned this history, I would not have thought to look differently at the landscape along the Katy Trail. There are several areas where the long, deep trenches created from strip mining have marked the landscape with open scars of earth still evident or filled with water. A satellite image of this area shows long, slender ponds outlining the areas of the strip mining.
The Tebo coalfield in the area was used for locomotive fuel and later for energy production as noted by a 1984 "Missouri Coal" report.
Coal, sometimes nicknamed "the rock that burns," is a product of nature's continual growth and decay.Although not a true coal, peat is considered to be its first stage of development. Further stages of development. Further stages of development are the soft coals lignite, or brown coal; subbituminous coal; bituminous coal; and finally, anthractie, or hard coal
The coal we use now is as much as 300 million years old, formed in an era when lush vegetation and steamy, tropical conditions existed over much of the world.
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On the Katy Trail near Calhoun, Missouri. This photo is an example of prominent signs of strip mining coal in this area, where a pond has formed in the deep trench created from the mining. |
"Most early coal mines in Missouri were underground. Interest in strip mining developed in the mid-1930s, and by the late 1960s, it was the only method used," the coal report states.
The abundance of coal throughout this area, along with other mine operations, may have encouraged my father to develop a keen interest in minerals and mining. After serving the military in WW2, he studied at what once was called the Missouri School of Mines (now Missouri University of Science and Technology) earning a degree in mining engineering.
The Clinton-to-Calhoun biking trail has revealed a breaktaking beauty and opened up an important part of Missouri history near where generations of my family have lived.
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