Concluding Thoughts from Zenger Farm Intern Sara Post
This past Sunday concluded the 2013 season of Lents International Farmers Market. I provided a big tub of gourds and little pumpkins for the kids to decorate with paint. After 19 weeks of implementing hard thought out farm related lessons for youth, I didn’t feel so bad succumbing to allow a bit less educational activity. The conclusion of Lents market marks the end of the first year of the Food Scouts program, and the beginning of many years to come. The program achieved its goal of engaging over 300 young people aged 5 through 12. The kids ventured to the farmer's market and used tokens we distributed to buy vegetables while learning about agriculture at the booth they visited. I feel proud to have been the first director of Food Scouts and am grateful to the Summer Internship Advantage Program, which lead me to an opportunity I loved so much that I decided to stay until well into autumn, seeing it to the season’s end. Now that Food Scouts has had its first year, the infrastructure to continue it (including a hefty binder full of project descriptions, forms, advice and the like) is firmly in place for its next leader to take on.
For more information on Food Scouts, see: http://zengerfarm.org/index.php?page=foodscouts
Image: James Villafranca, market volunteer and Reed alumnus, teaches a scout about the process of fermentation.
Tags: Zenger Farms, Lents International Farmers Market, agriculture, Food Scouts, local markets, local produce, Sustainable Food, Urban Farming