Eliza Mongeau

This summer I had the opportunity to work as an intern at Book and Plow farm in Amherst, Ma. Book and Plow is a 15-acre sustainable vegetable farm run by three farmers, Pete, Tobin and Maida. As a sustainable farm, Book and Plow aims to preserve the natural ecosystem and nourish the soil in the interest of long term sustainability. In addition to being an educational resource and example of sustainability, Book and Plow Farm is a source of high quality produce for Amherst College and the surrounding community.

When I first arrived at Book and Plow in early June I wasn’t sure what to expect. Of course I had heard that farming was hard work and when I interviewed for the internship I was warned about how demanding it would be. I took these warnings seriously but in typical young adult fashion I was too head strong to consider I might not be up for it.

I wasn’t surprised by the difficulty of the work as much as I was surprised by the constant need to repeat tasks. Farming is about growing and every time you look around after completing a task, the tomatoes are ready to be latticed again and the onions that you weeded last week are so overgrown you’re not if there are actually onions in there.

My second week at the farm, I woke up on Monday morning to a dark sky full of ominous clouds. I biked to work despite the impending rainstorm and by the time I arrived it full on down pour. I thought, “Surely, we’re not going to be working outside in this.” That was my first lesson in what soon came to be an important part of the summer. Farming doesn’t stop…the work on a farm is never done.

Sure enough after our morning meeting I drove to the farming supply store with Pete, and we picked up bright yellow rain gear for the whole crew. Then we trekked to the fields where myself, Pete and another crew member Sarai went about harvesting kale and collards in the pouring rain. When we returned to the greenhouse we were soggy but satisfied with our work.

I was most impressed with the three farmers and my fellow interns for their passionate commitment to the process. There were days when I was frustrated and beat down, but thankfully I was surrounded by a great team to lift my spirits and help me to push on. Some of the work could be monotonous and tiring but it was always well worth it. It was definitely a process of growth.

From my first day on the farm to my last I learned so many things. Not just about the process of growing food, but also about the machinery, the land and the importance of community. Having the opportunity to watch something I planted, be transferred to the field, be cared for and then harvested and packed made me appreciate the food I eat so much more.

 

When I was a kid my parents would take us to the plant nursery on the weekends. It felt like the end of the world. They would be determined to find all the right plants for the yard and I was determined to get home as quickly as possible. Long summer days were spent out front planting, trimming, watering and caring for all the plants. I had no interest in any of it. What I did have an interest in was the ice cream truck.

Summer Sunday mornings at the farmers market were my favorite. My mom and I would venture across the river to Minneapolis with our white string bags and spend the morning wandering through the stands and talking to vendors. I never understood why my mom had to touch every vegetable but I would wait patiently until we got to the honey stand and I could pick out my favorite flavored honey stick.

When we moved to the Virgin Islands I had little interest in the plants in our yard. I knew they were special and occasionally would want to know more but for the most part I ignored everything but the limes and the passion fruit. It wasn’t until I took your environmental science class my junior year that I really became interested in food and agriculture. It was in your class that I started my journey with food, which has led me to the sustainable foods concentration at Smith.

Since arriving at Smith I’ve been able to learn much more about food. Not only about the ways it’s produced but also what it means and how it changes. Though we don’t always recognize it, food is such an integral part of our life. It’s necessary for survival but also represents so much and holds special meaning to every person.

Living in the VI has given me a different perspective on what it means to have access to food. Across the continental US, people don’t blink an eye about food being driven across the country to arrive in their supermarkets and they have options. In the VI, there are no options and the quality of the food that’s shipped in is questionable, at best.

In my studies as a Sustainable Foods concentrator I’ve realized there are so many contradictions in the ways we think and act around food. We need food to sustain us yet we often don’t look past the grocery store shelves. We have such extreme connection and love for food but don’t think about how it arrived on our plates. Food is one of the most fundamental parts of our life yet we are habituated to not give it a second thought unless forced to. Even when we learn about the darker side of our food system we are able to ignore them and continue eating. These contradictions fascinate me. How is it that many people have grown so far away from the source of their sustenance?