Great story Kimmie,
This story is both heart warming and food warming (feeble attempt at humor)
Another idea to help protect us from hunger is an idea called Permaculture. This involves reconnecting with the land, even if you live in an urban or suburban area. It would involve getting rid of useless suburban landscaping, like lawns, and replacing them with sustainable agriculture. Check out David Holmgren on YouTube. Or here is a link that explains further:
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/perma.html
I have begun buying fruit trees and vegetables. However, even in this area there is a sinister challenge: corporate control of our food is nearly complete. Seeds are now terminator seeds, so you only get one crop. Even avocado pits, which are so easy to grow, produce sterile trees that need to be grafted to produce fruit. I recently read where India has now agreed to let Monsanto into their agriculture industry (as part of the recently signed nuclear deal with Bush) controlling all the seeds and the farmers of India are revolting. The farmers go bankrupt: the seeds have to be bought every year, and the quality of the plant is poor, requiring the use of pesticides and fertilizers to survive - also produced by Monsanto!! Creating further debt and bankruptcy for the farmers, paving the way for corporate takeover of family farms.
How can we rebel? Most county and state agencies and universities have information on how to grow native plants that are edible. Here is one for Florida where I live:
http://www.meaningfulpursuit.com/edibleplantproject/
But check your local agencies, and it pays to get a field guide for plants that helps you identify what's edible in the wild. These wild plants can also be cultivated in your yard and they are more resistant to insects and require little or no fertilizer.
Good luck to everyone and peace....we will survive these challenges.
Kimmie: PS I apologize for missing out last meeting. I left you a message, hope you got it, and I look forward to reconnecting soon.
Take care,
Steve