Posted By: Francis Koster Published: February 21, 2023
One of my strongest happy childhood memories was made when my dad took us kids fishing. As you see in the photo below, My brother and I caught a bunch of fish. Dad taught us to clean the scales off of them so the fish could be fried. As I handed my mom the results of my …
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: December 27, 2020
My mom and dad always ended the Christmas and New Year’s holiday period exhausted. They took six kids and grandma on a holiday schedule filled with choir rehearsal, church events, pancake breakfasts, and fundraisers. There were serious moments - as kids, we were asked if we had been naughty or nice, and by the time we entered high school we were reminded of our obligation to become a role model for others. We were often asked, “Are you walking your talk?” I have been thinking about this. Are we, as a country, being "naughty or nice?" Does our behavior reflect what we proclaim are our values? I do not think so. Across our country, our life expectancy has been falling, particularly among the poor, even before the Covid epidemic.[1] [2] Many years of failure to adapt public policy to scientific findings is causing great pain and suffering.
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: October 19, 2020
I have powerful memories of my mom, the mother of six, counting money at the kitchen table, sighing and scratching items from her shopping list because she realized we could not afford them. Sometimes she cried. While shopping, she taught me how to look out for overpriced items. If her suspicions were aroused, she would do something like take a five-pound bag of potatoes over to the meat department and ask them to weigh it. She was usually correct and they would have to reduce the price. After a series of such events, we switched to another market. All behavior has consequences.
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: October 15, 2020
I am one of six kids. My father was a very good man – but he was not what you would call “warm and huggy”. He expected us to pitch in and carry our weight in household chores from about the time the broom was twice as tall as you were, and heaven help you if you didn’t. One of his favorite lines was “All behavior has consequences – good behavior has good consequences; bad behavior has bad consequences”. When a bad consequence arose, he would often remind me and my brothers and sisters of the behavior that got us to it. Didn’t do homework? When report cards came around you were reminded of “All behavior has consequences….” Didn’t tie your shoe? Didn’t check your backpack for your lunch? Late for school because you didn’t keep your bicycle tires pumped up? “All behavior has ……”. I must confess I heard it a lot.
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: August 30, 2020
We pride ourselves for being a wealthy nation. It may shock you to learn that in this elite
group, we rank 35th in life expectancy. [1] Invisible things in our environment are dramatically
impacting our citizen’s health.
A major contributing factor to our nation's awful life expectancy is that 72% of all American
adults are either overweight or obese – and the percentage is rising. Since 1960, the weight of
the average American adult increased by 28 pounds! [2], [3], [4]
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: March 31, 2020
All eyes are watching for the impact of one invisible threat to America.
There are actually two threats coming.
Some food will become hard to get.
America imports one third of its fresh vegetables and more than half of its fresh fruit from from countries that already have the coronavirus epidemic.
Importing food is not limited to acquiring food from other countries - the majority of America's heavily populated east coast states import fruits and veggys from west coast states. [1]
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: September 20, 2016
Food for Fines in Lexington, Kentucky as appeared in the Lexington Herald Leader January 4, 2016 LexPark collects 10,000 canned food items in “Food for Fine” program The Lexington Parking Authority collected 10,000 canned goods and other food items as part of its five-week “food for fines” program. The program — now in its second …
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: September 8, 2014
Rescuing People by Rescuing Food Copyright Francis P.Koster, Ed.D. Note: In addition to publishing my writing on this website, and emailing it to a mailing list of over 3,000 community leaders, my columns appear in several newspapers. One of the unsatisfying aspects of my work is that I never know if anyone acts on the …
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: April 5, 2014
Fruits and Veggies Lower Death Rate by 42% and Create Local Jobs by Francis P. Koster, Ed.D. There are three surprising facts about food that almost no one knows - and they absolutely impact the life expectancy and health of you and yours. Start with this: British researchers studied 65,000 people over 7 years, and …
Posted By: Francis Koster Published: January 31, 2014
By Francis Koster, Ed.D. Just about the time the South's furniture and textile economy collapsed, so did Cleveland Ohio's. Cleveland used to supply much of the steel for the Detroit automobile industry. Car and truck sales in the United States have fallen by one third over the past 13 years, and a significant …
![[2]](http://i1.wp.com/metrocosm.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/average-adult-weight-by-year.png){kind=link}
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