Support
This summer, I had the privilege of interning at littleGrasse Foodworks, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm that offers fully organic produce in Canton, NY.
I gained first-hand experience in the art of farming and food preservation while developing an understanding of what food means in my life and community. Working on preservation techniques such as blanching, freezing, and canning, sparked a knew love for the processes of preserving, to extend the harvest and care food gives to us far beyond its natural timeline. Growing up with food insecurity and being given the opportunity to be apart of a system that sustains a community while giving back to the earth is something I will always be grateful for being able to experience.
I also gained the skill of discipline and patience, weeding and maintaining produce, made me recognize how careful attention to the smallest of detail helps dramatically sustain the larger health of the garden. Along with the skill of knowing how to preserve your body and mind in a rigorous and fast paced work environment. While this experience also made me appreciate how much effort it takes for food to reach your plate and acknowledge how food is not just something we eat but something we care for.
These everyday tasks helped me also see how growing and preserving food can also be an act of resistance, and reclamation, of our independence as I am Native American living on a reservation. The work on the farm yet challenging always had a purpose and carried a lesson in sustainability, self reliance, and community care. My time at littleGrasse showed me how farming was not just labor, but a practice of healing, and resistance to dependence on a failing system, creating a more sustainable and healthy future.