“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” goes the classic observation about the limits of charity verses the promise of greater self-sufficiency.
The quote comes to mind as the Post-Gazette reports that more than 60 farmers’ markets in and around Pittsburgh are opening for another season.
But we also hear, more and more, about free fresh produce distributions at senior centers and other organizations. They target those who might not be able to visit those markets (or grocery stores) or, if they can, not be able to afford them (especially this year with farmers’ costs soaring).
Which brings us back around to that fish and fishing, giving and teaching quote and our own modest proposal: Growing produce yourself.
Once upon a time, when we were a more agrarian society, many people grew much of their own food. And the food they did not sell or eat, they preserved through drying, freezing and canning.
Indeed, and thanks in no small part to Covid, while the practices have been growing – 55 percent of all U.S. households “garden” to some degree as of this year – 45 percent do not.
But just think if those of just about any age who do not could willingly learn how to garden, and even if only on small scale for a quite modest outlay.
We’re talking about a few five-gallon buckets, a few bags of garden soil and several varied packets of vegetable seeds that would produce a constantly regenerating source of daily nutrition. And that’s possible even inside.
It would be a grand way to achieve greater food independence and less dependence on government and others.
Someone once said that “to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” And, we would add, in ourselves.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
