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Wishing You Happiness... and Good Food, Of Course... on the Holiday
The 1942 movie Holiday Inn, featuring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, is best known for introducing Irving Berlin's classic "White Christmas." Another song from the holidays-themed movie, "I've Got Plenty to Be Thankful For," was not that big a hit, but I think of these lyrics ever year at this time:
I've got plenty to be thankful for.
I haven't got,
A great big yacht,
To sail from shore to shore.
But I've got plenty to be thankful for.
No life is without challenges, and I have mine. But I will be forever grateful that I found my way into the community of people seeking a better food system after Barb and I moved to Chicago in 2011. Local Food Forum, which I launched 3-1/2 years ago, is my way of showing gratitude to the everyday heroes who work so hard to move this nation towards a more local, more sustainable, more humane and fairer food system.
So this is a short note of Thanksgiving to:
Barb, whose support means everything.
The readers who make me want to keep working so hard to make Local Food Forum sustainable.
The farmers who constantly break new ground on how to produce food that is better for people and the planet.
The food entrepreneurs selling healthier and more sustainable packaged goods.
The farmers markets, co-ops and retailers who sell the food produced by those farmers.
Farm-to-table chefs, and all chefs who participated in the nation's most philanthropic culinary community.
Food nonprofits that help advance our causes in myriad ways.
Food educators who provide our youngest eaters — and their parents — with the information they need to make healthier food choices.
And everyone pursuing a fairer, more just and more equitable system to address food insecurity, as it shocks the conscience that so many people face hunger in a nation as wealthy as ours.
I'm going to give Local Food Forum a couple of days off to take a breather and collect my thoughts. Here is hoping you and yours have a happy Thanksgiving and enjoy lots of good food, of course. Be safe if you are traveling.
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