Open Farms: The Harvest

Open Farms is having a bountiful harvest this summer. Last month’s rain and heat have resulted in tremendous growth in all of the vegetables on the farm. As I write this our dedicated volunteers are harvesting the very freshest cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and green beans for our 700 clients.

We’re having a good time out here. Even with the fast-cycles of planting, growth, weeding, pruning, and harvesting, we’ve had some time to sit down in the shade of the trees and talk about our work. It’s in those moments that we all seem to realize that while we may have a specific task at hand – weeding the chard, or harvesting the basil for example – we’re part of something much bigger. The food that we’re producing is local, fresh and sustainable, and with our experiences out on the farm, we’re able to join the global conversation about how to best feed those in our community and in the world both now and in the future.

The basis of our conversation comes from knowledge of what it feels like to hold a freshly picked cucumber, to hold the soil in our hands and to know that it contains more life in a tiny handful than we ever imagined. It is with these experiences that we join in the growing conversation about food and justice. Not only head knowledge, but with a heartfelt connection to the land that sustains us.