Food for Thought: Aug-Sept 2017

"Don’t ask kids what they want to be when they grow up but what problems do they want to solve. This changes the conversation from ‘Who do I want to work for?’ to ‘What do I need to learn to be able to do that?’"

Sometimes the smallest of moments can have surprisingly lasting impacts — a total game changer in the way we see the world and our place in it. Last year I came across this quote from Jaime Casap, global education evangelist at Google, and — BAM! — the words wove themselves into my psyche and the subject has become part of an ongoing conversation in our home.

Having grown up in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen, raised by a single mother, Jaime saw education as his best option, and as a result formed a philosophy that applies not just to children, but to us all. All too often, once we reach our desired career we settle into our lives, running the risk of becoming complacent.

As the message relates to the local food world, we don’t have to look far to see examples of people living this philosophy on a daily basis. In the last issue of Edible Louisville and the Bluegrass we showcased 14 Local Heroes, people and organizations inventing, organizing, striving to solve problems and build a stronger local economy (see our June/July issue).

In this issue, through Good in the Agrihood, we meet local heroes who are bravely building community and the economy and solving food-access issues through new partnerships and urban agrihood efforts in the Iroquois neighborhood. An evolving term and movement, “agrihood” involves transforming unused commercial or industrial space into a working farm that’s connected tothe residents, local community outside the neighborhood and sometimes the larger region.

What problem do you want to solve? The question pushes us to reach deeper, to pay attention, to observe the world and work toward innovative solutions. Allow yourself to be swept up by a new idea, or to finally put into action one you’ve held for awhile. Be curious, be brave and allow yourself to care deeply and passionately about things that matter to you.

Ann Curtis, Managing Editor