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Transitioning

When I started this internship I had just graduated from university. I had read everything I could find on local food and wanted to start actually getting local food to people. It was also before I realized how complicated and how many moving parts there are in the local food system. I am not sure that I had any idea what I was getting into. I had no clue that I had just stumbled into the best local food organization/co-op in Denver with the most passionate and knowledgeable people that keep the entire operation running.

Earlier this year, what I was doing felt abstract and ambiguous. It felt like all I did was got to meetings and events to connect with other organizations and community members. We talked about many things, but none of IMG_0983them felt tangible. Now as the summer begins to come to a close, everything seems to be coming together. The network of co-ops and the regional food distribution system that we had been discussing at all of those meetings is beginning to form.

As all of the projects I have been working on have grown and changed I have had to take on many different roles. I have taken on more of the social media and marketing for the co-op. I have also been an ambassador for the co-op at many events, introducing people to the cooperative lifestyle. I have also become the logistics coordinator, which just means I have to carry my clipboard around with me everywhere, to make sure all of our wholesale products get where they IMG_0995need to go. This also has put me in the position of delivery driver at times and an egg packer at others.

My first internship is coming to a close, but I am excited to start my next internship with Ogallala Commons and the High Plains Food Co-op. This next internship will begin with figuring out the expansion of the Senior Bundle Program, where we deliver bags of fresh produce to senior centers in Northwest Kansas. I am also going to be launching my own project that I have been planning for the last few months called FarmCycle.