Urban Farming
I had the best home cooked meal I’ve eaten in years today. It certainly wasn’t because of my cooking. Our teens have been working with the Urban Farming Agricultural Academy, making trips to a farm in Vermont and locally in Spencer, MA. You should have seen the staff trying to convince kids from the largest housing development in New England to go on the first trip to the farm. “I’m not going to garden” was one comment I overheard. Their minds have changed however. They think it’s fun and it broadened their horizons. They brought back fresh strawberries from a trip earlier in the year, my Dad’s birthday present.
Today was the first day they had the farm stand in front of the Club. I don’t cook enough, but I had to support our kids. Tonight I had a nice salad (lettuce, carrots, tomato and cucumber), green beans and new potatoes. All were picked today. It was amazing the difference fresh, organic produce makes. I have two more salads pre-made, blueberries to look forward to in my cereal and some fresh zucchini bread. I haven’t figured out what I’m doing with the jalepenos yet.
If anyone is planning to meet with me at the Club, I’d suggest Wednesday afternoons so they can check out the farm stand. It is certainly going to improve my diet the rest of the summer. More importantly, it is a great opportunity to get our kids excited about healthy foods. You should have seen the kids cluster around the booth at the end of the day. Most of the comments were-I’ll be back when my parents pick me up. If you work with kids, I’d highly recommend seeing if there is a farming co-op in the area that might be willing to partner with you. If not, raised bed gardening is an option.
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