Hi! My name is Jamie, and our family has a CSA membership with Meadowlark Hearth Farm. Over the past year I have also worked on the farm. It has been some of the most fulfilling days of our lives, as our children come with me most days to learn and play while I work.
Our oldest goes to school in Bayard. Bayard is a school that participates in the Backpack Program, sending non-perishable food items home for the weekend to help feed hungry kids. In our community there is a surprising number of kids who go home depending on this program to get them through the weekend.
It has been a desire of mine to do something to supplement this program for our community, to try to add a fresh element to it. Meadowlark Hearth offers the option for CSA members to participate in a work-trade share. I approached Beth and Nathan with the idea that I would volunteer hours for a work-trade share in exchange for a share for Bayard Elementary.
Graciously, they agreed! The school was excited to be able to send home fresh food with students along with the Backpack Program items. The first week brought lots of happy tears as corn, chard, garlic, lettuce, eggplant, etc. was split between the students taking it home.
Many kids asked a multitude of questions about what items are, what they taste like, how they are grown, how to cook them. They were in awe of purple potatoes, the gnarly celeriac, and the giant garlic cloves of the Musik variety! Not only were they able to bring home a variety of vegetables, they were learning about them, as well! They couldn’t believe it was all grown in our area.
I am very grateful to be able give my time for the children of our community, and have my own children learn from it. And, I am so thankful to Meadowlark Heart for allowing me to do this!