Blog Post 2 - Community Links

Today was a big day for getting in touch with Davidson College and the Davidson Community. The day started with Morgan, Margie, and I going to Ada Jenkins Center to plant a garden with T. We planted peppers, tomatoes, and herbs that we will be carrying for throughout the summer. When it’s time to harvest, the food will go to the Loaves and Fishes pantry at Ada Jenkins. T told us that the garden used to be used for a program for Davidson Middle School and Elementary School called “Problem Solvers.” The program was cut because there was not enough funding, and for some reason this offhand comment stuck with me throughout the day. It’s really a bummer that a program where kids are learning where food comes from and how to grow something that they can eat and share is being cut from the school system. Later in the day while I was finding some sponsors for the email list in Natural Awakenings Magazine, I read an article about food and school systems. (Link to article: http://awakeningcharlotte.com/content/2009/07/28/school-lunch-program/) The food services that schools are using are not only unhealthy, but they also eliminate a major education piece that students could be learning by eating healthy foods and engaging in programs where they have the opportunity to take care of a garden. With so many health, environmental, and economic problems connected to the food world, why are “Problem Solvers” and other programs that attempt to connect kids to learning about the world around them, being eliminated? Teaching the next generation to be problem solvers should be the main priority in our schools. It’s really interesting to see how food and education are connected, but the same road blocks often prevent us from making progress in both areas.

After that, I had a meeting with Dee Phillips at Commons. We discussed the Commons staff’s trip to Barbee Farms, the possibility of a Commons work study position, and the Davidson College Community Garden. Dee enjoyed the farm tour and was really impressed with Tommy Barbee’s stuff. She said that they will definitely use him in the fall which is a great step! She also said that I could go along on the staff’s next farm tour to Wild Turkey Farm.

We did not make as much progress with the work study conversation. The staff does not see a need for a Commons work study even though I think it is extremely important. Dee said that I could put a proposal together, and I just finished it today. I’m proposing a position called Food Systems Educator. This is a work study position that Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. I think that this position would help dining services make huge strides because it is centered on education. It would teach students what they are eating and where there food comes from, generating the energy and interest needed to make changes. It has been suggested that there is not enough student interest to make these changes, but I disagree. I think that if students were informed about their food and had an outlet to express their interest these changes could be put into place much easier. My role as the Food Systems Educator would involve a few components. I would maintain the garden behind Commons, work on a webpage for the College completely focused on sustainability in dining services (see Middlebury as an example: http://www.middlebury.edu/sustainability/food), keep students updated by sending out posts in the Crier about weekly local or organic options, have food films (a few of these are only 15-30 minutes – see website http://www.nycfoodfilmfestival.com/ ) that could be shown on the dark side during dinner hours so that students would be getting informed over dinner while not having to commit 2 hours to watching a movie, and much more. Education is key to bringing about improvements, and I think that a Food Systems Educator work study position would bring the dining staff and the students to the same table.

We also talked about the Davidson College Community Garden behind Commons and how it would be cared for over the summer. I am taking over the project for the summer which means harvesting the radishes, lettuce, and onions now and the squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers in the next few weeks. I will also need to get the ground ready to start planting fall vegetables. I don’t know too much about this stuff, but I am already learning a lot just by working in Christy’s garden and reading some of her books. I know next time to plant basil and tomatoes together, plant garlic to keep out the bugs, and start weeding a lot earlier! Still, I feel like I don’t really know what I’m doing, and it would be great to have some kind of mentoring so that I could plant some really good fall crops. So if anyone’s reading this blog and has any interest…let me know!

Blog Post 1: First Days and Goals for the Summer

Today it has been one week since I started interning at Know Your Farms. After a week of settling in – learning about my responsibilities as an intern, setting some goals for the summer, and learning to navigate my way through Christy’s kitchen – I have finally gotten around to blogging. I hope to blog everyday and upload any pictures I take for Know Your Farms in order to keep a record of the work I’ve done and make the experience more meaningful for me. I think blogging will give me a lot of time to reflect on the work I do each day, from what I did well to what I could have done better, so that I can take a step back at the end of the day to see the whole picture and make improvements.

After just a week of working for Know Your Farms, I can already tell that I am going to learn a ton this summer. So far, I have distributed Know Your Farms CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes, harvested vegetables on an incubator farm in Concord, worked at the Davidson Farmer’s Market, and worked with the other interns on planning the Know Your Farms day camp. Working with the other interns has been a great experience. Even when we are preparing dinner together, it is awesome to discuss ideas and watch something come together. All of us have different backgrounds and our own goals for what we want to achieve this summer, and I think it will be very rewarding and exciting to learn how we can use our strengths to help one another with individual projects and make creative and successful group projects.

This summer, I hope to learn a lot more about how communities operate and how we can channel the talents and energies in a community towards making healthy choices. I also want to learn more about working with a group when learning something new and when teaching others. We have a lot to learn this summer from farmers, community members and each other, and we also have the opportunity to teach what we’ve learned during the day camp weeks. I want to learn more about communities and working in a group because I think these are really valuable skills I will be able to take back to Davidson College in the fall when the Food Group starts taking steps to providing healthier and more sustainable options in Commons and the Union. Also, after already running into some struggles with Davidson College over changing the options, I will really appreciate this summer’s opportunity to be part of a network of people who care about making changes in the food world.

Tomorrow, Morgan, Margie and I are going to meet with T at the Ada Jenkins Garden. I am excited to see another garden in Davidson because I want to see how it is managed and used in order to find ways to improve the Davidson College Community Garden.

Expectations, Day Four- James

Christy asked me last night what my expectations for the summer were. While I think that's a valuable question to work through (and one I'll answer sooner or later), it's not really how I think about things. For better or worse, I tend to think in the moment, about what's directly in front of me (I was also supposed to write this post on day one of work. It's now around day four. Punctuality isn't a strong suit either). But while my expectations may be nebulous, I can say with more certainty what it is I'm excited about this summer.

For one, I'm excited to have access to a fridge, a freezer, a pantry, a back yard, and occasionally a front porch full of fresh, local food to cook and a group of people to cook and eat with. For two, it makes me happy to be doing work that's very hands on. I'm an English major, and I got a little burnt out on the intellectual side of things after I wrote a 17 page paper on Moby-Dick and the unconscious mind. Somewhat more abstractly, I like knowing the community around me, and working with food and farmers seems to me to get at the roots of a community like nothing else.

Someday, I'll actually think about expectations. But for now, I'm just glad it's summer.

Peace, Love, and Yellow Squash,
James