Visiting one of my best friends at her farm was inspiring—and gave me a lot to think about.
Last weekend, I had the joy of visiting one of my best friends at her farm. (You can read our Tastes Good interview here!) She raises goats, pigs, sheep, and chickens, grows herbs, vegetables, flowers, and Christmas trees, and is raising two amazing daughters. I loved the energy of waking up in the morning, getting the kids off to school, then walking the property to do farm chores, collecting eggs, moving animals around, stocking up the farm store located in their beautiful barn, and saying hello to the preschoolers who attend the school located on the farm. Needless to say, there is a lot going on!
In the evening, as we processed garlic, we talked about what kind of environment humans thrive in. Not just the hacks to optimize our health that are so popular now, but the larger cultural, social, and built environment. Sitting next to a cozy wood stove, we snipped the garlic from stalks, and carefully removed a few layers of the outer skin, to prepare them for storage over the winter.
Lydia and her husband Derek both have “off-farm” jobs that make farming financially possible. This is the case for the vast majority of the small-scale farmers in this country. Small family farms account for 86% of total farms in this country, and nearly 96% of farm households have off-farm income. This means that along with the hard work of growing our food, farmers are also working other jobs to make ends meet.
I recently watched the documentary The Biggest Little Farm, a beautiful look at creating a permaculture and biodynamic farm that attempts to create an ecological balance. After I watched the film, I did a little digging into the story, and what became clear was that the couple in the film likely had a large inheritance, which supported the farm operations. This doesn’t make what they are doing wrong—in fact, it is a beautiful way of using their money—but it does remind us that we need to be transparent about how these kinds of farms really work. It takes a lot of money and labor to be sustainable.
Meanwhile, the current government has stopped SNAP food benefits. This program will run out of money November 1, and states are now scrambling to figure out how to feed millions of people—including approximately 16 million children. According to the USDA, SNAP helps support more than 388,000 jobs, generates $20 billion in wages, and $4.5 billion in tax revenue. From the grocery stores, to the truck drivers, all the way to the farmers, SNAP is actually a benefit to our economy. For every dollar the government spends on SNAP benefits, $1.50 is generated in economic activity.
The food system is vastly complex—way beyond the scope of this short overview. But visiting Lydia’s farm was a good reminder that good food requires labor, resources, and love. If we want to live in a world where our food is grown with intention, our animals are treated well, and our agricultural practices regenerates the soil and contributes to the health of ourselves and our planet, we must continue to support the people who make this possible.
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