Volunteering at FOOD for Lane County was an enlightening experience. I had the pleasure of taking Urban Farm this spring, and since taking that class, I’ve been introduced to the wonders of community gardening. My experience working with FOOD for Lane County further supported my feelings toward community farming engagement.
FOOD for Lane County, according to their website, is a community garden whose mission is to reduce hunger by engaging our community to create access to food. They have a network of over 150 partner agencies and distribution sites to provide easy and affordable access to wholesome, nutritious food all while being a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All traits of an organization I would love to support!
I arrived at the GrassRoots Garden (one of FOOD for Lane County’s locations) at 9:00 a.m.to find program leader Mary and another volunteer unloading items from a truck. I was led into a shed to sign in as a volunteer. The sign-in sheet required me to write my name, what organization I’m there with and the time I signed in and out. I spent the remainder of my first hour there relocating broadforks, wheelbarrows and rounded shovels in preparation for the arrival of a few larger volunteer groups.
The next couple of hours were slightly tedious, but important work nonetheless. After a little over an hour of preparing the garden, I was introduced to the art of tree thinning.
The GrassRoots Garden has a small apple tree orchard, and the gardeners are currently in the process of preparing their trees for next spring. Many of the apple trees in the garden had large clusters of apples. I learned that sections of trees with large clusters are bad for the quality of the apple, as the apples get most of their sugar from the leaves around them. If the leaves have to provide sugar to several apples in one location, the distribution of sugar will be split and the apples will have far less sugar. Thinning the trees requires you to pick off all but one apple in the cluster, and the one you leave is usually the biggest one, which is otherwise known as the king blossom.
After finishing my apple tree thinning, I was stationed in a greenhouse where I placed lines of twine sticks on the soil to locate areas to be dug as trenches. These trenches will be filled with leaves, and after that, peppers will be planted. At the end of the hour, I began the process of digging holes on a trellis to prepare for tomato planting. Before I was able to finish digging the holes, the clock struck for lunch. We ate a delicious pesto pasta, lentil stew, rice, a salad, pickled radishes and bread with hummus. I filled my plate and sat down to speak with numerous regulars at the GrassRoots Garden about their experiences with FOOD for Lane County.
My final hour of volunteering was spent planting tomatoes. FOOD for Lane County has a ten-week internship program, and I spent this hour working with one of their interns. After I finished digging the holes I had started before lunch, we sprayed each hole with water (nearly to the brim).
We do this for two reasons: to increase the availability of moisture for the plant and allow easier access to deep root growth. While the water took a while to drain in each hole, the process is more than worth it for the soil as well as the tomatoes. We planted two cherry tomatoes, one on each corner, and filled the rest of the bed with normal tomato plants. We made sure to keep the lowest leaf on the stem level with the lowest part of the trellis when planting them into the ground. After completing this task, I said my goodbyes and signed out.
Volunteering at a place like FOOD for Lane County is vital to understanding our local food network, the community-based action these gardens take and the work necessary for providing local food to lower-income communities. Spending a considerable amount of time with people who are passionate about this issue showed me up close how simultaneously important and rewarding work like this is, which made the tasks I completed all the more enjoyable. This new, hands-on experience showed me first hand the beauty and importance of sustainable, local food systems, as well as the value in working with a community and gaining a deeper understanding of our local food ecosystem.
