So I managed to post day three before posting Day 2, mostly because I was tired and needed to get some sleep. Today I spent a large portion of my time outside planting sprouts, and harvesting basil and rosemary. However, with the downpour I had to head inside.
It turns out that what could have lead to a lazy afternoon of napping turned into an afternoon of learning a lot more about Blair Grocery and the state of Louisiana. For Blair Grocery, I learned about the farm connections and relationships that the school is trying to cultivate. But some of the things I've seen recently, and learned today have shocked me. All I can say, is that in some ways, this country of mine, America, has been limited to my experiences in NY and my college, and Louisiana, a part of my country, is like a completely different time, place, and nation.
How OSBG Works: Community Food Distribution
The Market is a Farmer's market. It had been off for about three months, and they are trying to start it back up. When people were canvassing this pocket of New Orleans, people said that they most wanted a grocery store and a school. Due to the hurricane, New Orleans lost a lot of its population. People evacuated, and the population base was never restored. Thus, they didn’t qualify, because the population density was too low, to build hospitals or schools. Also, the food that is available down here is mostly fried/precooked food. There is NO option for fresh fruits, vegetables, or eggs.
So, each week, the school does a famer’s market. This farmer’s market, and the overall food system is intended to accomplish several things. This market is meant to provide community engagement, fostering pride in the neighborhood, and supplying the neighborhood with food that is better for them. They eventually want to have the community be the ones that sell the produce and oversee its production. As with most of this project and the school, the aim is to kick of something that helps the community and sets it up so that they can be self-sustainable.
Here is a very basic outline for the connections that the school is making and their operation. The initials stand for people that are working
I. Customer Base (Now approximately 30 people) is coming from
a. Lower 9th ward (where the school is located)
b. Bywaters
c. Algiers
II. Produce base: Because farmer’s are losing a lot of money, they are looking for ways to help keep their business alive. There are also local people that have a lot of land, but have no way to produce. Bringing in these people is important for a number of reasons. The first is that these farmers are some of the last non-corporate farmers in Louisiana. People are also trying to find ways to create money so that the school isn’t selling at a lower cost than production. These places are not yet well established, and also have a number of needs, including manpower and money. The outline is a little rough, but it talks about what the vision for the site is, as well as what their needs are.
a. OSBG
b. Hammond (Sunflower's place)
i. This is a large piece of land (I’m not sure how much….to be found out)
ii. Future of the Intern Program.
iii.The giant compost will be shifted here. There will be some composting here, but because of weather conditions it may be more practical to shift composting to another location. Part of it is also that the compost that is complete is hard to access under the giant mountain. (What is the "volcano")
iv. Produce: Vegetables and eggs
c. Tangipahoa: They want to grow here but lack the resources
1.Need: People, Chickens, and Soil
2. Need
d. W: Started growing here. They aren't entirely sure what they will be doing here because the intended purpose is not its function.
e. D
iii.N: Cows
a. Chicken Tractors
b. Barn
c. More Cows and Chicken
iv. S
1. J
"Louisiana, a place where nothing makes sense. Everything here is done completely backwards," as one person so kindly put it. Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate, not just in the states, but in the world. I'll probably continue this thought tomorrow, but for now I NEED TO SLEEP!
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