Living in a new place can be an exhausting process of navigating the unfamiliar. The first few days are usually filled with trying to get comfortable in a new space. For me this included finding where to buy groceries every week, the route I would take to my internship every day, and a good, nearby coffee shop. These small forms of comfort and routine help create the space for an unfamiliar place to become a community.
On the morning of the first full day at my internship, the crowded processing room was full of applause, as everyone celebrated accomplishments and got motivated for the day. During the morning meeting we discuss the theme of week, which for my first week was “community”. As a result, I spent time that week reflecting on community and what it meant to me in the context of my recent, unfamiliar surroundings. In new places, community is something I think might feel absent at first but can quickly emerge and come together.
Before explaining more about my notion of community in a new place, it might be useful to explain more about where I am interning. My CAPS placement is quite different from many of the other CAPS placements and from most internship experiences in general. I am interning at Growing Home, Chicago’s first and only high-production, USDA certified, organic urban farm. Yes, that’s right, I’m interning at a farm. In the city of Chicago.
A view of the field on Honore Street, one of Growing Home’s two lots. Look closely to see the delicious and colorful swiss chard.
Upon telling people my placement, most did not know urban farms existed, or they assumed the farm was just a glorified garden. However, let me assure you, a garden will not produce 30,000 pounds of produce annually. At Growing Home, I work within the Community Engagement department which seeks to make the farm a space that is open and accessible for the surrounding, Greater Englewood community and other nearby neighborhoods, various organizations, schools and universities, and larger communities interested in urban agriculture within the city of Chicago and across the U.S. As the Community Engagement intern, I assist with our events and activities which include tours of the farm, weekly cooking demos, our annual block party, and tending to our learning garden which gives people an opportunity to interact with the plants and occasionally harvest a few vegetables to take home and try. Through these events as well as produce and seedling donations, the Community Engagement department helps improve food access in nearby communities where fresh and affordable produce is less accessible.
Tabling at a community event organized by a local high school where we served samples of a rice dish with kale from the farm.
Outside of Community Engagement, Growing Home runs a 14-week employment training program for adults who experience barriers to employment. During this program, participants work as Production Assistants on the farm and work through a job-readiness curriculum in the classroom.
Although I have only been in Chicago for three weeks, it amazes me how quickly I’ve begun to find a sense of community. Whether it’s among the Growing Home staff who have made me feel so welcome, and who are always willing to share their favorite ways to prepare the vegetables we grow on the farm, or the CAPS Chicago cohort who I hope to share many more adventures with in the coming weeks (especially more $1 Taco Tuesdays). So far, my time in Chicago and at Growing Home has taught me the importance of finding and creating community with those around you, and even though the time I will spend in these new communities is limited, I know the lessons I will learn and the relationships that form will extend far beyond my CAPS experience.