From The Workbench - Alternative + Renewable Energy Blog Valuable information for do-it-yourselfers interested in the latest in alternative + renewable energy

Hello, Happy Monday and here’s to you and hoping that you had an amazing weekend.  It’s officially Fall now, Summer has come and gone, and with Fall comes the promise of not only less fresh produce grown locally and organically at my Farmer’s Market, but also, higher energy bills.  Yikes.  When it comes to fresh, organic produce, I can’t tell you how much better for my body, my pocket book, and the Environment to buy Organic whenever possible.

Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that not everyone, everywhere has direct access to organic food.  Some people Never do and as such must eat non-organic food year round.  I just read an article about a study done in 77 different community areas of Chicago; the findings were scary and disappointing.  The findings showed that organic food is much harder to come across and locate in more urban areas, and surprisingly, those with a high concentration of African-American citizens.  Here are some of the findings:

- “Ten percent of stores in black communities carry organics, compared to 24 percent in Latino communities and 63 percent in white areas.

- The population of the white neighborhoods was less than one-third of the total population of the communities examined, but were home to nearly two-thirds of the stores that carried organics.”

Clearly this is an uneven distribution of what are rapidly becoming Vital resources.  These “food deserts” are located in nearly every major city across the United States and unless something is done to revitalize every one of these areas with the resources and at least availability, it’s never going to take off as it should.  Going Organic is a simple way in your every day life to start helping a lot more than just your diet.