I had a great idea the other day. Well, really its an old idea of mine, but I recently revisited the thought and have even added to the concept. Its now ready to be unleashed on the world. The concept at least.
At this point the solution is a combination of small things that, in total, should make some significant changes in our society. If we apply a combination of simple solutions to larger problems usually we end up in a better situation. Things will never be perfect but they can always be better.
I believe one of the most effective changes we could implement comes in the form of training at soup kitchens. For minimal cost a foraging specialist could be hired to tour through soup kitchens in cities with homeless populations. These touring specialists would teach the homeless about edible and medicinal plants. It's an old idea with a new twist really. Give a man a fish you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time. Is that a quote? Whoever said it was a genious.
This isn't an excuse for the government to relax its aid policies or soup kitchens but rather a cheap and effective way to augment a system in jeopardy. The mentality that all large-scale problems can only be fixed with monetary packages is archaic. As the world changes we are going to find that hard work and community cooperation will be the solution to most of our problems. And don't worry, I'm talking about cooperation and problem solving as a group, not communism.
That's step one. Step two takes a little more involvement from municipalities and the community but the cost to the government and the taxpayer would remain the same. You know all those flower boxes and ornamental beds that line main street in every city? Well, a lot of time and resources go into maintaining those beds. What if the contents were edible? Certain flowering plants are edible such as wild onion. It has a beautiful purple and white head when in bloom.
The boxes and beds don't have to be exclusively edible. They could be planted 50 50 with ornamental plants and edible ones. The major problem with this is making sure the growing food goes to those in need. It would be impossible to regulate so that is where the community buy in comes into place. This is the weakest step of the three (one more to come)I would like to see implemented to close the gap in the homeless/hungry problem. This step isn't perfect but it has serious potential.
Step three is potentially the most auspicious and effective of the three steps. The government has to support families in need as well as the homeless. While the homeless have missions and soup kitchens to go to in times of need families on the poverty line resort to things like government aid, food stamps, charities and food banks. Would it be that expensive to distribute seed packages to families who resort to food stamps and banks?
This isn't an excuse for the government to relax its aid policies or soup kitchens but rather a cheap and effective way to augment a system in jeopardy. The mentality that all large-scale problems can only be fixed with monetary packages is archaic. As the world changes we are going to find that hard work and community cooperation will be the solution to most of our problems. And don't worry, I'm talking about cooperation and problem solving as a group, not communism.
That's step one. Step two takes a little more involvement from municipalities and the community but the cost to the government and the taxpayer would remain the same. You know all those flower boxes and ornamental beds that line main street in every city? Well, a lot of time and resources go into maintaining those beds. What if the contents were edible? Certain flowering plants are edible such as wild onion. It has a beautiful purple and white head when in bloom.
The boxes and beds don't have to be exclusively edible. They could be planted 50 50 with ornamental plants and edible ones. The major problem with this is making sure the growing food goes to those in need. It would be impossible to regulate so that is where the community buy in comes into place. This is the weakest step of the three (one more to come)I would like to see implemented to close the gap in the homeless/hungry problem. This step isn't perfect but it has serious potential.
Step three is potentially the most auspicious and effective of the three steps. The government has to support families in need as well as the homeless. While the homeless have missions and soup kitchens to go to in times of need families on the poverty line resort to things like government aid, food stamps, charities and food banks. Would it be that expensive to distribute seed packages to families who resort to food stamps and banks?
Planting and growing food independently tends to give people a sense of pride and in the long run could adsorb much of the current dollars used to feed the hungry. These three ideas used in tandem doesn't make for a perfect solution but it would, in all probability, make things much better.
Just a thought.
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