HW #11 Final Food Project

I have chosen activism, I have unfortunately not accomplished anything physically in the past few days but my gears have been turning! I am already active in changing the industrial nightmarish atrocities by eating right and not purchasing anything mass-produced. I TRY! Step 2: Get the word out talking to everyone and anybody who is willing to listen to me and willing to join the movement because it is important to find others like you. Step 3: I have been working on the Added value farm in Red Hook New York City. Now to take this idea further. I live in an impoverished part of New York City, Washington Heights and most of the people from here are use to local produce because back where they came from, la Isla’s (THIS IS A DOMINICAN NEIGHBORHOOD, for the most part) most people don't go to a supermarket they grow there food buy it from the local farmer. When they come here they switch to mostly the cheapest mass-production available. My goal is to try and seese out all the locations that are abandoned and start building small urban farms. If it works here maybe it can spread, I love what added value is doing but it needs to go further than that, it needs to happen everywhere. I need to speak with the owners of added value but more importantly to the community centers in my neighborhood. I know plenty of organizations that would be willing to help and get this movement started. I also think many people around me would not like the farms for the simple fact of it bringing great value to their community but the guard it will put up against gentrification if their are no lots to take, no buildings can happen unless their abandoned (that’s another story). The question is will BLOOMBERG grant us these lots? I am not sure how all this works but that is why I need to get my thoughts transformed into action, but it is very hard for me to do so when I have so much going on around me. I WILL ACCOMPLISH MY IDEAS, I WILL. I was also riding the 5 train on Halloween morning coming from north-bubble-fuck and it was my favorite kind of ride, above ground and I saw this one huge lot completely green (ignoring pollution) and in a hill form I envisioned it as the farms the Aztecs would build with that looked like steps, gorgeous. Then 5 seconds later on the other side I saw THIS HUGE juvenile correctional facility all barbed wired up. I thought to think what are these poor kids doing in there, are they doing anything to get there minds working, and I thought WHAT IF WE COULD HAVE TROUBLED MINDS AS SUCH WORKING ON AN URBAN FARM? When will our society understand it must not simply be detention but attention? Step 4: I am part of the green roof committee at our school and am working with fellow colleges’ to get it running, with the help of parents and students. My main concern is once this happens because I know it will (the seniors will have a beautiful garden for the barbeque) is to get it really connected with the NYC cafeteria food, because I KNOW when we try and do this the official food provided by the government is not going to like it! I think it may be a great example to not simply expose their horrors but show that they could be using great ingredients.