| I know this is going to sound a bit odd, but as I watch the water flowing from my kitchen faucet, and contemplate on the abundance of all this readily available warm soapy water, it seems, well, luxurious. Another thing that is odd is that I don’t consider washing dishes too much of a chore. I find that it gives me a chance to clear my head. I use this time to practice mindfulness, something I don’t do very well. Like many working families, it's a challenge to bring stillness to a multi-tasking mind, but I keep trying. 
The more I try, the more the thoughts start flowing as fluidly as water. They are not random. They run a course like the way the Ashokan Watershed meanders to New York City. I think about the spring near Hunter Mountain where we collect our drinking water. I stare at the drizzle of the rain on the window, and remember the rains and melted snow that transformed our meek Esopus Creek into a raging river of destruction. | I think about our garden and water conservation, and drought, like the book I am currently reading on the folks who tried to brave out the the dust bowl of the1930’s. I wonder about the women around the world who have to haul water every day, those who have boil it to drink it, heat it to wash dishes and wash clothes and wash children. I think about the many wars that are waged due to a lack of this precious resource. I wonder whether my family is drinking enough water. I recall the dialogue I had at work with Melinda, about the lack of water fountains in parks. What happened to them? They were everywhere when we were growing up. How about a campaign to install them at parks? The idea was first requested by one of the garden stewards we work with and I think it is a brilliant idea to promote. Wouldn’t this be within our Creating Healthy Places mission to keep thirsty kids from drinking sugary drinks? People would use the parks more. What would be the challenges involved in a campaign like this? So through all these digressions, I return to the task at hand, and how easy it is for me to use this water. It's available by a slight turn of a faucet, pure and clean and warm in my hands, traveling from the Catskill Mountains to the town water system. Water has a cycle that sustains all of life itself. Water flowing... gratitude... soapy warm water... gratitude... clean dishes...gratitude. |
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| Following the theme of spring and nourishment for the body and soul, I'm on a one-person awareness campaign about how recipients of SNAP / Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formally called Food Stamps) can buy seeds and food producing plants. I nearly fell off my seat when a colleague told me this little known fact. The implications are so big and far-reaching. Not counting all the other benefits of growing your own food, one single dollar can grow about $10 to $50 worth of food. It goes hand-in-hand with the farmers' market, where you can purchase seeds and plants, to the community garden movement, where you can learn the skills needed to grow your food communally, to nutrition and self empowerment. One can learn resourcefulness, how how to start some container gardening or begin plots in creative places to feed your family. The SNAP program may be the equivalent of the adage about teaching someone how to fish! Yes, there are some challenges to urban gardening, but I'm at a loss as to why there's been so little promotion to let folks know that they can purchase food-producing plants and seeds in rural communities. How did we get sucked into this culture of processed food that is so devastating to our health and well-being? How did we get so removed from our food source? Connecting with fresh food is as simple as using about $3 worth of SNAP benefits to purchase one tomato plant that can be placed in a 5 gallon bucket that has drainage holes, or straight in the ground in a sunny place. And there you go -- a season of tomatoes! | 
I'm awaiting the posters I ordered. You can order some as well. Help spread the word! This is an example of a systems change. And this one is a real game changer. Here's the official website: http://www.snapgardens.org/ Here's a SNAP Garden Toolkit: http://www.snapgardens.org/snap-participant/ They are on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SNAPgardens Here's a good article: http://www.americanownews.com/story/19881783/parent-uses-food-stamps-to-start-a-garden Plus a promo Youtube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0dN2F1h0QsA |
I had a thought-provoking conversation last weekend at a birthday gathering with about 12 friends in Saugerties. After eating we sat around the living room chatting, enjoying our desserts. But the mood changed quickly as we entered a serious discussion. A friend was struggling with feelings of hopelessness and despair, mostly from hearing about the impact of global warming.
She was fine as she went about her day. In fact, she explained how she was usually in a great zen-like place and completely engaged in her work as a child therapist, grateful that she could impact the lives of these children. But when she goes home and watches the tragic events news on television, the global issues seem so vast and beyond anything she could do to change, it triggers these dreadful feelings.
The conversation centered around the role of community, and how necessary it was to turn to each other. And that change is possible. I guess you can say that this is a conversation being held everywhere as we all struggle with an increasingly complex world, our role in it, and how to make sense of it all.
The response to her distress was immediate, kind, comforting, because we reiterated in many ways the same message. It was a diverse group so the conversation took many shapes and turns, from Jungian, spiritual, philosophical, sociological perspectives, but essentially we stressed that, yes, change is possible. But change will happen, or is happening on a very local, grassroots level. This is where you can make an impact.
Another couple was inspirational as they shared their activities instituting Transition Town events in Saugerties. Here’s a link to the national movement:Transition US Newsletter: Rediscovering and Redefining Wealth. Look up their training session in Dobbs Ferry.
I think the most sensible advise to my friend was one of the simpliest. There's no way you can connect to a television or share with a television. So turn the blasted thing off and keep it off! She agreed and we cheered.
More Resources
Holy moly! Talking about not being able to keep up... I’ve been receiving a flood of resources from Chantal Bordes, our Creating Healthy Places Project Manager at the NYS Department of Health, our funding source for Creating Healthy Places. The resources are geared toward sustainable communities, community gardeners, the food movement communities and policy makers in the Hudson Valley and NYC. Here are a few:
Cultivating Community Gardens: The Role of Local Government in Creating Healthy, Livable
Neighborhoods This brochure offers case studies, best management practices, resources and tools for policymakers to develop creative, cost-effective solutions that reduce barriers and facilitate the creation of community garden programs.
Green Gems Grants, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Application Deadline: March 8th, 2013, For additional information, please go to: http://www.dec.ny.gov/public/31226.html Applicants may request funding from $2,500 up to $10,000 for smaller scale projects that involve education, stewardship, or monitoring activities related to parks, open space, community gardens or green infrastructure. Green Gems Grant projects must include a research and educational component that will be used to expand the knowledge or understanding of the affected community. Approximately 10% to 15% of the available funds will be awarded for Green Gems Grants.
Food and Immigrant Life: The Role of Food in Forced Migration, Migrant Labor, and Recreating Home, April 18-19, 2013, The New School, NY, NY. This is the 29th Conference in the Social Research Series, presented by the Center for Public Scholarship at the new School. www.newschool.edu/CPS/FOOD
And...
Check out Healthy Kingston For Kids January Newsletter , The issue includes funding resources for community gardens.
Please email me ar558@cornell.edu if you want to be placed on our Creating Healthy Places of Ulster County mailing list.
.
My social media savvy colleague Fern Suess reminds me that we need folks to “Like us” on Facebook. Please check out our page. Click here and like us on facebook! Thank you!
She was fine as she went about her day. In fact, she explained how she was usually in a great zen-like place and completely engaged in her work as a child therapist, grateful that she could impact the lives of these children. But when she goes home and watches the tragic events news on television, the global issues seem so vast and beyond anything she could do to change, it triggers these dreadful feelings.
The conversation centered around the role of community, and how necessary it was to turn to each other. And that change is possible. I guess you can say that this is a conversation being held everywhere as we all struggle with an increasingly complex world, our role in it, and how to make sense of it all.
The response to her distress was immediate, kind, comforting, because we reiterated in many ways the same message. It was a diverse group so the conversation took many shapes and turns, from Jungian, spiritual, philosophical, sociological perspectives, but essentially we stressed that, yes, change is possible. But change will happen, or is happening on a very local, grassroots level. This is where you can make an impact.
Another couple was inspirational as they shared their activities instituting Transition Town events in Saugerties. Here’s a link to the national movement:Transition US Newsletter: Rediscovering and Redefining Wealth. Look up their training session in Dobbs Ferry.
I think the most sensible advise to my friend was one of the simpliest. There's no way you can connect to a television or share with a television. So turn the blasted thing off and keep it off! She agreed and we cheered.
More Resources
Holy moly! Talking about not being able to keep up... I’ve been receiving a flood of resources from Chantal Bordes, our Creating Healthy Places Project Manager at the NYS Department of Health, our funding source for Creating Healthy Places. The resources are geared toward sustainable communities, community gardeners, the food movement communities and policy makers in the Hudson Valley and NYC. Here are a few:
Cultivating Community Gardens: The Role of Local Government in Creating Healthy, Livable
Neighborhoods This brochure offers case studies, best management practices, resources and tools for policymakers to develop creative, cost-effective solutions that reduce barriers and facilitate the creation of community garden programs.
Green Gems Grants, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Application Deadline: March 8th, 2013, For additional information, please go to: http://www.dec.ny.gov/public/31226.html Applicants may request funding from $2,500 up to $10,000 for smaller scale projects that involve education, stewardship, or monitoring activities related to parks, open space, community gardens or green infrastructure. Green Gems Grant projects must include a research and educational component that will be used to expand the knowledge or understanding of the affected community. Approximately 10% to 15% of the available funds will be awarded for Green Gems Grants.
Food and Immigrant Life: The Role of Food in Forced Migration, Migrant Labor, and Recreating Home, April 18-19, 2013, The New School, NY, NY. This is the 29th Conference in the Social Research Series, presented by the Center for Public Scholarship at the new School. www.newschool.edu/CPS/FOOD
And...
Check out Healthy Kingston For Kids January Newsletter , The issue includes funding resources for community gardens.
Please email me ar558@cornell.edu if you want to be placed on our Creating Healthy Places of Ulster County mailing list.
.
My social media savvy colleague Fern Suess reminds me that we need folks to “Like us” on Facebook. Please check out our page. Click here and like us on facebook! Thank you!
A sign at Mama's Boy Market seeking volunteers during the clean-up efforts after Tropical Storm Irene
Carolers gather each year.
| I need help this fresh new year. My community needs help this fresh new year. I’d like to figure out how to bring fresh fruit and vegetables all year long, to my tiny hamlet, Phoenicia. The 2010 census lists 309 residents in Phoenicia, located in the the municipality of Shandaken (pop 3,085) and many are second home owners. Broadly speaking, most full time residents are divided into two groups: the folks with long historical roots in the area, and newcomers, primarily from New York City. (I belong to the latter.) We differ in many ways but have a common problem, a problem that is reflected in many small rural communities all across the nation: limited access to fresh fruit and vegetables. There's some buzz about being designated one of the Top Ten Coolest Small Towns in America by Budget Traveler Magazine. There’s a variety of restaurants in Phoenicia, a little market that’s more of a convenience store, a little deli, and a lovely variety store catering to tourists that offers baskets of fruit in the summer. But if you’re serious about preparing fresh healthy foods on a consistent basis you need to drive over four miles to the farm stands. That works in the summer. But come winter we need to drive to the supermarket, which is close to seven miles away. So ironically, this idyllic little hamlet is considered a food desert. We need a creative solution to this. Food pantries are available to the income eligible, and provide a necessary and honorable service. But they are not sustainable, nor are they available to everyone. There's a buying club for people that can afford to pay for bulk food up front. Community Sustained Agriculture projects (CSA) are great too, but again, you have to pay up front for a growing season's worth of food. And although the food is from the Hudson Valley and not California, is it really local? There's hope, however. Cheers to Valerie Linet and the steering committee of the Shandaken Community Gardens! They were undaunted by the hard work involved in obtaining permission to use a good chunk of space at the Phoenicia Elementary School property. I'd like to hear from the the people of Phoenicia and other rural communities with similar challenges. How have other communities progressed towards providng fresh produce? How can a diverse community come together? A farmer’s market? Veggie vans? Veggie carts? Micro loans? Grants? Local workshops on canning and preserving? I know we're at the brink of a new way of looking at these challenges. Email me at ar558@cornell.edu if you want to be involved in working with others in coming up with creative solutions. |
| My family is frugal. We buy in bulk and make a ton of food from scratch. You would think that I would know what’s going to be made each day of the week. I’ve resisted that level of planning. There’s usually something in the fridge to mix and match and my kids manage to pack their own lunch. But from a time managment viewpoint, I've found that it takes lots of mental and logistical energy to keep thinking about each meal. At times it's nice to think about a menu for family and guests, but most of the time it's a hectic affair. What are we doing today? What does it entail? Is it a trip to the supermarket or farm stand on the way home or is there something from the garden? Is there anything that I have to use up before it spoils? What do we need to thaw, prep, sauté, bake, steam, broil, heat up, marinate, knead, soak, freeze or leave in the fridge or crockpot today? I'm confident planning all kinds of projects and conferences, but don't ask me what we're having for supper. I've resisted the weekly meal planning because I imagined it was in the realm of fastidious home economics teachers. Planning at this level seemed to lack spontaneity. "No you can’t have that…it's not on the menu!" Two things came across my desk that changed my mind: Frugal Fare... a colleague’s e-publication which recommends planning your meals for the week, including breakfast and lunch. Reading this gave me the first nudge. Yes, I know, I gotta walk the walk. | Eating By The Numbers The next day another colleague sent me this article about Alegra Cullen, a high school senior. She designed a 4H project to see if it was possible to plan, purchase and prepare meals that met all the recommended nutrition guidelines within a tight budget. She was also committed to helping her family improve their diet and lower the risk for diabetes and high blood pressure. Alegra outlines the whole process, but started by making sure the whole family bought into this project. She knew it wouldn’t work if they all didn’t pull together. But what made it work was her elegant meal planning. “I thought there was no chance that four cups of cauliflower, three cups of sweet potatoes and one cup of peas mixed into our curry chicken recipe would taste good. To my family’s surprise, the vegetables, which just soaked up the taste of the curry, created different tastes and textures and made the meal a lot more interesting and healthy. We had similar experiences with many other meals.” Alegra adressed an issue that we've been grappling with here in our programs, and on a broader scale, nationally: how to dispel the myth that nutritious food is more expensive than processed food. She figured out how to prepare nutritious meals for a family of 4 on a very limited budget, without compromising cultural preferences. And she helped her mother address health issues...with curried chicken? Oh, Alegra -- you rock! I'm planning next week's menu now. |
| When I looked at a white paper my colleague Kristen Wilson just passed around this week it states that a staggering 59.6% of adults in Ulster County are obese or overweight. It also pointed out that "If we don't solve this problem, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives." What if one third of our children developed cancer of the digestive system. Why is diabetes just shrugged off so easily? I want to share a personal account about diabetes and obesity. It's actually an account of a culture in flux and how it impacted my family. I remember my mother describing her first soda. She described the wonderful, dizzying sensation of how this exotic, cold, fizzy liquid had tickled as it went down her throat. It was luxurious. It was to be savored. My mother was typical of the wave of immigrants moving to NYC in the 1950’s. She was raised on a farm in the central mountains of Puerto Rico. She made wonderful traditional dishes: stews, soups, rice, beans, seasoned with traditional condiments. I remember the smoky wet charcoal smell from the times when we visited the family farm. I'm not sure when a farm is considered a plantation, but the main crop was sugar cane. We lived there for a while too. I spent many peaceful hours in the mango grove and avoided the lemon trees because the bees made their hives there. But I was facinated by the kitchen. It was the center of the universe.There was a flurry of hands chopping and mixing and grinding, kneading. The commotion, laughter and singing from my aunts and cousins made cooking joyful. There was a profusion of fresh fruit from the trees and vegetables from the land. There were eggs, avocados, plantains, bannanas and breadfruit available every day. Root vegetables boiled, chickens were slaughtered, milk was brought in, warm and thick. These women, who lined up to make pasteles, a time consuming process, were connected to each other and to this food, and to this farm. This farm was what gave us life. It connected us to it all -- the good and the bad -- like the plantains that were fried, then pressed flat, dipped in a garlic sauce...and fried again. It’s a bittersweet memory remembering how we ate as I was growing up. Mother's love was doled out through the sweet cafe con leche with saltine crackers we had for breakfast, and the diluted sweetened Tang with dinner. There was an abundance of sweets: coconut candy, guava paste, caramel candies, rice pudding, bread pudding, flans, tembleque. The sweetness, like sucking the juice out of the stalk of sugar cane, was love. My mouth waters when I remember the smell of the sweetened, condensed milk. Her long work hours meant the delicious food she once prepared started to become too cumbersome. The processed foods were cheap, easy, and sanctioned by the Spanish media. She became, what she thought, was a modern mother. | In came the canned beans followed by the canned soups. Condiments took too long to prepare daily, so the MSG packets and ready made sofrito took out most of the preptime.Then longer hours at work and my father's illness meant even more of our food came from cans and packages. I don't think my mother ever made the connection that this food was hurting all of us. She and two of my three sisters developed type 2 diabetes. One died from complications due to this disease. Understanding this epidemic… the long road to awareness The severity of this epidemic became clear when I read a mind-boggling article in the New York Times about how diabetes was running rampant in East Harlem. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/nyregion/ nyregionspecial5/10diabetes.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 This article outlined a lack of education, poverty, cultural issues, obesity, poor food choices and the disparity of the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables and wholesome, and general unprocessed, fresh foods. This article brought back a flood of images. The free summer camp lunch: a can of soda and a bologna sandwich on white bread. I remembered how the mortar and pestle migrated to the back of the counter, replaced by the electric can opener. What does this have to do with Ulster County? Although we are not the epicenter of this epidemic, our stats are appalling. We have a moral obligation to turn this around. Through my job at CCE, my colleagues and I are working on an awareness campaign. It's a muti-faceted project, but the goal is quite simple. We're trying to help protect our children from being the first generation to be less healthy than their parents. Ulster County has urban and rural communities. Both need access to fresh wholesome food. So let’s support our local farmers and their farm stands. Let's eat local. Let’s start more farmers' markets, family gardens, community gardens. Let’s figure out how to get fresh foods to everyone’s kitchen, schools, food pantries and soup kitchens. Let’s turn off the computer and television, go outside, meet each other, and learn to grow, cook and sustain each other. Let's celebrate as we cook, eat, and clean up together. So if you see me waving kale and carrots and passing out flyers on Broadway in front the Kingston Farmers' Market in Midtown, you'll know why. This market, in the heart of Midtown Kingston, represents a seed of hope. It's just one way this foodie will kick this crazy epidemic in the as-paragus, one veggie at a time! |
The Unhappy Truth About Soda: http://therealbears.org
It wasn't so bad when soft drinks were the occasional treat. But now sugary drinks are the number one source of calories in the American diet. With one third of America overweight and another third obese, it's a wonder
anyone is still swallowing what the soda companies are selling.
"I've had my share of soda, and I don't imagine a world without it," said Mr. Bogusky, named executive creative director for "The Real Bears," in a statement. "But sugary drinks have gone from an occasional treat to an every-occasion beverage. This project attempts to contrast the marketing hype around soda with the stark reality, and it is my hope that it makes a small contribution to a critical cultural awakening. We need to connect the dots between what we are sold, what we consume and how sick we have become."
For the complete article on how Bogusky went out to "burst "Big Soda's bubble" go to: http://adage.com/article/news/cspi-asked-alex-bogusky-work-anti-soda-video/237684/
It wasn't so bad when soft drinks were the occasional treat. But now sugary drinks are the number one source of calories in the American diet. With one third of America overweight and another third obese, it's a wonder
anyone is still swallowing what the soda companies are selling.
"I've had my share of soda, and I don't imagine a world without it," said Mr. Bogusky, named executive creative director for "The Real Bears," in a statement. "But sugary drinks have gone from an occasional treat to an every-occasion beverage. This project attempts to contrast the marketing hype around soda with the stark reality, and it is my hope that it makes a small contribution to a critical cultural awakening. We need to connect the dots between what we are sold, what we consume and how sick we have become."
For the complete article on how Bogusky went out to "burst "Big Soda's bubble" go to: http://adage.com/article/news/cspi-asked-alex-bogusky-work-anti-soda-video/237684/
| Finally! Now you can buy fresh, healthy produce all week long! Rondout Market 85 Murray Street & Cedar Street Deli 109 Cedar Street EBT & WIC Accepted Both Open 7:00AM - Midnight 
Brought to you by Creating Healthy Places, a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County through a grant from NYS Agriculture and Markets 
| 
Cedar Street Deli Cedar Street, Kingston Thursday, September 27 4-6pm CELEBRATIONS! Join us for Fun Activies, a Food Demonstration and a Chance to Win a Food Processor Rondout Market Murray Street, Kingston Friday, September 28 4-6pm 
Buy Local Support Our Local Farmers! |
Join us..we're on Broadway right next to UPAC.
Marge Gagnon, RN, MS, is a Clinical Nurse Specialist and the Executive Director of the Rose Women’s Care Services http://www.therosewomenscareservice.org/. As a health care professional and someone who has been diagnosed with diabetes, Marge has a unique perspective. Marge shares how she dealt with the disease: “Yes, I’m a health educator, but my own personal journey was the most important thing that happened to me when I found out I was a diabetic. It put me on a new life’s journey and made me realize in a very personal way how important it was for people take to charge of their disease, rather than to have the disease take control of them. Since then I have become much healthier.
“I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but yes, I am healthier today than before I developed diabetes. By changing lifestyle choices I have become healthier, and I believe that most people can do that. How? I totally changed my eating pattern. This put me on a path of discovering what works for me as an individual. As a practitioner, it put me on a mission of helping people to avoid diabetes. If you are at risk with pre-diabetes, it is possible to circumvent or delay getting diabetes. It’s one of the reasons I’m involved with NAPSACC (Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care) www.creatinghealthyplacesulster.org/index.html and the Healthy Afterschool Snack Committee www.healthykingston.org."
“There’s a strong link between cardiac disease and diabetes. For that reason, I am involved in outreach for the American Heart Association’s Simple Seven Program http://mylifecheck.heart.org. There’s also the Diabetes Conversation Maps: http://www.healthyinteractions.com, as well as The Nurse Is In program where I lead monthly table discussion in RUPCO’s senior housing.”
The Diabetes Education Center is located at 37 Albany Avenue, Kingston, NY.
Call (845) 334-4249 for an appointment or go to http://www.hahv.org/ www.hahv.org for detailed list of services.
“I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but yes, I am healthier today than before I developed diabetes. By changing lifestyle choices I have become healthier, and I believe that most people can do that. How? I totally changed my eating pattern. This put me on a path of discovering what works for me as an individual. As a practitioner, it put me on a mission of helping people to avoid diabetes. If you are at risk with pre-diabetes, it is possible to circumvent or delay getting diabetes. It’s one of the reasons I’m involved with NAPSACC (Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care) www.creatinghealthyplacesulster.org/index.html and the Healthy Afterschool Snack Committee www.healthykingston.org."
“There’s a strong link between cardiac disease and diabetes. For that reason, I am involved in outreach for the American Heart Association’s Simple Seven Program http://mylifecheck.heart.org. There’s also the Diabetes Conversation Maps: http://www.healthyinteractions.com, as well as The Nurse Is In program where I lead monthly table discussion in RUPCO’s senior housing.”
The Diabetes Education Center is located at 37 Albany Avenue, Kingston, NY.
Call (845) 334-4249 for an appointment or go to http://www.hahv.org/ www.hahv.org for detailed list of services.
Alma Rodriguez, an Educator of The Creating Healthy Places Project of Cornell Cooperative of Ulster County and community activist, has a passion for community gardens, fresh produce, healthful foods, and active living.
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