From my friend Marty Lerner, major domo at the Florida treatment center Milestones In Recovery, I learned of a series of phone support meetings operated within the fellowship of Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous (all 1 hour; all times Eastern):

Monday, 8:30 pm Dial: 858-216-3378; code: 22657

Tuesday, 2 pm Dial: 213-289-0500; code: 22657

Wednesday, 8:30 pm Dial: 858-216-3378; code: 22657

Thursday, 8:30 pm Dial: 858-216-3378; code: 22657

Friday, 11:30 am Dial: 213-289-0500; code: 22657

Saturday, 4 pm Dial: 858-216-3378; code: 22657

Sunday, 10 am (men's), Dial: 858-216-3378; code: 22657

Sunday, 4 pm Dial: 858-216-3378; code: 22657

Audio files of past meetings are also available.

My voracious reading friend, Ron, points toward this morning's squib from Jane Brody of the Times on the public health consequences of the continued rise of obesity in America: By 2020, demographers say, three out of four Americans will be obese or overweight, ands that by 2030, there will be 65 million more in those categories than there were last year.

Though certainly, the current proportion of two out of three is horrendous enough, she says:

Welcome to another installment of “10 Words or Less,” a title that applies both to the questions I ask and the answers I hope to receive. Today’s participant is at the edge of my usual topics, but she does her business at farmers’ markets, and she’s interesting. Please remember: No counting! It’s a goal, not a rule.

Name Patti Small
Age 57
Town Bolton, Mass. 
Business “On The Edge Knife Sharpening.”
How long have you been doing it? “Three years.”
Where is your shop? “I don’t have one.”
Huh? “I go from market to market to market.”
Why? “I live out in Bolton. Who’s going to drive out here to get their knives sharpened?”

I recently heard from “Joan,” whom I’ve met through publication of “Fat Boy Thin Man.” Though she’s quite aware that whatever I can share is limited by my experience and not informed by scientific study, we often settle into mentor/newcomer roles. Here’s a deconstruction of excerpts from her most recent letter, because sometimes our underlying thinking reveals quite a lot that we might not otherwise recognize:

As a freelance writer, I'm a washout, because most of the time, I'm writing only on topics I'm interested in, rather than what pays well. Regardless, please check out my latest story in the Boston Globe, on the subject of locavores.

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is seeking a grassroots advocacy director to work with staff and member organizations to help galvanize support for and advance 2012 farm-bill and other federal policy priorities.

The coalition is alliance of over 80 grassroots organizations that advocates for federal policy reform to advance the sustainability of agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and rural communities.

Daycare takes a vacation, so light posting this week. Please come back!

At least a few words are due AmpleHarvest.org, which allows food pantries and food growers — including backyard growers who can't eat everything when the harvest comes in — to connect with each other. The site lists 4,100 pantries in all 50 states that accept gresh produce and is still growing.

If you have more than you can use, what better solution than to look up where you can share with families in need?

Here’s a report from the intersection of legumes and insanity, or, in a single word, nuts. I have a checkered history with one, and I have the other. I went through this intersection last week and the tale illustrates what food addiction feels like.

So where to begin! How ‘bout: Yes, it’s true that I do have antipathy toward many nutritionists and registered dietitians, because too often I’ve been advised, or heard friends advised, to eat moderately, without ruling out any foods — because the advisers think that advice is sound for everyone, and it’s not.