I love the quote from Avot de Rabbi Natan 31:1 included in Hazon’s Food For Thought curriculum book (thanks Nigel and Anna):

R. Achia ben Yeshaya said: One who purchases grain in the marketplace - to what may such a person be likened? To an infant whose mother died, and they pass him from door to door among wetnurses and [still] the baby is not satisfied. One who buys bread in the marketplace - To what may such a person be likened? It is as if he is dead and buried. But one who eats from his own (what he has grown himself) is like an infant raised at his mother breasts.

Thus, it was great to read about Will Allen’s work in Milwaukee, and especially to see such public recognition for it that comes from being awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant.” There are many other urban farming groups which I think will also benefit from the publicity surrounding Will Allen’s well-deserved award, such as my own local institution, the Southside Community Land Trust in Providence, RI.

Whether we grow and cook our own because it’s healthier and better for us, like mom’s milk, or because it satisfies our emotional and spiritual needs to feel “at home,” or because it addresses the economic injustice of lack of access to affordable, real food in urban environments (as Allen’s project does) - it’s encouraging to have this kind of service, what I would call avodat Ha-Shem be-gashmiyyut (service of God through everyday, concrete activities), appreciated in this way.

See Barbara Miner, “An Urban Farmer is Rewarded for his Dreams,” New York Times, 9/25/08.