A day in the strawberry fields seems like forever

For those of us interested in healthy and fresh food.  A back yard garden may be a heart-felt and hands-on response to the question of “where does our food come from?”  Outside of our garden fences, that simple question increasingly begets complex answers.   Anyone who pondered this question in the context of school lunch may have been surprised by the vegetable identification test that Jamie Oliver administered to a group of first graders (see,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiShJt2XVdw), who seemed to believe that french fries came fully formed from restaurants.  Readers of Michael Pollen’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma (http://michaelpollan.com/books/the-omnivores-dilemma/), may be astounded by his accounts of large scale, industrialized, chemicals-dependent methods of food production that keep our super market shelves full.  Yet, few would mention the migrant farm workers who pick our nation’s fresh produce when explaining where our food comes from.  This is why we want to call attention to Hector Becerra’s article: A Day in the Strawberry Fields Seems Like Forever. (http://www.latimes.com/news/columnone/la-me-strawberry-pick-20130503-dto,0,2988343.htmlstory).

Becerra is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times and the son of a migrant worker.  His article is based on recent experience spending a few days picking broccoli and strawberry in the vast agricultural estates of California.  Freed of sermons or diatribes, Becerra makes plenty clear that our food comes from the relentless, back breaking labor of farm workers.  More important, his article is sweet and poignant portrayal of these workers as individuals with skill (try sorting and packing just picked strawberry into clamshell containers while keeping pace with a moving machine), perseverance, extraordinary work ethics, kindness, humor and dreams.  At a time when our nation’s discourse on food policy focuses exclusively on the consumers and our political debate on immigration verges on demagoguery and demonization, we are grateful that Becerra’s article gave us the full humanity of those who help to put food on our tables.

The Repeated Refrains of Nature

The (Second) Season of Hope:  A Community Day Center Blog on Food, Gardening and the Human Spirit

May 5, 2013

There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter – Rachel Carson

Like the returning swallows of Capistrano, we were back at our garden behind the Community Day Center.  Just as assuredly as the day lengthened, the air warmed, we knew it is time to begin planting again.   Last week, the students from Brandeis took a break from studying for exams and cleared out the last vestige of winter-- removing the tattered cloak that once fitted so snugly over our little somnolent plot to reveal the expectant soil that no longer wishes to lie dormant.  The following day, we spread about 150 lbs. of top soil on some raised beds and seeded them with salad greens, leafy Chinese veggies and peas.  For the rest of the weekend, we cursed Shakespeare for propagating the myth that "April hath put a spirit of youth in everything."  Instead, we preferred the simple truth from Margaret Atwood (http://www.margaretatwood.ca/) that "in the spring, at the end of the day you should smell like dirt."  

In our first grand tour of the new gardening season, we went to the beetroot patch where we had a great harvest last year and planted more seedlings of baby beets in the hope that success will deign to repeat its refrains this year.  Then, we found that, reprising their performances from last season, the oregano, sage, lemon balm, and tarragon are already in full swing.  To these stars, we added a new chorus line of basil, parsley and chive.  Watching a greenness overtake the remaining brown spots in the herb garden, we, who are not known for our Victorian sentimentalities, found ourselves agreeing  with Jane Eyer that as April “advanced” to May, “hope traversed [through our garden] at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.” (http://www.online-literature.com/brontec/).

Then to our utter surprise and amazement, we discovered that during our winter absence, the half dozen or so of collards and kales left in the ground have not only prevailed over the harsh challenges meted out by nature, but also grown into stout shrubberies of knee height.  Bathing unabashedly under the sun, with splayed leaves and budding florets, they are but the most exuberant of survivors.   We nibbled on some leaves.  They are tender and tasted sweet and nutty.  If flavor is the language of vegetables, then these plants surely could speak; and they do speak, boisterously, raucously, in the plain language of physical existence.  To us, they say: 

When spring knocks at your door…. run, do not walk to that door, throw it open with wild abandon, and say, "Yes! Yes, come in! Do me, and do me big!” (https://www.facebook.com/TheNatureOfThingsNavigatingEverydayLifeWithGrace ). 

And, yes, we fancy Charlotte Bronte blushing! 

By far the most special part of our “garden” is the area reserved for our guests.  Like the garden, the Day Center is a place of recovery and renewal for our guests.  It is as much a place of respite as a place of growth, a place of sustenance as a place of acceptance.  Since its inception, inclusion and stability have been the focus of the Community Day Center.  These values guide not only what services we provide, but also how we provide them; namely, with respect for the needs and dignity of each guest.  Although we have been criticized for our open door policy of accepting everyone as they are, we remain true to our values to:

§  offer acceptance and respect

§  hear those who feel unheard

§  create accountability to our guests

§  foster inclusiveness and mutual respect

§  work with the community to remove barriers

For we know, as gardeners, that when “you open your… space to admit a few, a great many, or thousands [who would] exude charm, pleasure, beauty, oxygen, conversation, friendship, confidence, and other rewards should you succeed in meeting their basic needs.” (Tom Clothier, http://tomclothier.hort.net/).    

Thus, over the course of our work with the guests at the Day Center, we have found that there is no “cookie-cutter” solution to stability; instead it is necessary to take a “holistic” approach with each individual and work closely with him or her to overcome the impediments that are holding the person back.  This approach is consistent with what homeless individuals themselves often understand as the root cause of their problems. Their needs are, not only, limited to lack of shelter, but also, appreciating that they need help on multiple levels.

 As gardeners, we know that the moment of planting is not the time to measure the amount of the harvest, so we don’t expect immediate and tangibles results from providing hospitality, non-judgmental listening, companionship and trust building.  We know a garden will give back more than it receives (attributed to Mara Beamish) as such is the generosity of nature, so the lasting impact of our services will be felt by our guests even as they struggle to make and sustain progress.  We know that to garden is hope.  And, where humanity sowed faith, hope, and unity, joy’s garden will bloom (http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/Angelscribe22.).  Sowing is what the Community Day Center does, not just for a season, but for every day of every year.