CityView Magazine

56 | October 2016 Learning the basics Most of our foods—fruits, vegetables, meats and packaged goods—are transported long distances and sourced from all over the world. Very little is local. is means the qual- ity of food is compromised. In these circumstances, produce is picked green to ripen in travel, but vitamins cannot fully develop without vine ripening. e industrial food system de- pletes nutritional value in food because ntrients are lost dur- ing the harvesting, processing and packaging process. Bulk handling during harvesting oen causes fruits and vegetables to bruise, which leads to abnormal ripening that stimulates greater nutritional loss. While convenient, pre-cut produce is highly perishable and has less nutrient density. ese foods also can contain films, coatings and chemicals, added to pro- tect produce from early deterioration. All these attributes affect the taste and smell of our im- ported versus local food. Local produce, properly grown and ripened, offers more flavor, more nutrition and instead of a bland fragrance and taste, smells and tastes fresh and bright like nature intended. Healing the soil So, what can we do? Marsha revealed, "I have a card by my computer that says, 'I wondered why somebody didn't do something about that. And then I realized I was somebody.' In 2012, when I started Sustainable Neighbors, I had never been an activist. When I dove into what was going on with our food system, I realized we needed to go back to growing our own food." Farm-A-Yard is a Sustainable Neighbors program training people, through an online webinar course, how to grow food in their own backyard and, if they want, teaching them how to sell it at markets to earn money. Anyone can sign up at the website www.growfoodearnmoney.com. "I believe it all goes back to the soil," Marsha said. "My campaign to 'Farm-A-Yard' brings food close, to be the most local and the most nutritious. But the other caveat to this is the soil." It shocked her to see farmers growing vegetables in sandy and depleted soil. She couldn't understand how they could grow a thing. So, Marsha's other big mantra is to build the soil back up. Indonesian hot peppers grow in Fayetteville. Kiwano, also known as Horned Melon, tastes like a mix of cucumbers, kiwis and bananas. Zinnias, wild garlic, rosemary & sage

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