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I can sympathize, but I do like growing what I can of my own food and I can't. I'm a live-in childcare provider in a house that the family rents. Gardening is way outside my authority. There are countless reasons why a person doesn't have that option. Urban areas, rentals, disability, etc. And that's all it takes to have to spend an arm and a leg to eat natural foods.

Although I do think almost everyone would be able to and should have a window pot for herbs, the quantity that allows is seasoning not substantial. It doesn't do much to alleviate food costs.

You've gotta search for the sales in multiple stores these days just to get decent prices on anything. rolleyes

I agree, in some places health food is a luxury item. Yes, some people can grow their own food, but this has many limitations as Ellavemia and NomNomNominal pointed out. Another thing that people often forget is location. Northern communities have an exceptionally hard time getting healthy food and, unless subsidized, farming or small scale gardening is not even an option. Really what we need in the North is gardening and community farms to be financially encouraged by the government where possible.

An example of this would be Wabowden, Manitoba (Canada). If you get the chance to see the documentary, "...And This Is My Garden" you will see a fantastic success story. Due to isolation and lack of subsidies or any financial incentives, many communities in the north rarely eat fresh fruit and vegetables. In places like Wabowden, they have become dependant on processed and prepackaged food which typically is unhealthy. This has been linked to health problems such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, plaguing many isolated northern communities. If people in Wabowden want vegetables they had to be there right when the truck arrived from the south and they had to be willing to pay higher prices (not always an easy thing to budget if they have very little money). Now, thanks to the efforts of a school teacher, children are gardening as part of a science and health curriculum. They set up a greenhouse and garden at the school and small garden boxes at the children's homes. They then teach the children, and by proxy the parents, how to grow their own food. This has been largely successful but very few communities have someone who can dedicate themselves to get projects such as these off the ground. As well, the amount of food planted does not feed a family over the year.

And before you say "Why live there if this is such a problem?", these people have been living there for generations. Back in the day they used to be able to live off the land and were nomadic so they could move to where food was plentiful. Governments were the ones who told them they could no longer do that and had to stay put. Then they ship cheap processed, largely unhealthy, food up to them and have the gall to wonder why the people are so unhealthy? There also were farmlands originally in Wabowden, but without a strong economy the community was unable to support them when the government pulled the funding.

I love farmers markets! In three more days our local one opens up (YAY! blaugh ) But in lieu of a farmers markets many times if you contact local farmers they will sell to you direct. There are quite a few who do not have the time to set up at farmers markets. I get my meat from a fantastic little farm, if you order some meat they'll meet you in the city on one of their designated delivery days. You get to save some money as well as support the producer by cutting out that greedy middleman.

i know most people dont know they exist

then lets do that...^^

oh tell me about it.....Ugh

im bout to take pictures of there crappy produce