Food.

It seems now a days that the topic of making sure people are fed is a touchy one. It shouldn't be. I understand the current state of the U.S. Government. What I will never understand is why our current administration is fighting so hard to make sure that it's own people starve and no longer have access to affordable healthcare. Literally, the reason we are in day 30 of a government shutdown. Let me make it clear... the Democratic part is fighting to save the Affordable Care Act, which ensures that healthcare is accessible and affordable to all. The President wants to abolish it, meaning healthcare is no longer accessible to a solid portion of our country's population. In an attempt to "break" the Democrats, he has suspended funding to the SNAP program, a program that ensures people have access to food. In the simplest of terms, our Government is willing to starve the children and the elderly in order to get the Democratic party to agree to let the Republican party take away affordable healthcare. It's sickening to me.

This is the exact reason that I advocate so hard to garden and to grow your own food. This is why I teach people how to preserve the food they grow. Once the government started controlling our food sources, it gave them the power to also take it away at their leisure. It doesn't have to be this way. Grow your own food. Barter and trade with your neighbors. It's time we started taking care of ourselves and our community. 

I've decided that over the course of the next few weeks (maybe forever, who knows), once a week I am going to post a "how to" blog on something gardening or food preservation related. Growing. Cooking. Canning. Dehydrating. Useful things that I genuinely feel everyone needs to know. Maybe I'll even throw in some sewing too. I know it sounds a little "out there" to some, but this really was the only way of life at one point. No one can take away what you know. Remember that. Life is not meant for worrying about whether or not you get to eat or get medical help when you need it.  

I'll start this week. Please hold me to it. I don't know when, but I will. Come November 1st, 2025, millions of Americans will lose their SNAP benefits, effectively meaning, they will not have access to food. They will have to depend on the generosity of others just to fill their bellies. Some will stand in long lines in the cold weather for a bag of potatoes, a head of cabbage, some onions, and maybe a couple of cans of food, instead of being able to go to the grocery store and grab what they need for the week to feed their families. I'm not in this position now, but there was a time when I was. Every other Saturday, I would wait in the food pantry line with my 3 small children sometimes for hours. It was because of this chapter in my life that I started really learning and living self-sustainability and honestly it changed my life. If you know me in the real world, you know how deeply this hits me. My children are grown now, but I'm sure if you were to ask them, they can tell you all the ways to "doctor up" cabbage and noodles and how to make homemade pasta. If there is one thing I can't stand, it's the thought of people going hungry because they can't afford to eat. Help me change the narrative. Please.