January 6th 2023

“Eat Local Buy Here”

What we need is Here 

by Wendell Berry

"Geese appear high over us, pass, and the sky closes. 

Abandon, as in love or sleep, 

holds them to their way, 

clear in the ancient faith: what we  need is here. 

And we pray, not for new earth or heaven, 

but to be quiet in heart, and in eye, clear. 

What we need is here."

For weeks I've passed the banner going to and from the farm and it's had this poem resurfacing in my mind. Before I came to Turner the phrase "local food" never brought Indian Hill to mind. I usually thought of small farms in rural communities. But there is a great comfort in knowing that food is being grown in all kinds of unlikely places. From rooftop gardens to reclaimed mountainsides, potted plants on apartment patios or urban community gardens... Our ability to tend to our places and make way to interact with our communities is often limited more by our perspective and imagination than anything else. The idea that we can all contribute something, and experience the land give back in return is one of the most rewarding parts of life. I can't help but wonder what else I've gotten wrong, all the little places I haven't yet considered. It's enough to make the world crack wide open with possibility, and isn't that just a beautiful thing?