We live in a capitalist society that is “governed” by a broken democratic system. To be “successful” in America you must have money. Yes, money buys consumer goods and strong networking connections, but ultimately, money buys influence. Money makes change. It might not always initiate the need for reform, but it’s clearly necessary to invoke the dreams and aspirations of an idealistic individual or organization. And let it be known, money’s role in the change-making-enterprises of America exists because our democratic system is so badly damaged.

These same dreamy people tend to work for or create non-profit organizations. At the same time, non-profit organizations exist because the government cannot do its job. Public education in this country is horrible, hospitals and healthcare providers are awful, roads/bridges/highways are in desperate need of repair, and poverty – in all its excesses – infiltrates most communities across our nation. To compensate for our state and federal government’s great inefficiencies and failures, we have non-profits. These organizations do not make money, which is to say they do not sell a good and create a profit. Non-profits do not fit within the capitalist model. And yet, thousands of these organizations exist – attempting to survive in an economic drought.

To explain the depth and breadth of this frustration, it would be appropriate to use myself as an example:

Meet Jared (aka Good Man Eats). Jared is a social studies teacher in a society that no longer values social studies education. (Instead it favors math and science.) In lieu of this ‘conflict of interest,’ Jared pursues an idea. Jared’s idea reflects the failures of American society.

Jared wants to teach families how to think critically about food production and consumption. He also wants to teach families how to afford, plan and prepare a basic meal for the household.

Why is this a good idea? What sort of world does Jared live in that cannot feed its population? Why do people need to think about food? Isn’t food, food?

Jared lives in the “most powerful nation on Earth.”  America. Somehow this powerful place got to such a high ranking without considering the health of its citizenry. For example, in Jared’s world,

• 1 out of 5 Americans lacked the money to buy food last year
• 1 in 8 Americans use Food Stamps (more than 38,000,000 people)
• 1 in 4 children suffered from hunger last year (see this)
• 1 in 3 children will develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime
• 1 in 2 will develop type 2 diabetes if they are Hispanic or black

These are of course the tip of the iceberg. Somehow, a country that is very wealthy and thus very powerful, is incapable of feeding its citizens food. Not only is food in short supply, but somehow the food people are eating is leading to life-threatening diseases.

It would seem that this problem is to big for the government to fix. If its not too big, why does this problem exist? How could this have happened? And most importantly, what can be done to prevent the spread of this problem?

Here is where the non-profit organization enters the equation. You see, since the government cannot find the funds or time to heal its sickened and suffering citizenry, smaller organizations develop to help these endangered people. This is of course, a great idea. But how will these organizations survive in a market-ruled economy?

The short answer is, they beg for money. Non-profits ask rich people for money; they ask the broken government for funding; they ask companies that do sell products for money. Ironically, many of the companies that produce, market and/or sell unhealthy foods are the ones that like to fund the non-profits. But this money does not come easily. No matter how much damage the companies or government creates, the non-profits still have to struggle to survive.

Let’s introduce Jared into this equation. Jared is not a non-profit, though he wants to partner with one. (The process of becoming a non-profit is too daunting for Jared to consider or put up with.) As this “partnering process” develops, Jared teaches families how to think critically about food and cook healthy meals. With all his good intention, he too will face the funding obstacle that ruins many great ideas.

Unlike many non-profits, Jared is a self-contained, problem-fixing machine. He does not require an office, employees or a board of directors. But he does need some money, a little, itty-bitty amount of money to do some good work in the community. The needed money does not go to his bank account (though that would be nice too). Jared needs money to buy food for his classes. As a non-profit look-alike, Jared must beg for food (or money) so that he can offer his class.

It is a shame that such good intentions get so gnarled by our culture’s twisted values. I’m sorry companies care more about profit than helping people. I’m also sorry the government cares more about war than it does health. (Our government spends $1 million per soldier in Afghanistan and barely $1 on school lunch for children in our public schools.)

Some will say C’est la vie, “such is life.”

Is that good enough an answer?! Only the privileged get the opportunity to claim French phrases as a means of dealing with a very troubled world. What I want to say isn’t appropriate for this setting. Hopefully, this rant will suffice.

Related posts:

1. A Future Food Project (or) An Idea is Born
2. Michael Pollan strikes again!
3. Cooking Class Conundrum
4. Why You Should Not Support Whole Foods Market

Tags: food literacy, Food Politics