Sometimes it seems that win-win situations are rare in life, so often there are losses for every gain. But as the beginning of the spring volunteer season approaches I cant help thinking how volunteering at The Food Project is a wonderful exception.

Working out on the land, in the crisp morning light with your coworkers, friends, or teammates, you feel your body in action as it is intended to be. The air refreshes and sunlight recharges. The feeling of the soil awakens the old reminder that even in these modern times when food seems to originate from supermarkets we are still extremely dependent on the natural world. The lands’ well-being determines our own, its harvest creates our food, its abuse results in difficulties for us.

Planting the seeds which will become food for hundreds at homeless shelters and soup kitchens reminds us that we all have the capacity to contribute on some level. You can literally be a part of creating a delicious and healthful meal which will go directly towards assisting those in our own communities most in need of help. One doesn’t have to be wealthy to contribute. Sometimes giving time is just as valuable as money, and even in our helter skelter world everyone has time they can afford to donate. Especially when you can give and gain at the same time.

Volunteering at The Food Project is also educational on a more academic level. The wonderful Agricultural Staff will share Food Facts with you, often stunning pieces of information about the increasingly off kilter food system which we are a part on in the US. But instead of being discouraged by this you will head right out in the fields to change this. Enormous as it may seem, by taking part in The Food Project you are creating social change, working in a global movement towards Environment and Food Justice and creating Local Food Systems.

And if all of this isn’t enough, there is nothing more satisfying then the feeling of your body hard at work in a natural and productive way. Instead of the thrumming of the treadmill in the gym you will hear the birds, the wind in the trees around the fields and the friendly conversation of those around you. Instead of monotonously lifting weights you will get the satisfaction of carrying crates of food you picked or seeds you will plant. Instead of doing lunges, you will be surprised to feel the workout that your thighs got as moved down the rows with ease and not noticing the workout.

When you sit down to dinner tonight think about what is on your table, then think about what might be missing from your own table and so many other people’s diets. Or maybe the veggies on your table are unpalatable, you don’t even like them. Have you ever thought about where they come from? They were probably grown months ago on a different continent. That’s not really the best recipe for fresh and tasty food. Without fruits, vegetables and leafy greens most health and developmental problems increase. Although we aren’t all farmers at heart and maybe we aren’t quite clear on the big picture, everyone can understand the importance of having fresh healthy food on their table.