Worldwide, obesity has more than doubled since 1980. For the first time in history, being overweight is killing more people than being underweight, and at least 2.8 million adults around the world die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. This has to change, and it’s down to us. We need to get back to basics and start thinking about where our food comes from. We need to become a conscious community and understand the food choices we make on a daily basis. We can do this by improving food education.
Encouraging people to cook from scratch at home is at the heart of this. We all have family and friends who could make better food choices. On Food Revolution Day we can work together to empower people with the skills to improve their diet. Making simple changes to our food choices will improve our quality of life and our children’s. Forty-two million children under five are already obese and we need to reverse this. Let’s make some noise, raise our voices together and have a lasting and positive impact on their lives and ours. Food Revolution Day is our opportunity to get the world to focus on food issues and rally our efforts to bring food education back into schools.
To that end, I spent the day with on a farm RIGHT HERE in San Diego. Farmer Stephenie owns Seabreeze Organic Farm. This one time stock broker (or someone from that industry) had a dream…. she wanted to own her own farm. So she purchased 2-3 acres and made it lay out in such a way that she is growing food and edible flowers EVERYWHERE!
Here’s her story: Since a child, I had loved being outdoors – rising before dawn, horseback rides, tending my Grandmother’s farm animals in southern Texas, holding the magical seed packages of flowers and vegetables and the promise of their bounty. And then ‘real’ life began: college and two advanced degrees, teaching high school for San Diego Unified School district, becoming a gold broker and then CEO of my futures trading companies (with an office in the World Trade Center). I bought the coastal land where Seabreeze is now in 1978 with hardly any other houses around, covered with chaparral and groves of old eucalyptus trees. In 1988, I assessed my life style and goals and decided on a radical departure from the ‘norm,’ starting the journey, seed by seed, brick by brick to what now has become a personal source of joy, health and nutrition for family and clients, a haven for animals and a destination place of beauty and serenity for visitors.
As time goes on Farmer Stephenie has come to realize this bad economy takes with it, many dreams away. Her once flourishing list of people who have her fresh veggies delivered weekly has remained strong, but people are downsizing. What used to be $100.00 a week, is now $35.00. So she is feeding people in this way and clearly sees that part of her puzzle is more of a charity thing. That’s NOT where the money will be made to sustain her farm.
She’s both a farmer and a chef. Here’s a wonderful stuffed eggplant recipe: Stephenie
HOW CAN YOU HELP? By working through Chef Marian to schedule. Contact me at mm@chefmarian.com and lets plan a money making fundraiser on the farm for her. If you are a charity, some of the funds can certainly go to you.
Or if you are an individual that can plan, (through me) a visit to the farm for the purpose of making a donation and buying her vegetables and edible flowers, LET’S GO FOR IT and make it difference to her AND our own PERSONAL HEALTH. Thursdays and Fridays are the best days to plan an event where a group of us can come and buy their own produce right off the farm. I hope to hear from you soon!