Through working at Sharing the Harvest Community Farm, I have gained a deep appreciation of what it means to work where I grew up and to see my community from a new perspective. Sharing the harvest is a farm in Dartmouth Massachusetts that works to alleviate food insecurity in the area through donating all their produce to local food pantries and mobile markets. With only four staff (3 of which are seasonal) the farm gets the majority of its work done with the help of volunteers from the area.
I think the main way in which I have grown is that working with the volunteers has really broadened my perspective on what it means to be involved in your community. This became especially apparent to me when discussing the length of time many of the volunteers have been involved with the farm. Many of the volunteers have been volunteering on the farm twice a week for over 10 years, meaning that they have been able to see how the farm has changed and have formed a strong community of volunteers that extends beyond their time working together.
Working with a committed and consistent group of volunteers has also meant that over the summer I have come to appreciate the ability to get to know and learn from so many different people. While weeding carrots, or pruning tomatoes or harvesting zucchinis I found myself in varied conversations about our lives, their jobs, issues in the area, other local projects taking place, dinner recipes, book recommendations, local and national politcs, my plans/goals for the future and much more. These conversations which ranged from intense to lighthearted caught me off guard when I began working there this summer. Not accustomed to discussing myself with people I barely knew (especially after a year of social distancing) I found the openness of some of the volunteers a little surprising. However overtime I realized that by living in the same area and working together on the farm every week, we had many different aspects in which we were connected. I found a distinct value in being able to talk about myself and the area around us and to get advice and a different perspective. Working at sharing the harvest this summer has left me immensely more grateful for the area in which I grew up and excited to be able to share my experience and stories about small town Massachusetts with friends and classmates at Princeton.
