My Summer at littleGrasse

This summer, I have had the privilege of interning at littleGrasse Foodworks. As a college student at St. Lawrence University who doesn’t have full access to an environment focused on the cultivation of foods, littleGrasse is a transformative experience. This place has taught me so much already, and I’m only a month in. I am overjoyed that I was picked to be a part of such a beautiful growing experience. I am passionate about hands-on learning, sustainability, and food justice. Especially coming from a reservation as an indigenous person, my relationship with the land is not just historical but also personal and ongoing. littleGrasse is not just a beautiful place to go to, it is also focused on preserving nature and stewardship, working with the land and not just taking from it. littleGrasse has helped me reconnect with my relationship to the land in a way that is both restorative and deeply educational. For me, this isn’t just an internship, but it was a return to historical community values such as respect for the earth and collective care. 

Every day here is interesting and full of new experiences I would have never had without my introduction to this place. We harvest vegetables, weed rows of crops, transplant flowers, do preservation projects, and engage with our farm members who share a love for local, sustainable, and earth-friendly food systems. The work itself is physical and at times humbling, but it’s always meaningful. For me, I feel it is necessary to do the work to understand and appreciate the food we eat. Each day reminds me that food isn’t something we consume, but it’s something we care for, and it cares for us in return. Coming from a community where food insecurity and environmental injustice take a heavy toll, being in a space where land is respected and people are fed with intention makes it even more powerful than the beauty that sits on the surface. 

Rather than growing food solely for profit, littleGrasse centers its functioning around mutual community support, where members become a part of the farm’s success, and the farm, in return, nourishes the community with fresh, safe, and healthy food. Also creating experiences such as Garden Mornings, where the community comes to help on the farm and we do a potluck for lunch afterwards, make conversation, and just all around enjoy each other’s company. 

Cleaning up in the flower beds with farm shareholders on Garden Morning

My favorite thing we do at the farm is preservation projects where we take perishable items that can only last a few days once picked and turn them into something we can survive off of for years. Food scarcity is something I have struggled with for my whole life, especially healthy foods, so to find a place that not only grows healthy food but makes it last through the hard winters we endure is amazing beyond all measures. 

Mashing fresh cherries for jam

I have also gained invaluable insight into sustainable practices like mulching, where we regenerate the soil without adding harmful chemicals. What stands out to me the most, I think, is the interconnectedness of it all, between the people, land, and food. I end each day with dirt under my nails and a greater sense of appreciation for the labor and love that go into each meal we make and every bite we take. As I move forward with my education and future career, I’ll carry these lessons with me. Learning that growing food can be a form of resistance and agency, and a path towards healing for me and my community. littleGrasse doesn’t just grow vegetables, it grows community, responsibility, respect, and hope. Hope for something more, something meaningful. And shows me that the future I want for my people and myself is not only possible, but it’s already here, growing, one seed at a time.

Thank you, littleGrasse, for all of the things you have taught me and continue to teach me.

Finishing mulching the squash and corn garden