By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

During my time as a schoolteacher, I have seen and heard some horrid things.

Some things I stepped up and did something about it while others, I am ashamed to say, I did not.

I had hoped and prayed that someone else would step up and do the right thing but in this situation it never happened.

I live with my decision everyday and wonder if I could have really changed the course that this student was traveling but since I cannot turn back the hands of time I will never know. But…

This but always seems to pop up when I am faced with a dilemma so this year I have decided to face the dread but and do something about it. I have decided not to wait, hope and pray for change but instead make the change myself and this change is going to start in my community.

My community has suffered from economic downfall like many other communities far and wide. While this community has never really been rich, the past few years have really take a toll on the residents. More and more kids are on the free or reduced lunch program while others are flooding the already full backpack program. This program packs food in backpacks for kids to take on Friday and return on Monday. In many situations, this is all Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

As a child, growing up in rural Indiana, I was very aware of where my food came from.

My family always had a garden and what we did not grow we U-Picked.

By the end of the growing season, our freezer was full of beans, peaches, apples, blackberries, and peppers while the pantry was full of home-canned tomatoes, corn, and strawberry jam.

When I went to elementary school the story was the same. The cooks showed up when we did for school and cooked our meals from scratch. Homemade chicken and dumplings, angel biscuits, fresh green beans and applesauce cake for dessert was the norm not the exception when it came to our lunches.

Those who brought their lunch were not excluded from the fresh food. There was always free fruit in season available to everyone. While for some this may seem like a dream, I promise you it was not. It was just a rural community that supported the school with excess produce that turned into fresh meals.

These wonderful meals continued until I Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

The other day I was surfing on the Internet and found a wonderful program.

This program was called The Great Sunflower Project.

As I read the project, I thought how simple it was but, on the other hand, how important it was to mankind.

The site stated that every third bite of food was essentially created by a pollinator.

I thought how true and what can we do to protect our nation’s greatest food source. As I continued to read the site, the answer came to me in the blink of an eye and that was getting the public involved.

This is such an important step when it comes to Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

It is amazing how much can get done when one has a vision.

One vision I have had for years is for every community to have gardens.

No, I am not talking about those showy, non-native flowering gardens that every community has down their main street but instead gardens that tell the story of their individual roots.

These individual roots grow out from the concepts and ideas that each community has been built upon.

My community has seen Jonathan Jennings, Lewis and Clark and many other famous people that came before me and established the framework that we all can add to but choose not to.

We all wait until that right person steps up and does it. If it works, it was a great idea but if it does not then no one claims it. But being a person who takes pride in “thinking outside the box” and having no problem “sticking my neck out,” I decided to start a community garden. Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

Earlier this year I wrote about how Joe Lamp’l, author and star of Tv gardening shows, started up a project where he vowed to create an organic victory garden for $25 or less.

As the main gardening season draws to a close, I thought I would give an update on how the project has gone.

He made greenhouses using empty plastic bakery cake boxes. Inspired by his example, I noticed that the 2 pound strawberry boxes I was buying at the grocery store would be perfect to use as urban garden-sized greenhouses.

Four or five wait patiently in my pantry now. I’ll be planting some pea seeds in there soon as I prepare to plant up my Earthbox.

Many people Read the rest of this entry »