With each passing day, it seems the United States of America, “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave” is becoming more and more like the Communist Russia I learned about in elementary school where people weren’t allowed to grow their own food unless the State “allowed” it.
In this latest crackdown on citizens simply trying to provide for themselves using the most basic of skills – gardening – the USDA’s Rural Development Agency is forbidding Rosie, an industrious 4-year old girl in South Dakota from using a small, unused area outside her subsidized housing unit to grow green vegetables.
Rosie’s mother, Mary (names changed to protect the child’s identity), is single and severely disabled. She and her daughter live on a fixed income disability payment of $628/month. The garden vegetables growing just outside her backdoor lovingly tended by Rosie provide a fresh and healthy addition to their diet that they could not otherwise easily afford.
Rosie started the garden in May 2013, but now the property management company has ordered the garden be removed this week!
The reason?
The property management company claims that gardening goes against the rules set by the USDA’s Rural Development Agency which forbids residents to have structures of any kind within landscaped areas. It seems to me that the practice of growing vegetables by the most needy in our society would take precedence over landscaping, wouldn’t you agree?
I wonder if the USDA plans to establish “rules” about breathing air in subsidized areas too?
The Federal bureaucracy seems to think that it owns those individuals who receive any sort of government assistance and that their behavior is completely within its jurisdiction to control no matter how ridiculous or blatantly un-American the power-tripping “rules” they decide to put in place may be.
Think this is an isolated case? Â It’s not. Â I write regularly on this blog about these outrageous situations where ordinary citizens are bullied by out of control bureaucrats, the most recent being a Mother in Maine who was harassed and threatened by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for feeding her healthy, robust 3 month old son homemade goat milk formula instead of horribly unhealthy commercial formula from the store laced with rancid vegetable oils and GMOs!
What You Can Do Now to Help Rosie
It is truly unfathomable that our country has degenerated to the point where a person can no longer garden without permission from bureaucratic thugs who get paid with our hard earned tax dollars to think up these rules – Â not laws –Â rules that have never been voted on by the elected representatives of the citizens expected to abide by those rules.
If you recall, this is exactly the sort of authoritarian insanity that started the American Revolutionary War (tea party anyone?).
Tell the USDA where it can put its “rules” against gardening by those living in rural, subsidized areas.
Sample Email to USDA
You can copy/paste the email template below to send directly from your email provider. Template provided courtesy of Kitchen Gardeners International, the source of this story.
To:Â [email protected]
Cc: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject:Â Allow USDA-subsidized housing residents to grow vegetable gardens
Message body:
Dear Director Meeks,
I urge you to make a loud and clear statement to all the property management companies your agency contracts that USDA-subsidized residents have the right to keep their own vegetable gardens provided that these gardens are actively maintained. Vegetable gardens grow healthy and affordable foods as well as a sense of community. Rather than preventing low-income and disabled residents from providing for themselves, we should be doing everything we can to encourage them. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely yours,
(Your name, your town, your state)
Important Updates to This Story
8/27/2013:Â FINAL UPDATEÂ and details on Rosie’s Victory Garden!
8/26/2013:  A detailed update to this story is provided here.
8/25/2013: Â Roger Doiron, Director of Kitchen Gardeners International, has provided more details on this emerging story. The USDA has claimed in email correspondence to Mr. Doiron that it has no written rules preventing Mary and Rosie from having a garden (despite the property management company’s insistence to the contrary). On the other hand, the USDA hasn’t come to Mary and Rosie’s defense either and by allowing the property management company it has a contract with to call the shots and bully Mary and Rosie it is essentially enforcing such a rule no matter what is claimed via email.
Bureaucratic rules are notoriously confusing to understand let alone interpret, but if the USDA stands behind its assertion that there are no “rules” – written OR unwritten – against gardening in subsidized housing, it should stop the property management company under the auspices of the USDA from forcing Mary and Rosie to remove their garden.
The USDA pays most of the rent for Mary and thousands of citizens like her around the United States. Â It should do the right thing and insist that property owners and managers of subsidized housing permit residents to grow their own food in well cared for gardens rather than look the other way when residents are bullied for their efforts at self sufficiency. Â After all, the stated mission of the USDA Rural Development Agency is to “improve the quality of life in rural America”. Gardening surely would be supportive of this important goal.
Source
Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI).  Rosie and Mary’s real names and exact location in South Dakota have not been revealed in order to protect the identity of a minor child.  Please contact KGI Director Roger Doiron, [email protected] if you wish to further verify the validity of this story.
Jane Metzger
We have subsidized housing in our town and there are a number of people that have potted tomatoes and other vegetables. Maybe if they were in movable container, that would make a difference.
MKC0887
Great Idea! I’d be willing to donate pots of various sizes for Rosie to plant her veggies in, assuming that isn’t forbidden as well.
April C.
I agree with Debbie. I lived in subsidized housing as a kid and they had pretty strict rules about the outside areas. Do I agree with these rules in Rosie’s case? Of course not. And I think it would be worthwhile to contact the USDA department handling this issue and ask them to reconsider. Good luck, Rosie! 🙂
debbie
Let’s be real here. This is not their property. Did they first get permission to plant this garden from the owners? (since they are renting) The owners of the apartment building may be using this as an excuse so that no one else does it either. Many landlords don’t want their property used as gardens, because it can be unsightly if it isn’t taken care of. I have a feeling there is more to this story than what is presented in this blog. HUD housing has specific rules it must follow. Plus, there is the actual owners of the property to take into account. It may not be just “evil” government that is doing this.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
The USDA “rules” don’t specify whether the garden is well tended or not and makes no exception for a well cared for vegetable garden used to provide much needed food for the vulnerable residents living in the subsidized housing.
Reality Check
I don’t think the problem is with the USDA’s rule. The rule is a good one. I think the problem is the property manager’s interpretation of the rule. Consider this: What if it wasn’t a 4 year old girl with a garden? What if it was a 75 year old man who, after growing up in a rural area, is used to going potty in an outhouse? What if he decides to build an outhouse, right outside his back door, in a government subsidized housing project? That’s why the rule exists, to keep people from building all manner of things on common property that they do not own. The stupid property manager, who obviously can’t tell the difference between a “structure” and a 4 year old’s vegetable garden is the one to blame, not the government. If you notice, in the article, it’s not the USDA telling her to remove the garden, it’s the property manager.
Pam Jacobson
The city has rules for health and safety reasons – no potty outside. Not a good comparison.
Nancy
I agree with you Debbie, I understand its a garden and all but there are rules. One place I rented I couldn’t even use the back yard for my children because of the landlords dogs had exclusive use he said. Another time at a different apartment, the stroller was being wheeled over by the house and was told I couldn’t do that because of the grass that the first floor people just tended to.
Andrea
I agree with Debbie
I was on HUD for a few years. I read all the rules. I knew what was expected and allowed. Not everyone on assistance is good Many people would take a rule that allowed gardens to grow marajuana or just be negligent. It has to be equal for everyone. My friend in Hawaii had a room full of potted plants. They made him get rid of it because water in the pots created a weight issue. I was so sad for him. He actually loved those plants. But if everyone did that it would be a strain on the old building. So I wish the little girl could have a garden but HUD makes sure that everything is equal! If you are on assistance you know the rules. Maybe they could go to a community garden?
Diana
Yes!! Who cares if people starve to death, as long as everything is equal. UNBELIEVABLE.
Tom
Debbie, Nancy, and Andrea are the good, obedient type who will round their children up on the cattle cars to the concentration camps because it is “the rules”. The sheeple have spoken.
debbie
Nonsense. It is someone else’s property. Last I knew whomever owns the property gets to say what the tenants do on it. You had better not ever be a renter or live in a community with a homeowners association since you can’t handle rules.
Helen T
Property ownership in the USA is now a myth: have you heard of Imminent Domain? And your mortgage is owned by who again?
LuLu
Ahh, every one should be equal in their misery. Lets let no innovation happen because the new way is an abyss. Equal for everyone! What a dismal view on life.. this is probably the same person that thinks art should be funded by overburdened taxpayers… yet art is innovative and Not equal. sheesh… everyone just go forth and be equal, and as dull as Andrea! holy crap
Lisa Marie Gibson
I agree with Debbie. If I rent my home out or allow it to be a HUD home I would expect them to maintain the property but not to disturb or plant anything without permissions first. I have a garden and I know that a lot of the plants I have vine and can strangle the landscaped flowers and plants surrounding it and can be a bit of a nuisance if not kept under control. I would suggest planting the fruits in a pot or hanging baskets such as a topsey turvey. There are many ways to have indoor gardens or above ground gardens which will not disturb the land. 🙂
Lois
Landlords should be happy if their tenants want to do useful things with the land. Many landlords are either apathetic to the basic needs of their tenants, or else complete jerks. When landscaped flowers and shrubs become more important than a poor family feeding themselves, it’s time to consider that maybe this landlord is not a nice person. I lived in an apartment with LOADS of property, all of it maintained beautifully. They must have spent thousands of dollars on shrubs and trees, only to rip them out in a couple years and plant new ones, even though the originals were growing fine. Every summer, there was the incessant noise of lawn mowers, weed cutters, chain saws, etc. from early in the morning till sometimes 4 in the afternoon. What a waste of land. They should have paid the tenants to grow a community garden, instead. They would have saved money by letting other people grow stuff, and I guarantee it would have been taken care of better than worthless decorative bushes that have to be replaced every few years.
Colleen Williams
I’ve been a landlord. I allowed gardens. Interestingly, it was the whitebread, we are better than everyone, tenants that trashed the house and left unpaid rent.
I had not one problem with my tenants growing vegetable gardens.
But I do care about people, whereas many of the comments on here show that I am in the minority. Good to know.
blakmira
Debbie, let’s be “real” here? “real” what? Real unempathetic assholes? It’s clear you work for the government or else you’re one of those asshole landlords. This child should be applauded for being self sustaining and creative and motivated and being outdoors, and it’s assholes like you that work for HUD or wherever it is you bend over for your paycheck. STFU you selfish, selfish judgmental bitch.
tommyterror
You might want to read your own response, blakmira. Your verbal abuse is not welcome. Talk about unempathetic.
debbie
Way to have a civil conversation. Sarah, this nonsense, plus the reply advocating shooting someone telling them not to garden, is this what you want on your blog?
Melissa
Bitter much? Shall we all assume you are also on every assistance program known to man, as I’m sure Rosie’s “severely disabled” mother is? Disabled but not enough to create a child. I’m sorry, I worked for the system too long to buy the story at face value. I quit because the system sucks, and kids like Rosie get smacked around from every angle. Crappy parents, crappy system, crappy schools. Poor kid. Maybe if mama had picked a guy who might hang around, or I don’t know, provide a roof and a yard for little Rosie to garden in, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. The rule sucks too, but it’s in place because the vast majority of people who live in these housing types are too lazy to actually take care of anything they plant. Again, speaking from experience and homes I’ve seen with my own eyes. When people don’t have to work for their things, they don’t take care of them. Rosie may be the exception but the rules are in place for a legit reason. Again, poor kid. Crappy parents.
Colleen Williams
How do you know that she didn’t have her child BEFORE she became disabled? Do you have access to data that is not presented here? If so, pony that up. Post the data your used to make your assertions?
I’ve also worked in the system and I have seen this kind of thing happen. You come off as a bitter and compassionless person. I do hope you are no longer working in “the system”.
Michele
So because some people might not take proper care of a garden no one should be allowed to grow food? So because one person might do something wrong everyone should be penalized. This is bureaucratic bullshit, and the reason this country is going to hell in a hand basket.
There is no room or allowance for anything that deviates from a norm established by the bureaucracy. Again, this is bullshit.
More rules. More regulations. Everyone must follow the rules. Everyone must be equal. Poor, deprived,malnourished, and filled with hopelessness, but equal. Bullshit!!!
This kind of thinking is what is wrong with America.
JT
There you go Melissa, you figured it out. NO RULES AT ALL. I wish it were that way now so I could see your face when people just show up on your land and do as they please. This is a simple case: She does not own this property. What Mom needs to do (according to you) is find a rich guy that will support her. Case closed. What are all the poor men out there to do though?
Ah yes “this kind of thinking is what is wrong with America.
JT
You obviously know their situation in full Melissa. No judgment in that comment at all. It’s funny to me that every person here that is backing this little girl are the same ones that hate her mother for being on disability. And somehow her mother is a bad person because she can’t find a man to take care of her? I guess women can’t provide for themselves. So you would be in her situation if not for the man you tricked into marrying you? Maybe you should let her grow her garden on your property since your so noble.
xfahctor)
I knew it wouldn’t be long before some statist came along and wrangled themselves in to contortions to justify this crap.
Charles Wills redman Jr.
I agree Debbie. For instance in our community they want to allow people to raise chickens in the city limits and it is a divided survey, there is more to the story then BIG Government not allowing these people some imagined freedoms they so want for raising chickens. The majority have never raised animals and a good part of them have never even raised children, so they have no background in care. Yet they want to just start raising chickens, and say that it is for self protection. I live in a rural area just outside town and we raise children, adopted animals and have chickens also, and its not an easy job. The amount of waste alone you have to deal with is massive. If they allow un trained people to raise chickens and the city is not prepared to deal with the waste, the rats and cats and rodents amore will over run the City.
And another point, with the costs of a sizable pen to curtain in the chickens, plus food health care, poisons for the rats, a good large compost, in the end we break even and in the winter with heated water we loss money on the whole CHICKEN EGG thing…
What I am getting at is this, I worked public service for years and witnessed the lack of care given to many activities started by those with good intentions, a garden draws more then vegetables, it draws fungus, bacteria, rodents, insect, deceased animals waste water and many other issues that can compromise the health of others. I am a master gardener and it takes more than planting a garden to grow a garden and for the most part a four year old is not growing a garden, like you said there is more to this story then a sweet defenseless four year and big government. Get this rule overturned and all will petition for the allowance of ponds to fish, grape vines for wine, compost pits for growth, chickens for food and in the end the housing authority will foot the bill to clean it up, which means tax dollars in the end. So waste if you want, but I rather would like to raise their standard of living and give that wasted tax money toward their education and raise them up and out of poverty… Fight the smart fight not the hard fight!
Colleen Williams
I don’t agree with a damned thing Debbie says. She is compassionless, she is judgmental and I wouldn’t let her slimy self in my house.
So, Mr. Master Gardener, your experiences only apply to you. They are what we, in science, call anecdotal evidence, just like Debbie’s overt hatred of the poor.
That is NOT evidence. That is opinion. In science, we gather data, we do experiments, and we try to disprove our own hypothesis. We NEVER rely on anecdotal evidence. EVER.
debbie
You don’t know me at all. There are no real facts in this article. Come on. Do you actually think a 4 year old girl, dug that ground out? Went to the store and bought those plants by herself? She is doing that whole thing completely by herself? This whole story is to get a knee jerk reaction, and it was successful in doing that. The big evil government is picking on a innocent 4 year old. Nonsense. The people that own the property said her mother, and yes, her mother, as she is the adult that signed the lease, couldn’t have a garden.
This has absolutely nothing to do with being rich or poor. This story could have well been about a multimillion dollar house, that was in a homeowners association complaining about it.
People here are saying that it isn’t up to the owner of the property what happens to it. Wow. Some adults here.
I do not hate the poor. If she wanted some plants put them in a pot on her patio. That is fine. Ask permission first to have it to have a garden. Then none of this would have happened.
The vitriol on this board is amazing, and apparently just what Sarah wants. This isn’t helping anyone. But, the dog whistles were called, and it appears they howl on cue.
Michele
I don’t care if a 50-year-old man dug that garden, bought those plants and planted them. It doesn’t matter WHO planted that garden. The ability to grow food and feed oneself should be a right in this country. Just because someone, anyone, the nebulous “someone” might not do it right, it could turn out badly, those people who want to have chickens might not do it perfectly, there might be some noise or odor or mishaps, then NO ONE should be allowed, ALLOWED, to have chickens or grown their own food or whatever. Again, this is wrong thinking. This is bureaucratic, I need the government or someone else to tell me what I can do or cannot do because I am not capable of making my own decisions and the occassional mistake that could inconvenience my neighbor. It might not be a perfect world, but there would be HOPE. These people have no control over any aspect of their lives. They want to grow tomatoes or peppers or something that GASP vines and threatens that perfectly landscaped shrub, so it should be against the rules??? This kind of thinking is the so very dangerous.
CC
There is a lot of information missing in this article. The picture is pretty tightly cropped. I can’t know what the overall situation is, but I am imagining a multi-apartment building with a minimal area of grass and “landscaped areas” between the parking and the doors.
Without enforced rules, the quality of life for everyone living there would likely become very diminished. This person feels it is OK to use the space for a garden (sure, sounds nice to me). Someone else would feel it’s ok to use the space for a bike rack so residents can bike to work instead of needing a car (sounds nice to me). Someone might want to set up a play yard so their toddler can get some fresh air. Someone might want to build a shelter for stray cats, so they won’t freeze in the winter.
Any of those things could be the subject of this exact same article. BUT, they CANNOT all co-exist in the 30 square feet of land that 6 households walk through every day to get into their home. (Not to mention the neutral or negative things people might like to do in that space)
It is not about rich or poor, it is about the logistics of densely packed living. To avoid arguments between residents, to avoid unsafe conditions, to avoid damage to the owners’ property, and to avoid escalating arguments between residents – there simply HAVE TO BE rules, which have to be enforced.
Sure, one little garden doesn’t sound like a problem, but it could easily turn into one – even without anyone else attempting to use the shared space for their own preferred projects.
Donald
Michele so a property owner has no rights to their property ? OK, I’m coming to your house and I’m going to turn your entire yard into my personal garden. You shouldn’t have any objection based on your logic.
There a lot of holes in this story and the fact that you choose to gloss over them says all there is to say about you.
Oh, and saying she should be able to do what she wants with someone else’s property has a certain stench to it.
GUST
People want to think well of themselves so they often enthusiastically support downtrodden, which is, I am guessing, the source of the support we find in many of these posts. However, put them in the position of having to make decisions about THEIR property and THEIR rights as owners, and you will see all kinds of constraints. I know this from personal experience. One HOA I know of required that people use only neutral colored trash cans (brown, gray or green) and set them out for pick up after sunset. And that was only the beginning of the regulations. The further people are from a situation like this one, the more likely they are to be “tolerant” in their reactions. I suspect that many of these kindly posters would sing a different tune if this lady and her little girl and their garden were next door.
Calvin
You are amusing. You shoot down one person’s story because it is “anecdotal evidence” in your indignation about a story that itself is “anecdotal evidence”. So, what science exactly are you actually relying on to fuel the anger you are directing against those who have differing viewpoints from yours? (We do acknowledge that all those who think differently than you are clearly incorrect and incapable of thinking for themselves.)
laura
I’m guessing the rule against having a food garden in or near “landscaping” is because HUD uses extremely toxic chemicals to maintain the area. If so, it makes sense as a safety precaution…
CC
Yes – and they need not be “extremely toxic chemicals”, just products which have not been 100% proven to be 100% safe to be used around plants intended for human consumption. HUD and the Property owner and the property management company would be at risk of lawsuit throughout this child’s lifetime – for the maintenance they do/don’t do to that area, AND for whatever they might “have allowed” other residents to do to the area. (Pour out leftover mop water, pour out left-over turpentine, they can’t know, but would still be at risk because it had been allowed to happen on their property).
GiftEconomy
Google: GUERRILLA GARDENING and learn that planting FREE WIKI-TREES, VEGES… could feed the entire humanity FOR FREE without GMO, pestices, harmful additifs…
Our actual economic system creates SCARCITY BY DESIGN – surproduction is thrown in the Ocean for to keep prices as high as possible; farmers are paid for NOT to produce; at the end of the day, food is thrown and NOT gifted… because THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS BASED ON PROFIT
Now – only FREE STUFF can destroy this satanic system
Use LINUX, UBUNTU (free software to find on Internet) = no viruses, no danger…= you can bring their corporations down
CREATE & SHARE as much as you can
GO RAW VEGAN= secret of perfect health and extraordinary longevity FOR FREE = you can bring their pharmaceutical industry down too
Isaac
I agree: RAW VEGAN is the way. It is a secret to perfect health. Not too many realize that. Anything that would encourage gardening by children is a way to move in that direction. Let’s do this thing!!!
Sandra
I’ve lived in subsidized housing in the past…even a poorly attended garden probably would have been better landscaping. I’ve always thought the “Rules are rules” attitude was ridiculous. I’m even a rule follower haha If a rule makes no sense, it’s made to be broken!
Gerry
O.K. so .. Can mother teach her to container garden in their living space? Yes it isn’t cost free, one must use some kind of container for the veggies and potting soil and so on BUT it could be possible… While I agree it is soooo unfair for this company to take the garden away from this industrious young lady it could also be turned into a learning process. And, container gardening can be done all year long,,
carolyn
I live in a senior/disabled apartment complex. I’m on Hud and many of us are. We asked for, and got a community garden and many grow veggies in their own flowerbeds. I grow tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and herbs in containers on may porch. By the way, basil and marigolds deter mosquitos.
Donnie
Most four year old children will not go near a garden much less work in it. This child is going places no matter what the elite want her to do. I wish the best for these people.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
This sort of creativity and work ethic in children needs to be encouraged, not stifled!
wendy H.
Amen! How dare she think she can do something for her self! That must be stopped or we won’t have another generation of dependents to control!
MKC0887
Agreed! (and thank you for recognizing the beautiful nature of this child)
Crystal
This makes me so sad. I worry so much for my kids food future in this country.
Helen T
Perfect – cover the patch with grass again so they can resume spraying toxic weed killer on it like they do in every neighborhood in the USA. I wonder if there are neighborhood associations mandating that?
Debra
Oh good grief! This is just ridiculous…of course I will write a letter and get behind “Rosie” and her mother. OMG!
Danie
Maybe you should write to Oprah, and ask her why this child can’t have a garden, and yet Oprah can have one, a huge one?
Andrew Wray
These control freaks get everywhere – they get themselves into a position where they can bully the disadvantaged ‘cos they know if they come up against a person like me they’ll get short a short sharp instruction about what to do with themselves
Jen
I’m convinced there isn’t a single person in government or education that has any common sense any more. Ridiculous!
Pat in TX
And they hide behind their laws as an excuse not to gain any!
MKC0887
That’s a bit of a stretch and I’m not sure what education has to do with this.
William
You’re right, and here is why:
http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2013/07/the-theology-of-bureaucracy.html
Derp
I disagree, Jen. I think they know exactly what they are doing, just like the communists in Russia and China did, when they started to decide who could and could not eat.
Scarlet
That’s not true (the part about Russia). During communism you are allowed to do whatever you want with the land, it was during the PRE communism were people were not allowed to plant anything and no one decide who could or could not eat… it’s US propaganda against Soviet Union stated that.
But back to the story: It is terrible to not allowed something like that stay! I can’t believe in it!!!
Pravda
There are so many first hand accounts that say that under communism people were forced off their land and thus not free to grow what they wanted or worked to grow crops that were taken for the collective that the world accepts this as historical fact.
I am astonished at your comment and others that I’m assuming to be made by young Russians. Do you have no family accounts of your history? You sound brainwashed.
My family is Russian and we know firsthand that this is not American propaganda.
Martik
Of course, farmers had been driven away and even arrested or killed, but that´s an other question… Any citizen could have a dacha and grow whatever he wanted. No one forbid any kind of vegetables. Pravda, I don´t think you are Russian.
Pravda
And you appear very young without a proper knowledge of history.
Dennis
Scarlet, I suggest you read the book BLOODLANDS, by Timothy Snyder. Pravda is exactly right. Not only were people forced off the land, their food production was seized and many starved to death. The Holocaust gets all the attention, but NAZI and Stalin regimes killed over 14 million people. Because this land fell behind the IRON Curtain after WWII, their history has been left in darkness.
Olga
Dennis, stop saying rubbish. I was born USSR in 1972 and we got our land for pennies and were allowed to grow whatever we wanted. And the village people could grow whatever they wanted and had even bigger pieces of land. In fact, we still have the land. So stop the cheating.
Now, that kind of thing as described here is something that is even worse that what’s going on in now on the Postsoviet territory. I feel pity for the Americans. They are not free anymore.
Martik
You are right, but these are two different questions. They killed farmers as well as intellectuals… but no one was forbidden to grow his cabbage in his garden.
Imagine
WTF …!!!.. Does it REALLY matter in what ‘mode’ or part of communism your in where there is a period (even in “PRE communism”) where people STARVE… Scarlet, next time just post your name as “The Biggest fan of communism”… It’s AMAZING how far our public education has dropped… WOW…
Pat Joy
I live in Ukraine, which was then considered part of Russia. Yes, land owners were forced of their and any food they had was taken from them, but then ‘crop’ land was given to families, according to the size of the family, but it could only be used for growing food and the family could be punished for not growing food on it. Many families still have the land, the house I bought here still has the land, as do my neighbours. Once independents came quite a few sold the land to make money, but after while the people began to realise it was best if they kept the land.
Although the land outside the front of our homes (the other side of the fence), is considered as owned by the village we are encouraged to plant fruit trees. Even today, if the crop land isn’t used for it’s purpose, it can be taken away and given to someone who will use it. This happened to a man in our village a few years back.
Furor Teutonicus
But even they allowed “Home grown.”
vic
And once again the people and news media bitch about the wrong story.
The true story here is a SINGLE woman who is severely disabled with a 4 year old child on government assistance complaining about who she cant have her way.
Instead it should be whats a severely disabled person on public assistance doing having a child out of wedlock when she cant even take care of herself let alone a child.
kerry
Vic, you are presumptuous in your thinking. You sir are no Christian, not one shred of compassion were found in your words . . . And I might add, cruel
Beth
Vic, show us please that it states the child was born out of wedlock. Show us please the proof this woman is not a widow. Show us please the proof that she has not cared for this little girl properly. You need to get your head out of your pompous butt! You know nothing yet you presume to know it all. YOU are what’s wrong with this country today!
Robert
Beth, if the child’s mother was married she probably wouldn’t qualify for the free housing. If the she is a widow I would assume that the child and her would be receiving SS death benefits. While it is true that we are lacking complete information to know the full story, you are making a fool of yourself assuming that Vic is what is wrong with this country. He is probably more likely to be someone who is supporting this country and the tragic life of a four year old that is forced to grow vegetables and probably care for herself. The story does let us know that the mother is severely disabled. Someone severely disabled to the point that they are unable to perform work to take care of their self cant care for a child.
Will
Robert – you are as big an ass**** as Vic. You make a lot of bigoted assumptions and project your prejudices on this situation without any real knowledge of the facts. Was the woman disabled when she had the child? Um… you don’t know. Was the woman married but has been abandoned by or is separated from her husband… possibly escaping an abusive situation? Um.. you don’t know. Was the woman deceived by some man that she thought was going to stay with her? We don’t know about that either. Is the child the result of rape or incest? Again… you don’t know. I could go on but the point is that you don’t know squat about this situation and yet you feel free to make a bunch of negative assumptions about these unfortunate people.
People like you and Vic who are always ready to assume the worst and are more interested in trying to blame people for their misfortunes instead of reacting with a little compassion… much less love… are, indeed, exactly what is wrong with this country.
DRK
The landowner going after the government guaranteed taxpayer funded rent check, is somehow better than anyone else on public assistance?
The landowner has the right to determine the rules for his own property. That is not the case in this situation. the USDA, a government agency is making up the rules that must be followed in order to be eligible for taxpayer’s money. Because the Gubmint knows best.
Annie
You’re a certain little D-word that happens to rhyme with your name, sir. The amount of ignorance you show in comment is outstanding. For all you know, this woman may have been disabled in a car accident that took her husbands life or something. Take your head out of your high strung asshole and stop judging innocent people in unfortunate situations whom you know nothing about.
The real point here is that this little girl deserves better than the hand she was dealt. Your lack of compassion has me praying you never have children of your own. It takes love to raise a proper headstrong child that can grow her own food at four years old. Not money .
Robert
Annie, you must be proud of yourself for that rant about Vic. I think the government should take everything you have and give it to that little girl and her mother, if you can afford internet then you should be ashamed of not more properly spending that money. I mean after all that poor girl. Her severely disabled mother is raising her to be a farmer. It is your fault, maybe if you spent all your time and money helping those innocents they would pull their self up out of the cycle of free housing, clothing, food,and trips to the polling station. Just think of all the fertilizer that little girl could purchase if you just cancelled your internet service and took it to her home. I doubt you will and that just makes you a hypocrite because you are doing the same as everyone else NOTHING. But you just hide it behind your “compassion”.
GUST
The question I have is how does a four-year-old garden? I have known many four-year-olds up close, and none that I can recall have had a garden or even been of much help in the garden. Someone else, probably the disabled mother, is caring for the garden, and has hauled in her daughter to make her thwarted desire to garden more compelling. There’s no “structure” to most gardens (that’s what the govt is complaining about, I gather) – just plants. So it has to be a case of some sort of fence or shed or some other structure has been built that someone in charge deems unsafe or unsightly. It also appears that this garden is “within landscaped areas” — which means perhaps that normally this is an area that is mowed for neatness and security. One side of the story is told in the short article. In other words, the story is very one-sided. There is doubtless more to it. Why that more isn’t here, I don’t know, except, like the four-year-old instead of the mom being the gardener, it makes for a more compelling story.
GreenGardens21
I work at a certified organic seedling nursery & you’d be surprised at how many children have & tend to gardens. A lot of them learn about it at school, through community gardens, & through older family members. The point is, people should be able to produce their own organic food. One seed can produce food for years to come. If people could use their EBT to buy seeds to feed their families healthy, and cost-effective foods many children would not starve. It’s important for the younger generations to know self-sustaining skills like horticulture, sewing, cooking, and learning how to build things on their own.
Jen
Gust, you have never known a 4 year old with parents that would or could not provide them with the things they needed to survive. We tend to raise our children much more slowly these days at least out here in small town America where I am. I grew up in pretty rough and tumble from the age of 5. Without details I will tell you I was responsible for cooking, (yes on a stove, I don’t think we had an oven) taking care of my brother who was 18 months younger than me, cleaning, entertaining myself and him, and pretty much keeping my own head attached to my body while supplementing the meager supply of food in the home with the tomatoes, honey suckle, and occasional peaches that grew in our area of Oakland CA. All of this just to try to get you to understand that children are quick to learn what needs to be done and how to do it when it effects their survival. I feel for the girl and don’t know enough about this particular mother to judge her. it’s not my place to do so anyway.
Pam Jacobson
A four year old can certainly garden with direction. What a wonderful life skill this child is learning! Not to mention the nutrition benefits of greens in the diet. The housing authority could put a raised bed garden at each unit for flowers or veggies. Don’t have to mow a garden and it would give each tenant a good feeling to make their home beautiful. We all need comfort in our homes. It doesn’t hurt me to provide a bit of my earnings to help others in need. I don’t believe the majority of people that have a difficult time in life are out to scam the rest of us. Educate the scammers with consequences and leave the rest alone. They don’t need the guilt trip some are putting on them. That just makes it harder to move out of poor situation. Statistics show that people don’t stay on welfare programs for a long period of time. But, there will always be some people tha t will need long term help – as does this disabled mom.
Wyandotte
If what you are suggesting is correct, and it may be, that is still no reason to tell this family to tear out their garden right now. It’s close to the end of the growing season, so how about the govt officials show a bit of common sense, allowing the girl to complete the gardening year in peace, and to not place a garden there next year, but to find a more appropriate spot.
I tend to think there is more here going on than meets the eye, you are right about that.
carolyn
I had a neighbor whose 23 year old husband was killed in a car wreck and had only enough work credit to give them $342 a month in SSI. So they recieved aid while the mother went to busuness school and then
she was working temp jobs while looking for a job to support them.
Gail Mom of 4 USArmy Soldiers
You assume that she’s an unwed mother. But there are so many storied of women who are raped, and kept the child. Women who are widowed, and women who’s husbands left them, walked out of them and the child. (I’m not bashing men, I’m just bashing on the ones that abandon their wife and children.) So until we know the rest of the story, don’t judge.
ignatz
Translation: “I know nothing about this woman, her life, or her history! But she’s on welfare, so let me make up a story that casts her in an unfavorable light!”
The same folks who want to outlaw abortion scream bloody murder when the poor carry to term.
scragsma
Huh? Your last sentence has no logic and NO truth behind it, and has nothing to do with the subject at hand.
scragsma
Who said she had the child out of wedlock? Or that she was severely disabled at the time she had the child? Don’t make assumptions.
CC
Vic,
Who said the child was born out-of-wedlock? Awfully presumptuous of you isn’t it? We don’t know how or when this woman became disabled let alone single. Maybe her husband died in a car accident that left her disabled, maybe not. Whatever the cause, the fact remains that Americans (ALL Americans) should be allowed to grow their own vegetables if they choose to.
Silkroad
Let’s say that little girl was born out of wedlock. Does that make her any less of a human being because of it?
The world would be better off without people like you, vic.
Pat
They come up with a creative way to provide for themselves when they have next to no money so they are told to stop. Sounds like the same government that gives handouts while telling people they are not allowed to save money, making them reliant on the handouts.
Danie
Perhaps then Oprah should not be allowed to have a HUGE garden in her estate in California?