Every dollar we spend on groceries supports a food system. But where does that money actually go, and how much reaches the farmers producing our food? What if our everyday purchases could help small farms grow, strengthen our communities and build a more resilient food economy? It's time to think about whose economy we're supporting and the kind of food system we want to see survive.
For years, expensive hydroponic growing systems have been promoted as a solution to food insecurity, including right here in Niagara. But when food banks are being encouraged to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in artificial growing environments, shouldn’t we be asking some bigger questions? What are we really growing our food in, what does it cost, and who actually benefits? Maybe it’s time we invested in farmers and food infrastructure instead of trying to replace nature.
We’re constantly being told we’re running out of farmland. But what if the real problem isn’t how much land we have left, but what we’re doing with it? Niagara has the land, knowledge and potential to grow more food. So why aren’t we creating more farmers and building a food economy that actually feeds our communities?
We’ve been taught to believe there isn’t enough. Not enough food, not enough land, not enough resources. But what if the real problem isn’t what we’re running out of, but how we’ve organized the food system and who we’ve become dependent on to feed us?
