The final program of the Blazing Star Grange two-year sustainability series was held on November 8 at the Blazing Star Grange Hall in Danbury. Thirty people attended the program, each having some connection or belief in the need for a more sustainable community.
The purpose of this discussion was to gather together farmers, local businesses, and community members interested in sustainability and community cooperation; and to gauge the interest among the attendees.
The leader of the discussion was local farmer and visionary historian,Tom Curren, who gave the audience a picture of what Danbury and the local community and surrounding towns looked like in the past and what they might be in the future. The presentation illustrated how cooperation among the communities could produce a strong economy and safe food supply.
Reminiscent of the past, Danbury not only fed the community but gained revenue by supplying the Boston area as well. In contrast, today our food and supplies are shipped into the area, and therefore our dollars are now traveling in the opposite direction.
The main discussion of the evening centered around how the local farming community might band together to produce their own feed supply and ultimately create a sustainable local economy, keeping our farms vital and our community fed. Other well-received discussions centered around developing a new ethic of reducing food waste and feeding those families within our borders who live every day with food insecurity.
It was also suggested that we learn to live without consuming so much and adopt a spirit of giving back to the land and to the community.
Donna Sprague, spokesperson for the Blazing Star Grange and local farm owner, discussed ways that the Grange has banded together in the past to help one another and could do so again. Looking forward, she discussed how farms could benefit from community product buying, which would in turn reduce the costs of producing local foods.
She pointed out that opportunities exist for consumers to help reduce community and farm costs through recycling. This includes composting, saving food waste for animal feed, and reducing the waste that increases landfill costs.
Each topic of the evening created more food for thought, and while no specific answers were reached, it was evident that there is an interest in more discussion.
The next meeting will be at 2 PM following the January 3 Farmers Market at the Blazing Star Grange Hall, 15 North Road, in Danbury. Interested persons may contact Donna at 768-5579 or DonnaArdena@nullgmail.com.