A Tale of Two Families
It’s July 1st, 1966. Lisa and Jimmy are smack dab in the middle of their summer vacation. They wake up around 7:30am. Mom’s cooking breakfast, dad’s getting ready for work, and the children are starting their day. Jimmy’s plan is simple: get through his chores—which includes cutting the grass and weeding the garden — and then the rest of the day will be his. Lisa has a different plan. After she helps mom with the breakfast dishes, she’ll do her household chores. Then she will be free to do what she wants.

Mid-way through Jimmy’s cutting the grass, his friends pull up on their bikes and are not at all happy that Jimmy’s still cutting the grass; they want to play ball. So, after a little bribery, Jimmy convinces them to weed the garden while he finishes the grass. That way, they can all play sooner!

Around noon, the kids come home and mom tells them to wash up for lunch. She has leftover ham, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches prepared, with a bowl of fresh-picked berries for dessert. Back out to play, and when the kids return from playing with their friends, mom will have home cooked turkey and veggies for dinner, including fresh beans from the garden.

Do you remember?

Now, it’s July 1st, 2009. Josh and Ashley start their day about 11:30am. Josh is still tired from his 1:00am marathon on his Xbox. Mom and Dad are already at work, and Josh is in charge. Josh pours two bowls of sugary cereal. After eating their breakfast, Ashley prepares for a full day of cartoons while Josh heads off to begin a new marathon on Xbox. Around noon, Josh and Ashley grab their “lunch” of potato chips, toaster tarts, and several juice boxes.

When mom pops in the door at dinner time, she will arrive with bags of fast food for dinner. Together they’ll watch the news until dad gets home and then it’ll be back to the video game marathon for Josh while mom and Ashley grab snacks and settle in for an evening of reality TV.

So, how did we let it all slip away? We’ve lost touch with our communities. We stopped thinking about what we eat. Our children’s playmates are video games and computers. Junk food has become the new staple.

Grow And Share is attacking this problem on two fronts. First, we are working to get gardens growing across the US that will allow families to put better food on the table at minimal cost. Second, we are having gardeners pledge to share within their communities to build connections to their neighbors. Neighborhoods take care of themselves from within; families share what they grow with friends, neighbors, and strangers who may be unable to afford or access food of enough quantity — or quality.

In 2009, Grow And Share began with a few educational events and roughly a hundred gardeners sharing. For 2010, we’ve increased to seven times as many gardens growing to share, multiple educational events, a half dozen community gardens supported, and several school gardens created to share. From these efforts, thousands will have fresh produce this year!

Now we have several big educational events coming up — including a four-day event to educate thousands! To reach so many, we need your help. Make a donation before Friday, June 4th by calling Grow And Share at 1.919.269.5414 or clicking “Donate” to donate online. We really need your help! Give now at the level that works for you, whatever your heart leads you to donate. No donation is too small and every one counts toward our fundraising goal of $5,000.

Donate today. You’ll be making a difference that will be visible in communities as families feed themselves well, improve their health, become more productive, build community, and everyone struggles less.

Don’t just think about it: do it! Help us grow the communities and foods we can be proud of!

Sincerely,
Kay Whatley
Creative Director

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