Reading Response

For class we were asked to read "The Pleasures of Eating" and Food Justice both pieces talked about food mainly focusing on supermarkets and where our food comes from. One thing I didn't realize before reading Food Justice was how in certain areas supermarkets may not be as close in distance as they are were I'm from. After reading that excerpt it helped me understand that supermarkets aren't always close enough and that's probably one of the most important problems to fix before we try and follow the guidelines Berry sets up for us in "The Pleasures of Eating". In a way these two pieces go in order of what should be done and then how to improve from there. In "The Pleasures of Eating" Wendell Berry provides a list of ways we can eat more responsibly. The list includes seven different things we can do ranging from being more active in the food process to eating locally or at least knowing where your food is coming from. I feel like all the different things Berry lists are important because they give reasonable options for the consumer to integrate into their daily life. Being in college with the minimum resources I have available to me it is hard to incorporate these things different suggestions into my daily life. Back home my family and I were able to grow some food/herbs and preparing our own food. I feel like it would be very beneficial for me to eventually adopt some of the suggestions like dealing with my local farmer/gardener directly to know where my food is coming from or knowing the origins of my food that I buy at the local grocery store.  In the excerpt from Food Justice that we were assigned to read Gottlieb and Joshi focus more on grocery stores and how they aren't readily available in certain areas. This is one thing that Berry takes for granted in his paper. Not everyone has access to locally made food at a reasonable price. In my town back home it was harder to get locally made food than it was to just get food from the local grocery store and hope for the best. Although I understand where Berry is coming and I agree that it is important to know where the food you're eating is important I think the first step we need to take is making sure everyone has equal access to food even if it may not necessarily be the kind of relationship Berry wants to form with local farmers. Food is a necessary part of our lives and Gottlieb and Joshi really point out the fact that supermarkets need to be readily available in all parts of the community.

Foodies in Asheville

Food is a very important part of the Asheville community. Just going downtown gives you a ton of variety when picking what you want to eat that day. So trying to find an image that accurately describes all the food that makes up the Asheville community is difficult. The image above is from a service learning trip I went on for my language 120 course this past Wednesday. At the Green Opportunities Kitchen they provided us with a delicious three course meal that they cooked in the kitchen right in front of us. This kitchen not only has their own garden, but they are completely non-profit and help feed the surrounding community solely working off of donations and the generosity of the surrounding area. I think this truly explains what Asheville is about because everyone here always works to better the community and they are always willing to lend a helping hand if you need it. The head chef asked an interesting question when the group first got there  along the lines of "how can non-profit organizations be successful without having to depend on anyone else?"   I don't think it's necessarily logical to think that non-profit organizations can run without the generosity of the surrounding community. I know with how the world is currently that we live in it can sometimes be difficult to see all the good in the world, but if you just look around good surrounds us. This kitchen for example is one great thing in this community. They help people get back on their feet and provide them life skills that they can later incorporate into other jobs although they are welcome to stay there and cook as long as they want. One woman in the kitchen has been working there for around 40 years I believe, and she was such a sweet woman that I had the honor of meeting. This dinner was such a great chance to not only escape the food from the caf, but to also have a meal that you can tell everyone in the kitchen worked hard to get out to the group. Food is such an amazing part of this town, but it's really the people that make this town the way it is. So it's not necessarily the food that depicts this amazing town it's the meaning behind the food, it's how hard everyone in the kitchen worked to make our food, and most importantly it's the experience of getting out into the community and meeting all of these amazing people that truly care about each other.   

The Benefits of Service Learning

As a first year college student I expected the required hours of community service to be something I left in high school. In a way I suppose that is true, instead of  community service we now participate in service learning programs. What is the difference between community service and service learning? Well in my opinion there aren't very many differences. In both circumstances you are working to better the community by helping people in the community or working in the community itself. However, the Key center- a service learning oriented club on campus- says the " community service gives the volunteers a sense of being better than those they are helping" and "service learning as an active engagement for undergraduates in well-organized direct service projects and research in ways that respond to community-identified needs and enhance the well being of people and places while allowing students to reflect and learn about the connections between their courses and their work". As someone that did a lot of community service in high school I don't necessarily agree with the statement, but I do believe your mindset when volunteering is very important. Going in with a negative or positive outlook on these experiences will help better not only your experience, but it'll also improve the experience of the people you are working with. With the many opportunities available on and off campus to get involved I have no worries that all of these experiences will better the community. A few programs that I know of  range from working in a garden to working at schools in the area. There are many different programs we can participate in although I haven't been able to take part in a service learning activity thus far I can't wait to go and really get involved in the community.  This week I am going to the Green Opportunities event, and volunteering in the ROOTS garden on campus. I look forward to both of those events, and can't wait to get more involved with this community that will be my home for the next four years.