We are WINNING!

There is always so much I want to say with this blog, and today is no different - however, I wanted today's message to be positive, on this Earth Day, I wanted to be able to be nostalgic AND sprout about the goodness that is coming of our decisions to educate ourselves and make sustainable food choices, and to be honest, when I weigh it all up we are making progress, but we have a long, long way to go and much needs to be said to create awareness on some topics.  But today, I don't want to go there.  I don't want to write about some of the environmental, political and mercantile challenges we face . . . today, I would rather say 'Thank You' - to you.

I had a conversation with a friend who asked how South Shore Organics was doing, and it is going well, each small success celebrated as if it were the first. I did tell her that one of my favorite things about South Shore Organics is that people care about the food they eat, and they care where it is from.  Our customers want to know that we are commited to supporting local farms and it is wonderful to be able to tell them we are, and then see the money they spend benefit their own community.  I love that they care, I love that they are as passionate about it as I am, but what I love most of all is being able to have a meeting with a farmer and say:  Hello, I am Pam, and I am here on behalf of a group of people who live nearby who have made a commitment to support you this growing season so what are your plans, can we be a part of them, and how can we help you be successful. 

I also thank our customers and I am grateful to each and every one, because each food dollar they spend with us speaks for them, each dollar has a voice and it says: I don't support industrial, conventional and GMO agriculture at the expense of our land and our communities, I want healthy food, grown sustainably, I support responsible growers, I support my neighbors, I don't want massive amounts of carbon fuels expended to get my food to me, I don't want tons of plastic bags and waste in my food system, I want a better balance.

So, this Earth Day, I thought it appropriate to say that it is because of people like you that the organic industry has grown from a concept to a fledgling market, then from a fledgling market into a household name and today it continues to grow despite a recession.  We have a long way to go, we have many, many challenges still to overcome, big ones, but while our farmers have our support and our commitment, we all have hope, and we can only move forward.

Happy Earth Day