Everybody Eats!
Last summer/fall, I joined Nyland Cohousing Community's Farm CSA, North Farm. All summer long, I went to the farm every week to pick up a bag of fresh vegetables. It was so fun to go there, see all the veggies, and Lara even let us pick some fresh flowers from the garden to take home. I loved having the connection to what I was eating; seeing it being grown, and getting vegetables that were fresh out of the earth that morning. It creates a devotion to vegetables that differs from getting them when they are, a week or two or more old. I would plan to make things based on what was harvested, like an AMAZING hungarian paprika/fresh basil tomato soup.
I decided last summer that I wanted to take the next step, and further that connection by working on the farm. Since I moved from Louisville, North Field was a bit further than I wanted to drive. I met a the couple who run Black Cat Farm at the Farmer's Market, and went out there one morning. I auspiciously ended up at another farm, call Everybody Eats!
Oscar Jarquin, the farm's manager, was devoutly working the fields in the substantial rain when I arrived. After helping find where I had intended to go, we chatted about Everybody Eats! farm. He shared their mission, which is quite wonderful. The farm is a working farm, which is training people to start their own farms and community gardens. They see farm work as an important community value, which teaches people self reliance and can help stabilize the food supply.
They are doing fantastically at this. I went out to work on the farm last Thursday, and I met three out of eight farming interns. They showed me how to use the harvesting tools, how to tell when a radish is ready to be harvested, what a garlic scape is (delicious), and how to harvest it. I learned a lot that morning, and it was so good to be in the fields amongst the 50 shades of green.:) I even went home with some lettuces, arugula, garlic scape, and spinach which I immediately made into a meal. Spinach with garlic scape and olive oil, pepper flakes is highly recommended.
I want to spread the word because I believe in the mission of this farm. Dave Georgis and Juliana Wells started this farm eight years ago, because they felt the importance of teaching farming. Interns are taught how to run a farm by doing it. With eight interns, who spend 20 hours a week farming, for a year or two, that is definitely spreading farming knowledge. Oscar Jarquin grew up farming in Nicaragua, and ran his own family's farm there.
You can join Everybody Eats! CSA program. They have several pickup spots in Boulder every week, and offer some gorgeous looking fresh vegetables. Or, if you are feeling inspired, check out the farming internship program. It is a excellent vision for our future; to train future generations of farmers. I saw from my day there the confidence of the interns. Being involved completes a circle, because as we all know, Everybody Eats! And if you have to do it, why not eat food that is fresh, healthy, straight from the earth delicious?
