Project Big Hugs

Project Big Hugs is a neighborhood project geared at inspiring young people to grow and eat "real, clean" food.

A Bit of Background.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been interested in how food affects our bodies. I'm not the healthiest person on the planet .... but, I truly believe that what we eat has a huge impact on our health and well-being. I know this simple statement seems pretty obvious - but, how come so many of us buy and eat so much processed food? Is it time? Money? What the kids want to eat? What is it?

Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" program (http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution) really sums up what I've been feeling for years. The basic premise of the show is that processed foods are making the USA fat and sick. Food Revolution is trying to get school cafeterias around the country to change their menu. Currently, our kids are getting mostly processed, high-fat foods. He's trying to change that to healthy, fresh foods that are balanced, nutritious, and tasty. Again, the premise seems pretty simple and obvious. But, change seems to be slow going. Unfortunately.

I took stock of my pantry and got inspired to eat as clean as I could. I also took notice of how my local grocery stores are organized after reading The N.D.D Book: How Nutrition Deficit Disorder Affects Your Child's Learning, Behavior, and Health, and What You Can Do About It -- Without Drugs by William Sears. The book stated that all of the "fresh" foods are located in the "outer ring" of the store and that when shopping, try to stick to this outside perimeter. Dart into the inner isles only for staples like canned tomatoes, pasta, peanut butter, tea/coffee ... that sort of stuff. I found that nugget of information eye opening. Again, pretty simple and obvious.

So, this spring season, I got a wild hair and decided I wanted to plant a veggie garden in my small, concrete backyard. So, like many, I went on line in search of the perfect planter box. I had NO luck finding anything that would work for me. Not to mention, what I could find was wicked expensive! So, I changed my search to MAKING a planter box. When I landed on Loni Stark's Vegetable Planter Box Plans (www.starksilvercreek.com/loni-starks-vegetable-planter-box-plans) I knew it was perfect.