Following the 2015 Danbury Winter Market, people interested in a sustainable Danbury have met at the Danbury Grange Hall. They were eager to hear mini reports on the subjects of recycling, allocating food resources, building a stronger local economy, safer food supply, local branding, farm collaboration/networking, and land usage. An emerging topic centered around Danbury: its uniqueness, sense of community, and how this program could connect the whole community across the board, regardless of age, economic status, and life experiences.
Education was repeatedly mentioned as the key to the success of all the ideas. Many of the projects discussed were common practices in the past, as well as lifestyle skills that once were passed from generation to generation. Dwindling family farms and the disappearance of extended families has somewhat fractured the knowledge transfer.
It was pointed out that those in attendance have more experience than they might think, and that this knowledge needs to be shared and tapped so that it be not lost. Increased awareness and having a place to go to obtain information will help sustainable lifestyles grow.
All had exciting possibilities of what a community could conquer by working together and building awareness. The group learned about many resources that are already used to help feed the food-insecure population through programs at the Danbury Food Pantry.
Composting at a town level has been investigated.
The food resources committee envisions unique landscapes for the town, encouraging people to garden, to encourage support of local farms, and the creation of community demo gardens.
The land usage and availability committee is hard at work researching what our area has produced in the past, in its heyday of agricultural productivity, and using this data as a guide to what could be done again. Farm networking and collaboration has begun as an attempt to encourage cooperation instead of competition.
All groups touched on the importance of supporting local farms and businesses and therefore encouraging more local buying. Knowing the person that grows your food makes for a safer food supply, whereas a layer of risk is added each time a food item changes hands. Local buying keeps food dollars in the community, supports our neighbors, keeping their farms viable, and stops lining the pockets of supermarket stockholders. Committed local consumers create successful, consistent farmers markets that can attract and keep the best vendors, which in turn will have the best products available for purchase.
To be added to the contact list, send your information to DonnaArdena@nullgmail.com or call Donna at 768-5579. If an area really interests you, Donna can connect you with each smaller fact-gathering group.
The next meeting of the whole group will be on Saturday, March 7, at 2 PM at the Danbury Grange Hall. This follows the Danbury Winter Market, which is 9 AM to 1 PM. The Grange serves a hot breakfast and lunch, with both floors of the Hall having vendors, all with locally made, grown, or produced products. The blizzard date for both events is Saturday, March 14.