Arriving at the Kheprw work site for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I was parking not at an office building or cold, emotionless structure. Instead, I had arrived at a neighborhood. This is where most of the workers live and spend nearly all of their time together. Rather than sharing an office space, they share a community. The word “community” has continued to encompass my experience, and it’s what everyone here at Kheprw lives and breathes by. Every night one worker makes dinner for everyone else, and whoever is available will sit together on what’s lovingly called “the porch” as they talk through their day. I have had the pleasure to join on multiple occasions. On the first day I shared some personal passions, including my love of dystopian novels. The second day, I was given a dystopian book to read, free of charge. Moments like this have slowly cemented my respect and love for this organization and the people in it.

My work largely includes working with food-based programs. Food structures, food deserts, and food markets have filled my thoughts for the past month while working on projects and finding my place within this organization. I am currently managing our participation in a weekly food market, and I am helping with a weekly gardening class called Growin’ Good in the Hood. Kheprw has long believed in establishing food sovereignty through local efforts, and their work has led to many partnerships with local farms and gardens. Every week I am able to purchase food from a couple of these places and sell it at a market. One week Growin’ Good had a field trip to one of these gardens, Lawrence Community Gardens. Amber, who is in charge of operations, used the phrase “Labor of Love” to describe the work they are doing. I saw such love with my own eyes, through the sustainable practices used and through the mission of food justice. And, I see this love everywhere I look in this line of work. I see it in the farmers, I see it in the gardeners at Growin’ Good, and I see it in Kheprw itself. Everyone loves what they do because they care about why they are doing it. Whether it be food sovereignty, economic justice, or what Kheprw calls “community wealth building,” everyone here sees a greater purpose in their work.

Reflecting on this first month or so, I hope to find the same passions in my future. This work has been challenging, but I see and feel how important it is. My coworkers have taught me what it means to personally invest in your job, and what it means to invest in each other’s success. Although I largely work from home, I find myself speaking more and more with my fellow coworkers, as we discuss my projects or just our personal lives. Whatever career I pursue, I hope to build these same types of relationships, and to find my own “Labor of Love.”

– Emily Fletcher, Kheprw