I was involved in a variety of projects and work with Berea Kids Eat. I spent most of my time at Glades garden, the farmers markets and the Grow Appalachia office. When it came to garden work, I weeded, watered, and participated in our weekly meal service where we served free meals to people 18 and younger. For meal service and farmers markets, I setup programs/activities to engage kids. Most importantly, I was able to bond with families. At the markets, I made many valuable connections with local farmers and leaders throughout the food growing community. I assisted in supporting the youth markets where we had youth making and selling their products. Their products ranged from produce they grew to artwork they created. My work at the office was more computer and planning work. I would do things like designing, programming, research and small side projects that Berea Kids Eat wanted to accomplish.

Along with this, I was able to participate in a few field trips that we had throughout the summer. One trip was to tour FoodChain in Lexington and another event was called FEAST, hosted by FoodChain. At FEAST, I was able to indulge in delicious cuisines made by nationally acclaimed women chefs. The last field trip was to meet with Grow Appalachia’s partner, Seedleaf, and to visit Susan Miller’s Farm. All these trips really showed how providing food can strengthen and support communities. They were so inspiring, and only fueled my passion for education around food growing and nutrition.

 

I’m so grateful for the valuable and genuine connections that I made with all of the employees at Grow Appalachia. I had such a wonderful and memorable experience working with Berea Kids Eat. I learned an overwhelming amount of information about growing food, nutrition, food insecurities in Appalachia, and combating these food insecurities by educating community members. I’m so thankful for everything that I’ve learned, and it has inspired me to continue learning about how to grow food and how to connect my nutrition education to my studies in Child and Family and Peace and Social Justice. Food insecurity is a big issue within these studies and food has a way of bringing people together. When people have full bellies, the possibilities are endless. Berea Kids Eat has left such a positive impact on me and my journey as a young student.

With Kindness,

Dayjha