July 4th is a special day for our family, it's my youngest daughters birthday. She gets fireworks and a sparkler on her cake every year.

This year more than ever, now that I'm paying more than $4 a gallon for gas with no relief in sight, I'm thinking about independence. Independence from foreign oil and independence from the big food industry that guzzles up as much oil as our cars do.

Years back, my grandparents grew victory gardens because it was the patriotic thing to do for their country and it gave them food security. Perhaps it's time to challenge ourselves to work on creating food Independence Days this year. Imagine how the world would change if each of us tried to do one thing every day to create Food Independence.

That means in each day or week, try to:
1. Plant something. It could be as simple as some herbs in a window box or some pumpkins for the fall.
2. Harvest something. See if you can harvest something from the garden or the wild every day you can. I can't think of a better way to be aware of the bounty around you to realize that there's something - even if it is dandelions or wild garlic for a salad - to be had every single day. Check my blog post on eating my fresh organic weeds! Independence is really appreciating and using the bounty that we have.
3. Preserve something. Sometimes this will be a big project, but it doesn't have to be. It doesn't take long to slice a couple of tomatoes and set them on a screen in the sun, or make some sauce or pickles for the winter. The time you spend now is time you don't have to spend hauling to the store and cooking later. Independence is eating our own, and cutting the ties we have to agribusiness.
4. Prep something. Hit a yard sale and pick up an extra blanket. Purchase some extra beans and oatmeal. Sort out and inventory your pantry. Find a way to give what you don't need to someone who does. Fix your bike. Clean, mend, declutter, learn a new skill. Independence is being ready for whatever comes.
5. Cook something. Try a new recipe, or an old one with a new ingredient. Sometimes it is hard to know what to do with all that stuff you are growing or seeing at the farmer's market. So experiment now. Can you make a whole meal in your solar oven? How are stir-fried pea shoots? Stuffed squash blossoms? Independence is being able to eat and enjoy what is given to us.
6. Manage your reserves. Check those apples and take out the ones starting to go bad and make sauce with it. Clean out the freezer. Use up those lentils before you take the next ones out of the bag. Find some use for that can of whatever it is that's been in the pantry forever. Sort out what you can donate, and give it to the food pantry. Independence means not wasting the bounty we have.
7. Work on local food systems. This could be as simple as buying something you don't grow or make from a local grower, or finding a new local source. It could be as complex as starting a co-op or a farmer's market, creating a CSA or a bulk store. Why not have some fun and start a guerilla garden in a vacant lot. Maybe you'll invite people over to your garden, or your neighbors in for a homegrown meal, or sing the praises of your local CSA. Maybe you can get your town to plant fruit or nut producing street trees or get a manual water pump or a garden put in at your local school. Whatever it is, our Independence days come when our neighbors and the people we love are food secure too.

I'm not suggesting you should do all these things on any day (heck that' s impossible) - but every day try and do one of them - or every week, or every weekend, if that's what your schedule allows. It takes practice to live and grow and eat this way - so let's do it now while we've got the time and energy and each other for support.

I got this idea from the many blogs I've been reading, most notably, Sharon Astyk's Ruminations on an Ambiguous Future. The more I read, the more convinced I am that we are going to have to start thinking about the big picture of food and start creating more local sustainable systems to get our dinner on the table. and to assure that our kids and grandkids have food to eat.

Let me know about your success and challenges in creating Food Independence for yourself and your family.

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