Ever since I was in Middle School I have had a bleeding heart for social justice. I can remember back during my time in the abhorrent years of middle school finding solace in acts of service with my youth group. Even my first sermon I ever gave focused on justice for the "least of these." Often times the places I enjoyed serving most in one manner or another revolved around food. It is crazy to look back and see the small steps that would lead me to where I am today.
During my undergrad years I continued to develop a passion for social justice, but struggled to find the right area to focus on. I explored many different ones and all the while had an idea of where I should be...that I constantly pushed aside. I saw advertisements for community gardens and read into the environmental reasons why someone should be vegetarian, all the while telling myself that I didn't have time to garden and I couldn't be vegetarian with the food options I had. I gave these excuses while simultaneously overbooking myself with other forms of service. It wasn't that I
couldn't partake in that kind of social justice; it was that I had prioritized other types. I was still learning. I am still learning.
Flash forward to 2016. I had been out of college for a year and in the midst of my first year of marriage. Brianna and I learned about a community garden and finally--after years of thinking about the perks of joining one--we got two plots at a garden across the street from the apartment we lived in. This was a great way for individuals all throughout the community to have space to garden, to build community, and to have ways they can donate their extra produce. All of the excess produce was encouraged to be donated to the local Hot Meals Programs and Food Pantries. It wasn't long into the season that we transitioned into the new garden coordinators. We didn't want to just be a part of the garden, but we wanted to help it grow and make sure it would keep running.
It was this same year that I left the church I was working for and accepted a job as a Community Nutrition Professional for The Ohio State University Extension. My passion for creating access to healthy, affordable food for all led me to this position. I had no experience with Extension before, but I felt my time at the church was coming to an end and I needed to be focusing my energy on food. It took me years to come to this conclusion and finally settle my social justice focus on food, but I finally found it.
Now I am working towards promoting, educating, and helping provide food access to all individuals in my county. I do this through my job as an educator, but also as the chair of our county's Local Food Council and as a member of our
Creating Healthy Communities coalition. I still coordinate our community garden, but since we bought our house we have developed a garden in our backyard too. This garden has allowed us to get to know our neighbors more as many have come over to see what we are doing and talk with us about our plants. I have gone from just having a side hobby of gardening to making it a sustainable lifestyle that I hope others can see and want to join. We have a rain barrel system we set up to collect water for our gardens, we compost our food scraps, and we have even become vegetarian. The lifestyle that I dreamed about and said I wanted I finally have. How did I get this lifestyle? I decided to pursue it and that's exactly what I did. I learned how to build things myself to save money and I sought out help when needed. I want others to see that the lifestyle we have is not only sustainable, but also easy to replicate.
I view social justice as a wide-range of topics that works best when people have their focus to funnel issues through. Choosing food justice isn't just about addressing hunger--although that is a huge issue. Food justice deals with sustainability, the environment, gender equality, racial equality, and so much more. Many of the issues that I had become passionate about can be partially addressed with our food system. This is one part of the solution. We need people working in all sectors of influence to truly make a different in the fight for social justice.
I share this part of my story as a way to invite others to find their focus. It may take time so don't be discouraged if you try something out and it doesn't seem to be your fit. I thought I was supposed to be a youth minister for most of my life. Now I know, for me, that was a stepping stone to a different calling. I am thankful for my time at the church because it led me to where I am now. Keep looking for your calling. Keep searching. The next time you feel the urge in your soul, that continuing draw, follow it. Stop saying, "Maybe another day...I'm too committed to other things." Instead, step back and focus on that calling. Ask yourself, "is this a fleeting thought or is this more?"
Where are your priorities? What is calling your heart? What is the still, quiet voice saying to you?
Go to it.
