By Brother Ridgely X

At our local mosque, No. 92 in Greensboro, NC we did a small survey for our farm marketing buying
club. We wanted to get an idea of our spending habits, specifically groceries. We received 14
surveys back. One of the first things that stood out to me is the frequency of trips to the grocery
store. Some of the believers have large families (4 or more), and we realize that they would have a
need to make more visits and spend considerably more per month on groceries. The amount of money we
spend on dining out is actually a little lower than I expected, I think another survey this time
anonymous would provide better data.

The questions asked were: How much does your family spend per month on groceries? How many times
do you visit the grocery store per month? How much does your family spend per month on dining out?
What foods would you like to receive in the food basket? Are you interested in joining the buying
club? Does your family have access to land (more than 5 acres)?

Large families tend to spend upwards of $350 per month in the stores and another $150 or so
eating out. I think a good selling point and goal for the buying club would be to decrease the total
monthly food bill for those families by at least $50.00-$75.00. Of course we know the added benefits
of pooling our resources and efforts as well as the health benefits of eating more health conscious
foods, so if we could reach that goal, there would really be no excuse not to join and the members
could actually see the benefit in dollars and cents.

In this particular survey we found that everybody likes green peppers! They also liked onions,
tomatoes, and fruit. I wonder if and where we could get navy beans -when not available from the farm
in Georgia or Michigan- milk, eggs, and maybe some more bulk food items that a lot of us buy and eat
on a monthly basis???

We have enjoyed shopping at a local produce wholesaler in Winston-Salem, NC on items not
available from our farms. Since prices on fruits and vegetables vary greatly with the season, if we
had the canning and storage facilities, we could really save by buying in season in bulk.

Only one believer in this survey had any family access to land over 5 acres, which disappointed
and surprised me. I would like to ask more believers here locally, but we can see the trend towards
having no land. I would also like to see how many of us rent, how many own, how many are buying
houses/land, how many have car payments, what do we spend on clothing per month, how much of our
budget is allocated to food, clothing, and shelter, etc. All this would best be gathered anonymously
of course. If we can strategically analyze our spending and find ways to cut it, we would all do a
great deal better. Our mission as given to us by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad is to pool our
resources and claim our own. Since there is no Spook-God, we have to attack our stagnation with
action and planning.

In the latest Final Call -vol 25, num 49 – there is a reprint from How To Eat To Live entitled:
Little Pure Food On Market. In it The Messenger proclaims that the foods available to us are
unhealthy, we know this. In 2006, the situation is more dire. They are putting bacteria on sandwich
meats, taking the natural nutrients out of foods and replacing them with synthetic compounds,
genetically modifying crops so that they won’t bear seed and reproduce – these are wicked,
depraved scientists. We cannot afford the luxury of depending on this system to provide for our well
being.

In Message To The Blackman in the chapter entitled Land Of Our Own And Qualifications,
We are instructed to gain some LAND of our own! How much of the 29,000,000 square miles of useful
land do we lay claim to? Food, clothing, and shelter are the basic needs of every man, woman, and
child. How much of these needs are we independent of the White man? If we can UNIFY and set up some
real working groups, pool our resources and start thinking independently, we surely can buy housing,
land and the means to providing clothing for ourselves and our people. This is where real WEALTH
comes from, not printed paper dollars!

If you are interested in participating in a similar survey, contact your local representative of
the Ministry of Agriculture.