Ch-ch-ch-changing Directions

Winter has finally arrived, dumping a foot of snow onto Forsyth and dropping us into sub-zero temperatures. Springtime gardening could not look more distant.

So, what does a FoodCorps member do during this time when nothing grows?

That is an interesting question. Like the bears, all residents of eastern Montana are hibernating. This is a time of year to stay inside by a warm fireplace (or bar, as is the majority preference in Forsyth). There could hardly be less interest in gardening or cooking, and no one’s willing to even discuss agricultural policy with me. Enthusiasm is waning for the Hysham grocery store, and the school garden evokes little excitement at Rosebud. I’ve nearly maxed out both communities’ ability to cope with me and my never-ending enthusiasm for getting something done. Residents have made it clear that they are not ready to adopt the models of local food I’m offering.

Although I’m continuing this battle for my projects in both communities, I can no longer delude myself that this is a full-time job. I’m lucky to get in five hours of work a week, while I flirt with harassment charges from the faculty at Rosebud School and act mainly as cheerleading captain for Hysham’s eternally-sleepy Grocery Advisory Board.

After much brainstorming with my supervisors, it appears to be time for me to branch out on my own. This leaves me in the interesting position of having to come up with a project relating to food which gives back to the community while keeping me busy and enthusiastic for the next six months. What I most crave is hands-on, in the mud, never-go-near-a-computer work (or to be an artisan cheese-maker), but I realize that these are not likely options.

Existing projects relating to food within a hundred-mile radius are few. Forsyth Schools are adamantly opposed to any suggestions I might have. The Forsyth Food Bank is only open one day a week, and already has well-organized food drives, so it can’t offer me more than two or three hours of work. I’ve been promised leadership of the community garden, which consists entirely of secretarial work and advertising. Neither of the two people with functional greenhouses in the area has shown any interest in my help. Miles City has a new Bountiful Baskets site (a fresh produce co-op) which takes place once every two weeks, but again can only offer a couple hours of work. I’ve contacted the Billings Food Bank for volunteer opportunities, but the distance will make it difficult to devote myself to it.

As far as scholarly endeavors go, I’m somewhat interested in researching whether growing subsidized crops has increased food insecurity in Montana since the 1950s, and putting my results into a document that FoodCorps might be able to use in the future.

Some people have suggested making a cookbook with recipes that use local ingredients. This sounds like a fantastically fun project, but I’m not sure that it is an effective way to get locals to more carefully consider what they’re eating.

Ideas? I need something I can work on for the next six months, which I can do mostly independently and will have to potential to influence local attitudes about food.