Group discusses food responsibility

Parishioners discussed how to buy and eat food responsibly in a roundtable Monday evening in the Parish Activity Center on the Lenten 4.5 program.

The parish is offering a seven-week program called “Lent 4.5 Christian Simplicity” to discuss practical ways to abstain from habits and choices that harm the earth. The discussions are at 7 p.m. Mondays in the Parish Activity Center.

The ''4.5'' in the title refers to the number of acres each person on Earth would receive if it were divided equally among all people. Based on a measuring tool called Global Footprint, people in the United States use an average 22.3 acres to support their lifestyle.

The discussion this week was on buying and eating our food responsibly. June Rietz was moderator with individual discussions at several tables set up for the meeting.

Attention was called to other programs dealing with responsible food use.

One program is detailed on a website called cityfresh.org. The website gives locations where you can obtain locally-grown food. During the regular season (June through October), you can sign up for a share at your nearest Fresh Stop. A weekly family share for 3-4 people is $28 and a single share for a couple is $15. One site is at 1809 S. Main St on Thursday, 4:30pm to 6:30pm. Another is Visitation of Mary Parishm, Dowed Hall, 87 Broad St. Shares must be ordered a full week in advance. Go to the website

Also announced was a Food Summit scheduled for April 1-2 at 610 W. Exchange St.
On April 1 at 7 p.m. there will be a movie titled “Fresh” which seeks to raise awareness of grassroots efforts to grow fresh food. On Saturday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. there will be a program, with lunch provided, to learn about food systems and opportunities to grow, process and distribute food locally. To register, contact Veronica Sims at 330-572-8304.

See a blog article published here on Saturday for things you can do.

The theme for next week will deal with our consumption of materials including food, clothes, appliances and even toilet paper. On average, one American consumes as much at 2 Japanese, 11 Indians or 18 Haitians. Watch the blog Saturday for what you can do to avoid unnecessary consumption.