Food in Retirement

by Jack Heppner

Not long ago I heard of a recently retired senior saying that he was bored with his new life. His complaint was that there are only a limited number of things one can do around the house. I know many seniors who feel this way. That is why some stay in the work force as long as possible. On the other hand, some seniors stay occupied with the kind of things they did before retirement. Others pick up new challenges now that they have more time on their hands.

One meaningful, productive and interesting activity for seniors to be engage in is growing their own food. Many baby boomers have memories of their parents growing their own food and some have even done some of their own gardening while raising their children. But sometimes they feel that by the time they retire they owe it to themselves to take it easy and just pick up their food at the store. And, of course, then they complain about being bored!

So if you are a retired person, I challenge you to get serious about growing your own food. A good place to start is to educate yourself about the unsustainability of modern agricultural as well as the questionable ways foods you buy are processed and preserved. From me, just knowing that much of the food I purchase in the grocery store is laced with chemicals from the moment crops are planted right through the preservation and packaging stages is enough to motivate me to grow my own food.

Another thing that propels me into my garden is the knowledge that we are fast losing the soil upon which all life on the planet depends. One scientist friend recently told me that some researchers are projecting that by 2060 our soils will basically be gone. Oh, there will still be “dirt” in those places where the soil has not yet eroded. But basically it will be inert material into which we have to mix fertilizers to grow food. What will mostly be missing, however, are the trillions of micro-organisms which, in a healthy soil, produce the dozens of micro-nutrients our bodies need to remain healthy.

Once you, as a retired person, embark on a project of growing your own food organically, it will go a long way to relieve the boredom you now feel. And beyond that, not only will the food you eat be healthier for you, the exercise you get along the way will help to keep you physically fit.

There is nothing like standing in the middle of a garden you have created that is bursting with healthy produce. Creating your own compost, growing your own seedlings, building raised beds, removing unwanted weeds, watering plants with rainwater you have collected, and harvesting and preserving vegetables will go a long way toward taking boredom out of retirement. For many days of the year it will provide a good reason to get up and get going in the morning!