First Week on the Farm Recap

Being able to work on a farm has been an insightful and fulfilling opportunity. I work at the farm three days a week, and work the other two days at my other job installing custom picture frames. Some of the tasks I performed at the farm this week included:

• Trellising blackberry canes that were getting a little wild
• Picking blueberries off of the bushes to be sold at various farmers's markets
• Packing CSA boxes
• Cutting sweet potato transplants and then we planted them
• Picking and planting squash
• Driving a tractor 
• Picking fingerling potatoes

The majority of the time this week was spent cutting the sweet potato transplants, and planting those cuttings and some squash. Also, I was surprised to find out that the farm has actually been inhibited by the unusual increase in rainfall this year, because it halts the planting process and so we are working hard to put things in the ground before it is too late in the season. Farming is a great vehicle for teaching the delicate balance between too much and too little.

I am enjoying my time working on the farm, but there are some moments when the sun is hot with no breeze, and it feels uncomfortable to be bent over picking produce or cutting transplants. And it is during those moments that I like to think about the work that will be translated into meals. I am forced to imagine different scenarios where this food might bring people together over a meal, satiate hunger, be used in an offering of hospitality, or simply provide some comfort to the lonely. 

After reading Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating by Norman Wirzba and Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles I have a better recognition of how food can be the centerpiece of building and strengthening relationships, which gives me the strength to continue working despite sunburns or achy muscles. I am grateful for this opportunity that allows me to work in a capacity that I  believe is an expression of my faith, and I am even more grateful for those who support me on this path I have chosen.