Pinoys In US Turn To Vegetable Gardening

suchandra · July 10, 2008

Prabhupada always wanted that Vaishnavas would engage growing vegetables and use all this idle lieing land to produce high quality fruits and vegetables.

Seems at least some folks are taking Prabhupada seriously.

Pinoys in US turn to gardening to deal with rising food costs

Pinoy Migration, 7/11/2008 12:03 AM

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Vegetable gardening is an alternative that George Grange is doing to deal with the rising food costs in the US.

"Dahil sa mahal ng pagkain, mapipilitan ka talagang mag tanim, imbes na bumili ka, pwede ka na kumuha sa garden na lang," said Grange.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), food prices climbed four percent in 2007, the highest annual increase since 1990.

Prices are expected to rise by almost six percent this year.

Retirees like Grange who rely on a fixed income have no choice but to think of cost saving measures.

Besides gardening, Grange has become an avid advocate or recycling.

With the soda cans he collects, he can buy 2 pounds of chicken.

"Nakaka-earn ka na ng extra income, nakakatulong ka pa sa environment," Grange said.

Meantime, Filipinos have to cope with higher grocery bills while still trying to have their favorite Pinoy dishes.

"If you don’t plan it kasi, mate-tempt ka na kumuha ng hindi mo kailangan. Hindi ka makakatipid," said Raquel Oliva.

A common Filipino vegetable called, ampalaya (or parya in Ilocano). This one's grown in Canada where it's called the bitter melon for lack of a real English name.

"Nakakatulong talagang may coupons ka, at alam mo kung ano ‘yong sale pag pumapasok ka sa store," Rufino Aquino said.

For someone like Anabel Kim who shops every week, she decided to do the activity only every two weeks to save on gas.

Recent statistics show that at least half of American adults say that the higher cost of food is causing them financial hardship.

"Ang pagkain ang isang bagay na hindi titipirin ng Pinoy, lalo na kung kalusugan ang pinaguusapan," Grange said.

Experts say food prices are not going to go back down anytime soon, but Grange says he is confident in the resourcefulness of Pinoys.

Many Pinoys have been forced to find ways to economize with the rising food costs, but they intend to survive with a little bit of green thumb and smart shopping.

Reports from Henni Espinosa, ABS-CBN America News Bureau, San Jose, California