SPUSA in Salt Lake City Promotes Food Sufficiency Program

Socialist Party members in Salt Lake City engaged in a networking operation to provide a proactive opportunity to engage and collaborate with various political groups in the area. The goal was to provide the means for 1000 households in poor and Latino communities to grow their own food. We were able to accomplish this goal by collaborating with The Red Lotus Party, The Brown Berets, and The Utah Immigrant Rights Action Committee.

The SLC-SP provided the seeds, packages, flyers, and logistics for the operation. Two members from the other groups helped us package and distribute the seeds. We walked door to door taping each package to the door. We received mostly positive feedback when engaged in the community. Most people were shocked that there was no commercial incentive. We provided our contact inform

ation so residents could give us feedback and we have received two angry emails so far (“I don’t appreciate your socialist ways”, “I hate your stupid tape on my door”)

We consider this the first step in establishing communal food sufficiency that stands independent of capital. However the next stages of development are still being discussed. We would like to develop a food sharing outlet so that once the harvest is done people will have an opportunity to use their surplus to feed their own community. We would like to have the community come together in a social gardening and food distribution situation but we recognize the constraints that will likely prevent this from happening at this time so we are going to try and work around the individual household and provide the means of personal food production and stability for now.