J840 Communicating Social and Environmental Initiatives

I have a new hero. Granted, I’ve added him to my list of 18.5 other heroes, but he has inspired me nonetheless. Reader, meet Daniel Dermitzel.

Daniel Dermitzel – associate director of Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture

After a stint in broadcast journalism and a bit of world traveling, Dermitzel decided he was tired of reporting on how the world was changing. He decided to start doing his part to change the world. Dermitzel became a part of the David that is battling the Goliath that is giant multinational food corporations.

He started at Trailside Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Calhoun, Mo. Dermitzel had no previous experience in farming, but he stuck with it and taught himself. Years later, he co-founded Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture (KCCUA), where he is now the associate director.

Demitzel and his organization grow things. They grow a lot of things– especially considering it is all done on a 2-acre farm. They have grown about 40 different vegetables and numerous herbs. The KCCUA sells most of their produce through a community-supported agriculture program (CSA). CSA members pay a fee and in return they receive weekly bundles of vegetables and herbs for 21 weeks. The KCCUA also sells their produce at local farmers’ markets. But the KCCUA doesn’t just grow- they teach the gospel of sustainability, they spread the word of urban agriculture! KCCUA has multiple programs that reach out to the community and promote community farming and sustainability.

I got a chance to participate in the inner-workings of KCCUA. It was a particularly cold day and the farmers were getting ready for an evening freeze. I, a mere visitor on a field trip, was enlisted to help. I got dirty, I got sweaty, and I nearly ruined my kicks. But it was a grand old time. I got was able to bond with the soil and some of the people who grow the food. I saw, smelt and felt how absolutely natural of an environment that this food was growing in. I now have a new appreciation for organic food and the work that these farmers put into feeding their community.

Now, I realize that if I buy a Dole organic banana, I can go online and see the farm from whence it came. Whoopdeedoo. That doesn’t compare to actually seeing, smelling, and laboring on the land where your food was created.

So I have a proposal for you, reader.

Visit a local farm. You can log on to SustainableTable.org and find the farms nearest you. It’ll be a dandy experience and you’ll be surprised how much it’ll make you want to bite into nothing buy fresh, organic creations of the earth for the rest of your life

And if you aren’t or aren’t able to go to a farmers market. If you don’t care to see where your veggies come from, you should at least meet the people who grew your food.

-Travis Brown