Commonwealth assets in our community consists of 12 foundations. In my internship, I think two of them stand out more than any other. Our local foodshed, showcases what we can grow locally and interact with our fellow farmers. We are fortunate to have produce provided to us in our everyday lives but during the summer months we have access to farmers markets where the produce is grown sometimes in our own back yards. I am currently part of a group called the Young Farmers Coalition that was started a few years back where a few of us who had a passion for growing vegetables, were able to start small businesses. The main focal point in all of our passions was providing fresh fruits and vegetables to our friends and family and then moving that out into a direction that included our local community. We were able to sell what we grew to our local community markets and helped be an advocate to healthy food choices. When you provide fresh produce in the community, it not only helps support their business and our local economy, it gives you a reason to research a new recipe or ask an elder on how they used to prepare foods. We seem to have disconnected from the meal preparations and the conversations that bind us when we cook and we have definitely disconnected from the conversation at the dinner table. I truly believe that health and our local foodshed can bring together communities and our family units back together again.
