Editor’s Note: Phew, we are SO glad that the season for summer interns has finally arrived! As with the interns that we have with us during the school year, these students provide a huge amount of help and support to our programs while learning the ropes of markets and food access in our community. We are so grateful for them and they quickly become part of the SEL family. I know you will all enjoy getting to know them as much as we have! If you know a student looking for a fall internship, encourage them to get in touch with us today!
Hel
lo! My name is Margo and I am a new intern at Seacoast Eat Local. I am so thrilled to be a part of this wonderful organization this summer and get the chance to get to know the people behind Seacoast Eat Local, the farmers, and of course our market visitors! As a farmers’ market enthusiast and frequenter myself, I look forward to chatting with those manning their stalls about things like how to best prepare unique vegetables, bumping into friends (old and new), and of course, picking up delicious goodies such as soft baked pretzels, and peaches! I am excited to become more involved with the markets, and to also help create greater access to local food through programs such as Close the Gap, and the SNAP token program.
Before this summer, I spent last summer working on a farm in Barrington, NH called Brasen Hill Farm, under the guidance of Eleanor Kane and Theo Wiegand. At the farm we grew an array of veggies and fruits including kale, brussels sprouts, squash, cucumbers, raspberries, and peaches, and also raised chickens, turkeys, ducks, pigs, goats, and sheep for meat. Brasen Hill is the place where I not only gained farming skills such as setting up irrigation pipes and moving a mob consisting of roughly 40 sheep and goats pasture to pasture, but I also gained a greater understanding of the hard work and care that goes into creating delicious local food. This is a lesson that still sticks with me today.
My appreciation for delicious food that is grown responsibly and helps to support to the local economy has been a long-term passion of mine, is what has inspired me to become involved in the local food movement, and to study Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems at the University of New Hampshire. Heading into my junior year this coming fall, I have taken a range of plant based courses, become a part of the group Slow Food UNH, which promotes “good, clean, fair food,” and also started working at the Agroecology Lab on campus studying how species’ interactions in the field may be used in promoting sustainable agriculture techniques. With my interests ranging from food access to biodiversity to food writing to studying cultural cuisines, I desire to combine some of these elements in my future endeavors to have a positive impact on the local food movement. This summer I am excited to learn more about markets and food access, and to see you at the Somersworth and Rochester summer markets!