Nicole Niese

This is Nicole Niese from the Grand Avenue South Garden in Springfield. We watched Food Inc. which couldn't have been a more depressing way to start off the day. It focused on raising awareness about where food comes from, how workers and animals are treated, and the downside of having huge companies that control the food industry. I was pretty surprised to hear that the ecoli breakouts had so much to do with the food animals are now being fed. I had heard about the spinach recall when it happened, but nobody ever told me how it all got started. SHOCKER! If nothing else, the stories shared in the movie have pushed me towards reconsidering which foods I am buying at the grocery. I'm more inclined to head to the Saturday farmer's market and getting some "real" food.

Besides the depressing movie, it's been a great week out at the garden. We finished mulching the pathways and have written up our donation request for the composting system we want to build. Everything's looking great. We've seen more people out at the garden this week which is awesome! Can't wait to get started planning our neighborhood celebration!