On July 19th, I, along with my fellow BLAST unit accompanied Liz Luc Clowes and her slew of diversity interns to Brooklyn, NY to be a part of a one-of-a-kind training experience. Unfortunately for all of us at The Food Project (who are located in and around the Boston area), the training started at 11AM, promptly in Brooklyn. So as my clock rudely awakened me at 4:45AM on Wednesday morning, it was hard to be completely enthused about the long day ahead. However, after battling the carnage of New York City traffic, and several hours of driving, we beheld a sight the likes of which could LIFT (that’s a pun, if you read on) any spirit.

As we rolled up our fifteen-seater van to the lot at Red Hook Community Gardens, we saw tents and tables full of youth and adults bearing the colors of their respective organizations. The sight gave us a concrete perspective that The Food Project isn’t alone in its mission to create personal and social change through sustainable agriculture. The most striking part of the garden itself, however, was the fact that they had healthy, beautiful vegetables all growing from a raised lot directly on blacktop!

Now we were excited and prepared to engage in the LIFT (Leading In Food Security Training) training. Liz Luc Clowes and Becky Nemec both have significant roles in managing and coordinating LIFT training sessions. Thus, Food Project interns have been given a great opportunity to become involved with these trainings. My fellow BLAST interns and I tagged along to experience the training and also drop some knowledge about local food systems and food choices with our “Food: Whose Choice is it Anyways?” workshop. But before we could start the training, and much to our collective stomachs’ delight, we were offered a smorgasbord of Mediterranean delights for lunch, loaded with fresh veggies and succulent meat. After eating and being merry, Ian Marvey, coordinator of the Added Value group, which works at the Red Hook garden, gave a quick introduction to the day and then it was off to participate in an in-depth and meaningful gender equity workshop, lead by Liz’s trusty diversity internship.

Then it was BLAST’s turn to step up to the plate, and hand out a full serving of knowledge to the masses. The near oppressive heat of the day and the unforgiving warmth of the blacktop made an uncomfortable environment for our audience, so it proved a challenge to maintain total, undivided attention. However, after some milkshakes and salsa (all a part of our Food Choices workshop) the energy and alertness of the group spiked. By the end of our workshop, we knew we had succeeded in spreading the good word about how to make healthier, wiser choices about food. We even had a duo of youth from East New York Farms give us some suggestions and thank us for the workshop (woo hoo!).

After bidding the groups a warm goodbye, we took a group picture and hopped back in our chariot to go celebrate, evaluate and eat some pizza. We took a short ride to a beautiful park overlooking the Statue of Liberty during a golden sunset. We had started the day unsure of what to expect, and ended it without a single regret.