The first week went flying out of the gates. Our first three days on the farm went by before I could even fully grasp that we had begun. I have always been thankful for growing up in the great Pacific Northwest. Working hands on with such amazing and influential farmers have only strengthened that appreciation and proven how lucky we all are. We have an abundance of marvelous, local, and nutritious food for the taking. There is a farmers market within walking distance and we can all proudly say we know where our food is coming from and the people that grow it, a connection not many people have. McMinnville in itself is taking leaps and bounds to make the local system reach to as many as possible. For example, allowing food-stamps to be accepted at the farmers market opens the door for many more people to obtain wholesome food, a great step towards food justice.
Taking a step back for a moment, I continually found myself considering the life of workers that McMillan describes during our first few days on the farm. I started to ask myself “how much would I have just made off of these peas I picked” or “what would be the possible wages for weeding all this, and could I support myself in these conditions” and so on. Here we are, working on farms for fun and far better pay so it is really difficult to grasp these concepts. Here we have options. We have access and funds for quality produce. It really makes me wonder how different my views and practices would be if I hadn’t grown up here. More so, it makes me wonder how we can open others eyes and give them access to the same opportunities we have.
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