Nothing in farming is for certain

News came via email today that the Food Project, the Lincoln-based outfit that teaches disadvantaged youth in Lynn, Dorchester, and elsewhere how to grow vegetables and eat better, has been hit by the potato (and tomato) blight sweeping the Northeast. Most of us might know the Food Project from stands at local farmers’ markets. The market sales help support the program and give youth a connection between food and serving the public.

We’ve gotten complacent about our food, even the wonderful fresh produce at farmers’ markets. I hear people  complaining about prices,  taking for granted how difficult it is to farm, locally, sustainably. A disaster like this — only a few hundred of the 5,000 tomatoes expected will be sold this season — shows that growing food — and feeding people — is always a fragile enterprise.

The Food Project plans to grow more broccoli and carrots to compensate somewhat for its most popular crop. Buy those, I say. Good for you, good for them.