Transcript Victory Gardens by Loretta Craig of Prairie

VICTORY GARDENS:
YESTERDAY AND TODAY
LORETTA CRAIG
VICTORY GARDENS:
YESTERDAY AND TODAY
OUR STORY
HISTORY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF
VICTORY GARDENS
TODAY’S FOOD CULTURE
CREATING COMMUNITY
FINANCIAL CRISIS: FALL 2008
SOW THE SEEDS OF VICTORY
VICTORY GARDENS MOBILIZATION
WAR IN EUROPE
LABOR & TRANSPORTATION
GROWING COMMUNITY
THREE PROGRAMS
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National War Garden Commission
U.S School Garden Army
Woman’s Land Army of America
NATIONAL WAR GARDEN COMMISSION
OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN TO HELP
“A garden for every child, every child in a garden."
--Motto of the United States School Garden Army
WOMEN’S LAND ARMY
Soldiers of the Soil
 Farmerettes of WLAA
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“Girl with the Hoe
behind the man with
the Gun”
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Scything for Uncle Sam
CHANGING ROLES FOR WOMEN
HEROINE OF HOME FRONT
WOMEN FARMERS MAKE GOOD!!
FOOD WILL WIN THE WAR
WORLD WAR II
WHITE HOUSE VICTORY GARDEN 1943
Eleanor Roosevelt was instrumental in organizing the
Office of Civilian Defense (OCD)
VICTORY GARDEN LEADER’S HANDBOOK
GARDENING PROPAGANDA WAS UBIQUITOUS
Gardens were an expression
of solidarity, patriotism, and
shared sacrifice.
EVERYONE CAN BE A PATRIOTIC GARDENER
Community
Food Security
Mental and Physical Health
FOREST HILLS, QUEENS (NYC), 1944
SAN FRANCISCO CITY HALL, 1943
SAN FRANCISCO CITY HALL, 2008
FENWAY PARK VICTORY GARDENS
The nation’s only remaining, continuously operating WWII Victory Gardens
FENWAY VICTORY GARDENS
20 million
Nearly 50% of Vegetables
Healthiest Time
WE DID IT!
BETTER LIVING THOUGH CHEMISTRY
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Advertising TV
Women’s Rights
Fast Food
Landscaped Yards
Chemical Fertilizers
Buy! Buy! Buy!
Processed Foods
Super Markets
Economic Growth
VICTORY THEN, MOBILIZE NOW!
Victory over:
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Unhealthy food system
Struggling economy
Declining Physical Health
Struggling Mental Health
Disconnected Community
Hunger
WHAT ABOUT TODAY?
TODAYS REAL CHALLENGES
Financial insecurity
Communities are insecure
Food security
Peak oil
Climate change
Obesity
Healthcare costs
FOOD STAMP NATION
On Food Stamps
1969: 2.8 million
2009: 31.9 million
Today: 47.1 million
More Americans are on food stamps than the population of 24 states.
HEALTH FACTS
“overfed and undernourished” -- USDA
 Epidemics of obesity and diabetes
 GMO’s >90%
 Monocrops > 70 to 80% food in supermarkets
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CULTIVATING FOOD SECURITY!
CULTIVATING FOOD SECURITY
ACCORDING TO THE CDC
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More than one-third of adults are obese
Almost 17% of youth are obese
MARKETING!
ADDICTION is REAL
“that we cannot be free if our food and its
sources are controlled by someone else”.
Pleasures of Eating
Wendell Berry
PARADIGM SHIFT
MOBILIZE: VICTORY GARDENS
Empowerment Context
Grow, Grow, Grow
Nourish!
Community
"In the long view, no nation is
healthier than its children, or
more prosperous than its
farmers.”
--President Harry Truman
WE CAN DO IT!
JUST GROW!
GRAND FINALE
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WE CAN….
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Your stories of growing, your stories of community?
What do you envision for the future of Victory Gardens
and growing Community?
THE END