I am one week into my internship here at TCEDC and things are great so far! I have started research and planning on a Farm Stand Market TCEDC wants to implement later this summer. The Taos Farm Stand Market is similar to a farmers market in terms of providing healthy locally grown food to the community. In the case of the Taos Farm Stand Market, the food will still be local and organic, but be purchased from farmers/producers in the Northern New Mexico area who have a food surplus and be sold at the market at a lower price. The purpose of the Market is to reach more low income families or those who cannot afford local organic food.
I also began my community service with Red Willow Farm on Wednesday June 18th. The Red Willow Farm is located on the Taos Pueblo Reservation and every Wednesday they have a farmers market and open their own store. The Farm has other, younger interns from the pueblo who help plant, harvest, and perform other duties around the garden and greenhouses. What I did for this session was help the interns harvest, clean, and bundle the food that was to be sold in the store that day. I also helped set up the store as well as plant leeks. What I enjoyed most was interacting with the youth interns. The time we spent harvesting and planting, we also talked about many things. I found this to be an opportunity to encourage them to pursue a higher education and set high goals for themselves.
