Farming community and fighting hunger

Salt shakers
June 2006

Farming community and fighting hunger
You don’t have to look any further than one of the richest counties in the United States to find a microcosm of the global hunger problem. A startling 200,000 people in Westchester County don’t have enough to eat, and a newly-formed group seeks to address the issue of hunger locally, as well as on an international scale.

Maryknoll’s Pachamama Farm, located on Maryknoll property in Ossining, N.Y., was conceived by local Maryknoll Affiliate Mary Murphy. (Maryknoll is a U.S.-based Catholic missionary movement.) Last year the farm distributed 19,000 pounds of fresh vegetables to the needy through local food distribution centers, including the Ossining Food Pantry, The Lord’s Pantry in White Plains, The Katonah Community Center, and two centers in the Bronx. More collaborative efforts are planned to help feed those in need.

Volunteer farm workers, local Maryknoll Affiliates and administrators of the food pantries met in early April at Maryknoll’s Visitors Center Exhibit to take a wider view of the challenges of ending world hunger. At the meeting the group viewed and discussed the Maryknoll Productions documentary, The Global Banquet, which explains how free trade poses problems for small farmers around the world.

Participants learned that, although some small farms produce more food per acre than the large “agri-business” operations, the large farms receive government subsidies, while the small ones do not. The group aims to promote a better understanding of the hunger problem at the local level by educating the public on the larger issues of global hunger, according to Murphy.

“We have so much money in Westchester County. The question is why do we have this problem here? That spells out an issue for us stronger than just feeding the people. It is not just a question of poverty,” says Murphy.

“Unless you focus people on causes of worldwide hunger you’re not going to get people to think about the causes behind the problem nationally, regionally or locally.”

The Maryknoll Pachamama Farm, which derives its name from the Quechua language of Peru, means ‘earth mother.” The farm produces a variety of fresh organic vegetables for people in need under the hands-on direction of Maryknoll Father John Hudert, M.M. Technical assistance is provided by John Ameroso of the Cornell Educational Extension Program.

Hudert, who developed the farm, outlined its operation to the gathering, and said many more volunteers are needed to fertilize the ground, collect stones, plant the seed, weed, gather the harvest, and deliver the produce to local food pantries. Several people from distribution centers expressed gratitude for the work of Pachamama Farm. Tom McArdle, of the Ossining Food Pantry, noted that announcements at St. Ann's Church in Ossining have helped to target needy in the Hispanic population.

Joan McGovern, of the Lord's Pantry in White Plains, emphasized that the people she serves, AIDS patients and their families, are very much in need of fresh vegetables. Christina Robitinski, of The Food Patch in Millwood, explained that they distribute to several centers (five million pounds of food a year) and need more fresh vegetables from the farm to balance their supply of canned and dried food.

Volunteer workers on the farm spoke of the satisfaction they experience from sharing in the natural growth process, and in knowing their labor is going to help others in the community. Volunteers may sign-up to help out for as little as one hour a week. Those interested in volunteering on the farm or attending the next meeting can call Mary J. Murphy at 914-762-2642.

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