Hello Alamo!
Today, the ADHD is ADHDing, for sure. All the ideas are swarming into each other, mostly because they actually do feed into each other (which isn’t always the case, so).
I did mention last week how important things in town are for community building. Part of that is that any gathering where you can socialize with your community is an opportunity to establish relationships with the people around you. Today, I want to take a step back and look at the wider picture, focusing on the summer farmer’s market.
As I wrote about last week, the Alamogordo Farmer’s Market will be accepting Sun Bucks, the $120 per school-age child to help feed them over the summer.
(Please check the FB page for info about free summer meals at select locations from June-July as well)
I think most people who will take advantage of these summer services will already have a very obvious reason for doing so, but let me give you some more.
We are living in very uncertain times. Tariffs are on one day, off the next. We’re on the brink of war because of some old man’s loud mouth minute-to-minute. All these things matter of course, but they draw our attention away from the things we, as laypeople, actually have control over. We have each other, and we can choose to help each other or not. I’m hoping on the former.
Personally, I believe overall that fed is best. Assigning morality based on food choices is deeply problematic as it feeds into racism, classism, and fatphobia. You need food to survive and any food will ultimately do the trick. However, it’s naive not to acknowledge that plenty of our food supply in the US is full of fillers that do very little to nourish our bodies.
That’s why, while not my favorite argument, getting fresh meat and produce straight from the source is a nice reassurance. On top of that, it is buying local. Helping the local economy by lining the pockets of people who will actually spend that money in the community instead of hoarding it is good practice.
Even more important though is that we don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. It seems pretty likely it won’t be good. Groceries on top of the rest of the cost of living is already leading to people having to make difficult sacrifices on a bigger scale than usual. Building these relationships with people who can help you meet your basic needs, like farmers who know how to grow in this climate, will only benefit you. And you can offer whatever services to similarly help out them and their families.
Seeing relationships as reciprocal and based on needs can seem a bit weird and selfish, but it is reality. Even small everyday interactions have to be mutuallty beneficial in some or else humans just won’t partake. We have to enjoy our lives. That’s not selfish.
Until next week,
Salud.
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