Dear President Obama,

It takes my breath away to know that you’ll be leading our great country over the next four years. I’m so proud of you and I know that your leadership and wisdom will lead us through the multitude of crises we face as a nation.

I also know that you’re totally swamped and have an endless list of priorities you need to address. But I’d like you to add one more that I think is critically important: access to healthy food for everyone in this country regardless of their socio-economic status.

I know, I’m sure you thinking that ending the war, stopping the financial spiral and making sure Americans have jobs takes precedent. That, I totally understand.  But here’s the thing.  What we put into our bodies says everything about how healthy and productive we are in life.  Kids who go to school amped up on sugary cereal or with no breakfast at all are less likely to pay attention in class and do well. And that carries into almost all parts of our life whether young, in the workforce or elderly. We truly are what we eat and it does impact our ability to succeed and flourish.

As a health coach and counselor, passionate about making healthy food available to all and teaching people what to eat for maximum nutrition, I can’t help but implore you to give serious thought to how we can make healthy food more accessible, especially in urban and rural communities. As I know you know, urban neighborhoods often have a dearth of grocery stores that carry fresh produce and the types of foods we all need to be at our best. Combine that with the fact that many people can’t afford the healthiest of foods, and it helps explain at least part of our health crisis.

So here are a few suggestions that I offer for your consideration:

• Fund the development of community gardens where citizens can tend and grow their own healthy food at a fraction of the cost
• Support the development of farmers’ markets where people can buy locally grown produce. This works especially well at my local farmers’ market in New Haven, City Seed, where food stamps and WIC coupons are accepted, meaning anyone, regardless of socio-economic status can benefit.
• Overhaul the meat and dairy industries. The reality is that meat and dairy products really aren’t that good for us. In fact, they congest our systems, can high levels of fat and often are of poor quality (full of growth hormones). Instead of subsidizing poor quality food, why not give subsidies to farmers who grow healthy fruits and vegetables?

President Obama, I know this may be a tall order given everything else on your plate, but the health of our citizens, young and old, has everything to do with how successful we are as a nation.  Please make some time in your busy schedule to think about food policy and how we can address these issues more effectively.

With warm regards,

Wendy

Filed under: Community Supported Agriculture, Food policy, Healthy lifestyle, Locally Grown Food