FOOD :: July thoughts

 Been working hard on my food efforts.

I hope this blog will become more than me sharing my life but the things I am trying to do are also part of Working Together plans... FOOD is a huge issue everywhere.

I have been in the poverty bracket for so many years.  After my kids were not in the house, my household, anymore, things changed, but were still hard.  Now I am working on new ways to stretch my limited funds and buy better food.

Our food supplies are now tainted by genetic modifications and large companies that use the government to protect them.  The common person knows little about the effects of what is being done to our food.  

Most people can't grow all their own food, but that is the goal of Working Together, for its communities.  If you think of living in a world where there is no money, no buying or selling, becoming self-sufficient is a requirement.  We have to know how much food we need to survive, plus extra for our missions and others in need.

If we can even do that is a whole different question.  

I see preparing for the Antichrist as a survival need, a way to get us to a place that GOD can bless us with miracles.

In trying to survive myself, I can discover a basic amount for one person, then we can multiply that for a community.

This summer I am finally receiving my first CSAs...  I am stretching my budget with Farmers Market Double Bucks, I am trying to shop once a week, I am growing some more food in my personal container garden, and I am learning more plant-based eating options, eating less meat and dairy and eggs, plus working on my exercise needs and weight loss issues.

It's all related to FOOD.

I watched some short videos about water issues all over the earth and how it is affecting our survival as a planet, including our food sources and our people.  There is no survival without clean water.  The biggest emphasis seems to be large cities, and they will take from others to get enough for themselves.  Water issues create wars because it is a life issue... related to food and body needs.  One of the videos shared the battle between two countries where one country has the power to deny water to the other.

The Bible warns of famine and drought and things related to it... pestilence, etc.  It has been a part of history, is recorded in the Bible, and is part of the earth's cycles (I think)... we talk about 100 year floods because they seem to repeat over long amounts of time.

Urban areas are very vulnerable to food crises.  There is no farmland in big cities... but some are trying to modify greenhouse options -- in whole buildings dedicated to growing food.  It will never be enough.  We know from history that those in power make sure they have more than their fair share, so lots of ordinary people will suffer.

I think hunger was the cause of many historical revolutions and the ability of people like Hitler to gain power.

So, our food issues are not a small thing.

I started to say that my food efforts have created more food resources than I have had in my lifetime... It is strange to be in this situation.  I am working toward a goal of $300 to $500 a month as my food budget... and I have determined that food is about 20% of a total budget in the lower income ranges.  At $300 a month for food, I need to have an income of $1500 a month.

That seems like a fortune to me now... because I haven't been able to generate that much money yet.  I was hoping online sales would provide it, but it didn't. 

In the past I wanted up to $5000 a month...now I am not sure what would be the best financial goal for my retirement because of possible medical expenses... even paying for insurance would be more than what I hope for as income to survive.  Who knows what the future will hold, but I keep trying to increase my options.  :-)

So that is where I will end this post.

Let me know what you think a good food budget would be, for one person... and what it would provide you with in food.

Until next time,

Deborah Martin, work2gather.us

FOOD :: I have to share...

 I have been working very hard on my food supplies, my meals, my health, my budget... I have to say that I realized this month that I have never had so much food in my whole life... and even more organic food.  

I now have a monthly CSA delivery -- not much, but if they didn't deliver, I wouldn't have it.  I hope to see what kinds of foods grow locally this summer and fall.  :-)  

I have a container garden this year with 

• two tomato plants
• strawberries
• vine peas
• leaf lettuce
• garlic scallions
• organic white potatoes
• store bought red potatoes
• sweet basil

I am hoping to find more money to get containers, dirt, and some long-term plants :: rhubarb, blueberries, and asparagus.  That's not a sure thing.

I am trying to increase my food budget by $40 this month and through the summer by using my EBT/SNAP benefits to get Double-Up Bucks at the local Farmer's Markets.  I also signed up for the SENIOR Farm Checks this year... which is $24 to spend at the Farmer's Markets.

This month I am TRYING to shop once a week.  I started this last month but didn't do too good at it.  This month has problems, too, but I may end the month on budget... maybe.  I don't know how much I need to buy to eat for just one week.  I am learning by trial and error.  This month, with the Farmer's Market foods, I will still need to supplement with store foods.  Learning how to buy the ongoing staples like flour, sugar, etc., is also a challenge. 

That's what improving your life is all about :: tying, learning, starting over, getting better, looking for new ways to solve problems... it make the future better, but when you are very poor the mistakes can be hard to overcome.  I ended up homeless in the past.  I am trying not to have that happen again.

We never really know how a new effort will work out.  We just have to try.  Then we use those experiences to make the next effort better.

I just finished a post on some things I learned from YouTube (free to watch) about a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear.  Check it out and see if what I shared there will help you.

https://faith-and-prayer.blogspot.com

I wanted to share about my food situation because there is hope that poverty will never change.  You can find a way to build your food supplies... even with the government's level of food support.  It's a long hard struggle, but it matters... especially if you have kids.

I am just beginning to review my online strategies again... so watch for changes.  The problems are the same, but I have been trying to find answers... I just haven't found the ones that work for me yet.  :-)

Until next post, 

In Christ,

Deborah Martin, work2gather.us

FOOD :: Growing your own food!

Well, this year I am trying to grow more food than last year... I shared with someone  I hope to grow more food next year.  It's a challenge, but the food is so good when you grow it for yourself there is nothing to compare it with.

This year I bought a tomato plant, some vine peas, a sweet basil plant, some leaf lettuce, and plan to try for a few more things to grow as soon as I can get to a store to buy them.  I want to try one KALE plant, hoping I find the one I like to eat.  I missed getting spinach so I need to find that.

I am also thinking of starting some plants that take a long time to start producing.  In containers.  All my garden plants are in containers this year.

I have always wanted to have a rhubarb plant because I remember my grandmothers farm garden and how great it was to grab a stalk and eat it dipped in sugar.  Now I want to make other things with rhubarb, but the memory is precious.

Starting some asparagus is also a desire. If I can find it, and can afford it, I will try to get one container going with asparagus this summer.  I saved some of the seeds from my son's patch as it was getting started, but I will save those for now.  I think you have to buy the root stock and plant it.  It takes several years to be able to harvest it for eating.

The other plant I want to start this year, if I can, is blueberries.  I think I can only grow one plant in a container, but I will check on that.  I have to find the right containers... something that will be easy to replant when I get to a permanent space.

Raspberries might be a thought, too.

I have two avocado trees in one container right now... very small still.  I decided to start to twist them together as they grow, adding a third small tree I have growing in the house later on.  I guess you need to have at least two trees to pollinate.  I need to check on that, but three trees growing together should do some good.

Local critters have eaten my harvests before, so this year I am working on ways to stop them.  I cut apart one of my old tomato cages and used the large part for protecting the strawberries... the smaller bottom part is over the baby tomato plant right now... it will need to be changed into something larger soon.  I have some bamboo poles to use for a better barrier. 

I am learning about garden cloth so I need to find some and try it out.  Otherwise, I will try to recycle some old potato sacks (like netting) to put over my containers.

I found some of my unused plastic baskets the other day and one fit over my lettuce container.  I hope it helps until I get something better.  Lettuce doesn't need full sun so the filtered light may help it grow.  I'll be working on finding something that has a barrier against squirrels and birds, but lets the sun through and is easy to remove for harvesting.  It is suppose to take a month to be big enough to eat.

Some of my bamboo poles are really tall.  I want to use them to make vine teepees for another year.  Peas, beans, and other foods grow on vines you can train to different kinds of supports.  It will be a yearly experiment.  :-)

I will try to remember to share the results with you.  I am getting better at planning and recording, but I am not all the way there yet.  Video posting is not too far away.  :-)   I am looking into phone editing apps.

I am tech challenged, but trying to learn!!! haha

I hope you are growing your own food this summer... it is so wonderful when you get to harvest it and eat it.  You will be amazed at the difference from store options, and never want to give up the practice.

In Christ,

Deb Martin