Today was The Food Project’s Staff Field Day. It was my first Staff Field Day, and I was assigned to the Lincoln Land with a group of about 15 other staff members.

I was in a group with Anim, Josh, Jess, Adelle (a crew worker from the 2005 SYP) and Sharon. Together we harvested over 1,000 pounds of slicing and pickling cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, and patty pan squash. The Ag staff at TFP explained to me that each pound of produce makes up 2 full servings of food. This means that the six of us harvested enough food to feed 2,000 people!

It took us little over 3 hours to harvest all of the produce, with the help of Anim and Josh, who were racing and heckling one another to see who could harvest the quickest. I’m not sure which one ultimately won, but after they finished, Anim went to blow his nose and Josh had to do some stretching. I think it wore them out.

The Staff Field Day allowed me to further visualize the process by which the food that is produced at The Food Project goes to feed so many people, whether live in the suburbs of Boston, in the city of Boston, or if they eat our food in shelters throughout the city.

The Staff Field Day is an important component of my work at The Food Project because it allows me to stay connected with the land that serves to nurture and feed so many people.