Foodie news lately talks of 40% increase in food prices in the next 10 years, hundreds of thousands of families really need to re-learn everything about meal prep and cooking, kids need more recess and activity time, and food shelters and other food assistance programs are at an all time high.

In our local newspapers a local dairy site is now going to be hi-rise apartments, and another local dairy was demolished for being empty and unused for 50 years.

There is a local garden plot that was created a few years ago with hopes that community members could rent a plot and grow their own produce. Turns out some deal was made and only the Girl Scouts in town are allowed to use the plots. And the plots are now overrun with weeds. Our local Girl Scouts have not been out there at all. And there aren't that many GS in the local troop to begin with.

This is all part of the same problem.

Look, Food is a National Security issue. Food is a local security issue. Food is a regional security issue. Food is a family and household security issue.

We as a nation are happy the White House has a garden. Great. Good for them. But I stand firm that each city, each state and yes, even "leadership" needs to step up and strongly encourage and enforce education about how people can take back their food choices. I'd much rather support a few local dairy farmers with a small local dairy. I'd love that. I'd much rather see AmeriCorps volunteers trained and out en masse teaching people how to grow their own veggies in pots if they don't have garden land.

I want so much for personally grown, locally attended food sources to become a viral phenomenon.

Where are our food leaders?

Why don't we have food growing people locally on local access stations?
Why don't we have biggest-loser style shows with local people and local trainers on local access stations?
Why don't we have after school programs where kids are growing their own food in school garden plots?

Why don't we have a local or statewide or national push to create yard gardens?

Oh the answers are simple enough. We've become LAZY.
And our health suffers as a result.

I've been reading biographies, stories and novels about people 100 years ago who were working for their own food - working hard - and were connected to the land, and their neighbors as a result.
I never see my neighbors. I can't even tell you if children live in my neighborhood. After a tv-tells-you-everynite about child abductions melded with computer games in the home, now children outside is a rare commodity unless they are in a sports league. Why aren't there kids outside on their bikes? What about playing AnnieAnnieOver throwing tennisballs over the roof of the house to a friend on the other side? We have institutionalized fear. In our families, in our neighborhoods and in cities thus its a national epidemic.

I know I'm rambling. I can see why we are lazy and why we fear so much of our abundant lives. I just wish more people were willing to have the discussion.
Instead... they're eating garbage processed food, living mentally numb, and after work or after school are numbing out more with facebook, netflix and the endless stream of video games.

We are so disconnected. We need some real visionary food and community leaders to step up. Where are they? IF they are in the shadows, has the institutionalized fear grown so looming that people are afraid to be leaders at all?