However, I want to break away from the day's responsibilities and instead embarky on a conversation about one of my personal interests: agriculture.
Modesto sits on the upper edge of the Salinas Valley, a region of the US commonly referred to as the Nation's Breadbasket or the Nation's Salad Bowl.
The city itself looks unlike any other that I have seen. I say this because the majority of the cities I have encountered have been on the east coast where, for the most part, agricultural hubs are relegated to the outskirts of cities rather than being a central component of the prosperity of the city itself. Alternatively, here in Modesto, agriculture runs this town. Irrigation canals run alongside the streets, processing facilities decorate the city corners and lawns are strewn with farm equipment.
Last semester at UNC I took an environmental studies class called Agriculture and the Environment in which I learned a lot of agricultural centers and the industrialization of the farming sector. On our ride into Modesto, I was prepared to encounter a place fertile with food that was being processed, packaged and shipped to other regions of the country and/or world.
However, over the past several meals and yesterday evening in particular as I conversed with church members during our potluck dinner, I was told on multiple occasions how fresh and local the food was. The peaches we had at breakfast we picked the day before; the woman who brought the green bean casserole said that the green beans were picked from her son's garden.
Sentiments like this were shared time and again and I found myself surprised that so much of the food that was being grown was not only financially benefitting the area but also nourishing he community.
Maybe I was being naive when I conceived of the city as an industrial agriculture area without much support for local consumption but here I am, well-fed and ready to ride!
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