I cannot even believe how quickly the week has gone by. We have such a fun, diverse group, and I have learned so much culturally and mentally from each individual. Volunteering on farms is hard work, but I think it makes each of us sincerely appreciate where our food comes from.
City Natives and ReVision Urban Farms provide fresh, local food at low costs to people who may not have access to such food in their communities. Farming is interesting in urban areas, because space and land are so much more limited. I admire the resourcefulness of Bostonian farmers who use greenhouses to extend the growing season, build raised beds to avoid contaminated soils, and provide a variety of community education programs.
Today we also had the chance to visit a community garden with over one hundred plots. The plots are invidually owned and maintained by local families. This wasn't a pristine, colorful, rural atmosphere; rather, some of the gardens were in cage-like structures to prevent vandalism, the garden was literally next to major roads and row homes, and the location was formerly a row of townhouses that had been demolished. I'm sure gardening is joyful for the plot owners, and some plots were gorgeous . But is this type of setting merely part of the community, or can it help provide unity within the community?
--Whitney
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Tuesday Farming & Serving!
City Natives Garden aims to preserve the native plants and grow food for the community. As the city is becoming more industrialized, there aren't many plots of land reserved for these native plants and for gardens. It was really neat to see the residents' gardens at Victory Garden, and similarly, the Natives Garden provides small plots of land to people who lack gardening space at home. The Natives Garden location we visited is mainly used for educational purposes and to plant small fruits and vegetables. The place was definitely different than what I expected it to be. I've never visited a place that grows food before. I was a little disappointed that we had to weed, but I enjoyed planting the tomatoes. The annual event, where the gardeners sell plants, veggies, teach about gardening methods, and host perennial exchanges, sounds like a great opportunity for residents to meet other people from their community and share tips and planting experience. The place definitely seemed like a great effort to encourage people to be more involved in the environment. I'm not sure how well-known these gardens are, but I'd like to know if they exist in other big cities like Washington, D.C.!
My experience at the Long Island Homeless Shelter greatly differed from that at the Women's Lunch Table. There were a lot more staff, and the facility was larger. The food, disappointingly, was also highly processed. It consisted of a pasta entree, 2 slices of bread, and a fruit. It didn't seem to be very filling, as all the trays I washed were cleared. Toward the end of the dinner, I felt bad decreasing the number of scoops per person-- it didn't seem like there was enough food to go around. another thing that surprised me was how enthusiastic and appreciative the staff were. I went in expecting them to be indifferent or annoyed when we made mistakes, but they were very encouraging and grateful for the help. They also encouraged us to engage in conversation with guests to make them feel a little more special and loved. The guests seemed nice and also appreciative of our efforts. Today's experince only strengthens my viewpoint that homeless people are humans just like us. They have needs, just like us. They deserve to be treated the same way everyone else is treated.
--Theresa
My experience at the Long Island Homeless Shelter greatly differed from that at the Women's Lunch Table. There were a lot more staff, and the facility was larger. The food, disappointingly, was also highly processed. It consisted of a pasta entree, 2 slices of bread, and a fruit. It didn't seem to be very filling, as all the trays I washed were cleared. Toward the end of the dinner, I felt bad decreasing the number of scoops per person-- it didn't seem like there was enough food to go around. another thing that surprised me was how enthusiastic and appreciative the staff were. I went in expecting them to be indifferent or annoyed when we made mistakes, but they were very encouraging and grateful for the help. They also encouraged us to engage in conversation with guests to make them feel a little more special and loved. The guests seemed nice and also appreciative of our efforts. Today's experince only strengthens my viewpoint that homeless people are humans just like us. They have needs, just like us. They deserve to be treated the same way everyone else is treated.
--Theresa
Wednesday-- the Farming Continues!
Our group went to the Revision Urban Farm today, which aims to plant food (vegetables) for the community. This farm is different than I expected it to be and seems smaller than Chesapeake Natives Farm we went to on Tuesday. However, the farm is doing a nice job to provide a green nighborhood as the city becomes more industrialized and provide food for people from two shelters across the farm. By doing hard work such as pulling weeds and planting spinach and cabbage, I realize that it is not easy to produce the food we consume and waste every day, which makes me more appreciative of food as well as the farmers. While the Chesapeake Natives Garden focuses on educational purposes, Revision Urban Farm seems like a great effort to encourage people to be more involved in food production and supporting the neighborhoods.
By going to the farm today, I not only learned about farming techniques, but also about the importance of urban agriculture as well as the magnificance of food. During the afternoon, our group went to Berkeley Community Garden, which is located in a small area in the Center of Boston. It is great place to explore different kinds of plants and to share tips and planting experience. Despite the long walking, I really enjoyed today's work, which helps to broaden my knowledge about food and gardening.
--Anh
By going to the farm today, I not only learned about farming techniques, but also about the importance of urban agriculture as well as the magnificance of food. During the afternoon, our group went to Berkeley Community Garden, which is located in a small area in the Center of Boston. It is great place to explore different kinds of plants and to share tips and planting experience. Despite the long walking, I really enjoyed today's work, which helps to broaden my knowledge about food and gardening.
--Anh
Monday Fun!
After getting up bright and early today at 6am, our group traveled to a women's lunch shelter at a church in the city. Once we got there, we were introduced to the head chef, Josh, who gave us a brief overview of the shelter. The shelter was responsible for serving breakfast as well as gourmet lunch meals to the women that came to the church. I was put to work immediately in the kitchen, helping to clean some of the vegetables as well as chop some of them up. I was constantly moving from station to station offering to help where it was needed, and was subjected to a year's worth of tears cutting up three onions. Without having much prior cooking experiences, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to see all the work it takes to prepare a gourmet meal and have a hand in what the women would be eating.
After cooking the meal, we had the chance to serve it to the women who came and to sit down and eat it with them. I had the chance to sit and eat with a woman named Joann, who constantly kept me and Roshan laughing with the stories she told. Sitting there with the women, I could see how much it meant to them having someone to talk to and share a meal with. they thanked us constantly for the meal we cooked, but I was more proud of the opportunity to spend time with these women and hear what they had to say. Looking around at the women who came in, it was easy to tell how hard of a toll homelessness can place on them, so it was nice to try and brighten their day by cooking a meal and interacting with them.
I was very impressed and intrigued by the concept that Josh has in place at the shelter in providing gourmet meals, as I felt it catered to the women on a more personal note. I am hoping the rest of the week continues the same learning experience I went through today and I am looking forward to what lies ahead.
--Dom
After cooking the meal, we had the chance to serve it to the women who came and to sit down and eat it with them. I had the chance to sit and eat with a woman named Joann, who constantly kept me and Roshan laughing with the stories she told. Sitting there with the women, I could see how much it meant to them having someone to talk to and share a meal with. they thanked us constantly for the meal we cooked, but I was more proud of the opportunity to spend time with these women and hear what they had to say. Looking around at the women who came in, it was easy to tell how hard of a toll homelessness can place on them, so it was nice to try and brighten their day by cooking a meal and interacting with them.
I was very impressed and intrigued by the concept that Josh has in place at the shelter in providing gourmet meals, as I felt it catered to the women on a more personal note. I am hoping the rest of the week continues the same learning experience I went through today and I am looking forward to what lies ahead.
--Dom
Monday, May 23, 2011
Women's Lunch Place
Today was a long, busy, but really fun day. We worked at the Women's Lunch Place. I first worked downstairs with Whitney serving breakfast and hot drinks to the guests. Then we moved upstairs to help prep food for lunch. We chopped up a ton of vegetables, sauteed, stirred, used the food processor, grated, strained, etc. I had a lot of fun working with the food and I learned so much! Johann's friend, Josh, is the main chef at the Women's Lunch Place and he taught us how to do things and told us what to do. He's awesome. We finished making our lunch, which consisted of tilapia, quinoa, slaw and yogurt sauce, and pasta.
We served lunch to the women and took our own plates and sat and talked with the women. I had a nice time talking with the women, and learned a lot from them. I was really shocked how a lot of these women had gone to college and were now poor and homeless. That was a surprise. I had always associated a college degree with a job and a home and a successful life. One of the women had also served in the army and went to college, and now she is jobless and homeless. The women were very well-read and intelligent. I had some stimulating conversations with them.
After lunch, we cleaned up and then watched two online videos about America's food problems. Then Josh, the chef, answered questions that we asked, and talked to us. I learned a lot from Josh, and I'm glad I got to meet him and work with him. He's an awesome guy. Today we go to the Women's Lunch Place at 7:10am and left around 3:30pm. Long day, but it went by quickly because I was having fun and learning lots. I am really enjoying the Alternative break so far. Our group is really fun and interesting! I can't wait for the rest of what's planned for this week!
--Zoe
We served lunch to the women and took our own plates and sat and talked with the women. I had a nice time talking with the women, and learned a lot from them. I was really shocked how a lot of these women had gone to college and were now poor and homeless. That was a surprise. I had always associated a college degree with a job and a home and a successful life. One of the women had also served in the army and went to college, and now she is jobless and homeless. The women were very well-read and intelligent. I had some stimulating conversations with them.
After lunch, we cleaned up and then watched two online videos about America's food problems. Then Josh, the chef, answered questions that we asked, and talked to us. I learned a lot from Josh, and I'm glad I got to meet him and work with him. He's an awesome guy. Today we go to the Women's Lunch Place at 7:10am and left around 3:30pm. Long day, but it went by quickly because I was having fun and learning lots. I am really enjoying the Alternative break so far. Our group is really fun and interesting! I can't wait for the rest of what's planned for this week!
--Zoe
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Running Around in Boston
Today was our first full day in the city and to orient us to the Bostonian area, Ekpa & Whitney arranged a scavenger hunt down Boyleston Street. I'm wicked awesome at these things so I thought it would be really easy but in reality, a lot of the items were hard to find like the frozen yogurt and soymilk. You would think a Walgreens or 7/11 would carry things like that but they didn't. It really made me think about how stores decide what items to stock. Cheetos and gum vs. fresh fruit and bread.
Also the Boston people were kind of rude. People visiting the city were the only ones willing to readily help us. Red Sox-jersey-wearers brushed us off when we asked for help (although I may have asked my questions a little strangely). Eventually our team found a groove and we knocked a lot of things off the list. We even managed some extra time to feed a goose some of my PB&J sandwich.
I'm glad I got to experience some of the city first hand. Can't wait for the rest of the week!
--Sarah
Also the Boston people were kind of rude. People visiting the city were the only ones willing to readily help us. Red Sox-jersey-wearers brushed us off when we asked for help (although I may have asked my questions a little strangely). Eventually our team found a groove and we knocked a lot of things off the list. We even managed some extra time to feed a goose some of my PB&J sandwich.
I'm glad I got to experience some of the city first hand. Can't wait for the rest of the week!
--Sarah
Scavenger Hunt Madness
Today I discussed food sources and quantities with the group, and during the scavenger hunt I witnessed a homeless man seeking out items in a large trash can. This brought back memories of seeing similar situations in New York and India.
This makes me appreciate the amount and quality of food I receive on a daily basis. I think the purpose of the scavenger hunt on Boylston St. was to make me understand the value of food, as well as interacting with complete strangers.
I found going up to strangers and asking them questions was easy. I've done similar stuff like this, such as selling gameday buttons at UMD for football games, so getting rejected and ignored did not bring me down. The only frustrating part of the hunt was that natives did not know where to find the famous Boston Cream Pie or legendary Freedom Trail.
In the end, the hunt was a successful one, and I already have had an enriching experience here in Boston. I hope to learn more in the next 5 days, and expect you to spread the value of food.
Rosh out,
Roshan
This makes me appreciate the amount and quality of food I receive on a daily basis. I think the purpose of the scavenger hunt on Boylston St. was to make me understand the value of food, as well as interacting with complete strangers.
I found going up to strangers and asking them questions was easy. I've done similar stuff like this, such as selling gameday buttons at UMD for football games, so getting rejected and ignored did not bring me down. The only frustrating part of the hunt was that natives did not know where to find the famous Boston Cream Pie or legendary Freedom Trail.
In the end, the hunt was a successful one, and I already have had an enriching experience here in Boston. I hope to learn more in the next 5 days, and expect you to spread the value of food.
Rosh out,
Roshan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)