Helianthus!

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Do you know the history of the sunflower?

(September 23, 2018)  I’m talking about Helianthus annuus, and I’m guessing that you probably don’t. And, frankly, why would you? But you might be fascinated by the story of how a modest plant that originated in North America and was domesticated here at least 5,000 years ago traveled to Spain, the Netherlands and Russia, becoming an important food and oil crop, before returning to establish its place on the continent of its origin.

Who knew?

As it turns out, a group of teenagers on the north side of Chicago know this stuff and have told the story in a play called Helianthus! a POWER FLOWER trots the GLOBE! It’s part of a group called Green Scene, whose mission is “growing community and creativity in gardens.” As they note on their website, Green Scene offers in-school arts residencies that “cross pollinate science, literacy and theater.”

In this particular case, Chicago teens meet at Winthrop Harmony Arts Garden in Uptown and work from April to September, growing food and “unearthing their creativity.” They adapt and stage earth-based tales and present them free to the K-8 community.

Well, and a few adults, too, judging from the performance I saw on September 22 at the Winthrop Harmony Arts Garden. You can see a little bit of it yourself but clicking onto one of the Facebook videos I posted at The Mike Nowak Show Facebook page, like this one.

Here’s the cast and crew:

• Concept and Direction: Martie Sanders of Green Scene Chicago
• Puppet Design and Props: Sharon Evans of Live Bait Theater along with and children from Uptown
• Teen Acting Ensemble: Judith Chima, Jesus Guerrero, Evelyn Hernandez, Hakim Muhammad, Aida Zeleke
• Music: Paul Gilvary and Sullivan High School teens

And I’m happy to say that Martie Sanders and the entire ensemble are here in the 1590 WCGO studios this morning. By the way, Green Scene Chicago has hosted 15 free community productions since 2013.

Thou Shalt Not Waste Food…please?

A little more than a year ago, Peggy and I welcomed Gary Oppenheimer, the founder and Executive Director of the nationwide non-profit AmpleHarvest.org, to the show. As we noted at the time, Gary is on a mission “to end food waste and hunger, reduce malnutrition and help the environment in America by educating and empowering millions of backyard gardeners to easily find a local food pantry eager for their excess garden bounty.”

Their own Nationwide Study of Garden Food Waste was used in a 2017 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report, which noted that, America wastes about 40 percent of its food annually, with about 40-50 percent of the waste happening at the consumer level.

As you can imagine, pretty much nothing has changed in one year, so Gary is with us again, this time on the final day of Food Waste Weekend, a faith-based initiative where religious leaders deliver sermons on food waste and hunger in America. According to Oppenheimer,

“Over the past 11 years, an increasing number of food industry leaders, nonprofits, government officials and others have been tackling the issue of food waste in America. One critical group – the faith community – has been largely absent from the conversation, until now. Since 70% of America’s food pantries are located in houses of worship, faith leaders are critical partners in helping get that excess food to hungry families. We knew we should invite clergy of all religions to learn, and then speak from their own faith perspectives, about food waste.”

Meanwhile, you can go to the AmpleHarvest.org website to find out how to donate food to a food pantry, or register a pantry to receive food, or find a pantry where you can get food if you need it. As they state on the website,

Food pantries nationwide desperately need fresh food. They feed 42 million people.

Food wasted because gardeners harvest more than they can use. It could feed 28 million people.

Gary Oppenheimer joins us again today to talk about the very serious issue of food waste in America.