Posts from the “Uncategorized” Category

A Journey I Wouldn’t Trade

Posted on February 9, 2021

Way back in the late 1990s when Rolling Stone cover stories were all the rage, I decided to major in Magazine Journalism. I also decided to earn a Women’s Studies Certificate. When I announced this to my Dad he said, “Now what in the hell are you going to do with that?” and “Women’s Studies sounds like some kind of feminist or whatever they call it kind of thing – you mean to tell me you are studying women? What does that even mean?!” I was adamant that both of my focus areas would work out in the end, but if I’m being honest, I didn’t know “what in the hell I was going to do” with either one of them. You see, the…

Categories: Uncategorized

Things Reviving Me

Posted on January 20, 2021

Captivating: Imamu Room on YouTube (specifically her husband’s bento boxes for the week): Anticipating: If you have not seen Ted Lasso on AppleTV yet, please subscribe, download, and watch as many times as possible. Guess what? They are producing the second series now and I am so excited. https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso/umc.cmc.vtoh0mn0xn7t3c643xqonfzy Loving: Garnier’s Whole Blends Legendary Olive Oil Shampoo and Conditioner. Buy it here. Laughing: Have y’all watched Pretend It’s a City on Netflix? I enjoyed it so much. Laughed so many times. Maybe you will too and that would be awesome: https://www.netflix.com/title/81078137 Celebrating: Today is Dolly Parton’s birthday. Here are some of my favorite Dolly songs: Enjoying: These falafel burgers on Alexandra’s Kitchen. I saw this recipe back in November or December and asked for…

Categories: Uncategorized

“If you can only be tall because somebody’s on their knees then you have a serious problem. And my feeling is, white people have a very very serious problem and they should start thinking about what they can do about it.” – Toni Morrison

Posted on May 29, 2020

I have been struggling with something that I could never quite explain. I haven’t been as mad and angry at Trump as a lot of other white folks. In fact, the minute I hear the words, “Did you see what Trump said…” I just go in my safe space in my head and pretend to listen. There have been times when I’ve asked myself, “Why am I not as mad as they are?” I think it is because I’ve been mad and disappointed for a long time.

Let me explain: As a young white child, I had a heart that felt different. I can’t really explain it, but I knew that I could not be satisfied with what I saw all around me. What was all around me? A lot of racism. If you look like me and choose to block that part out of your memory or have conveniently forgotten it, then I doubt we can truly move forward. So, I have to be honest and say out loud that racism has been a constant presence in my life.

I remember racist jokes at dinner tables. I remember the “n” word said around me without flinching. I remember the “white man armchair quarterback” routine every Saturday where white men were thankful ONLY on that day for black men. It’s why I hold so much anger towards football today. Can’t seem to shake my first memories of watching grown white men contradict themselves while drinking beers and eating hamburgers fresh off the grill.

And so when I see older white folks hate Trump today — the same folks that were the “older” adults that surrounded me when I was a child, I wonder, “Where were you back then?” Why did you allow for your family to talk like that in front of me? Why did you laugh at that joke? Why did you choose to ignore the hate of others when it didn’t feel popular, but you can do it now? Why did you protect your status in the workplace? Why didn’t you say enough is enough back then? Why did you leave it up to a small child to defend her heart? Why did she feel she would be disowned if she went against the white culture that created this mess in the first place? Once you saw my heart, why did you continue to disrespect me because you were “older, wiser, and flat out meaner” and continue to hurt me by egging it on and continuing to say racist things to me? Why didn’t you risk your relationships and status FOR me and FOR my friends and FOR your black neighbors? Why are you so mad now?”

Toni Morrison said in this clip:

“…don’t you understand that the people who do this thing, who practice racism, are bereft. There is something distorted abut the psyche. It’s a huge waste and it’s a corruption and a distortion. It’s like it’s a profound neurosis that nobody examines for what it is. It feels crazy. It is crazy and it leaves — it has just as much of a deleterious effect on white people and possibly equal that it does black people. I always knew that I hd the moral high-ground. All my life. I always thought those people who said I couldn’t come in the drugstore and I ad to sit in these funny places. I couldn’t go in the park.”

“…but if the racist white person, I don’t mean the person who was examining his consciousness and so on, doesn’t understand that he or she is also a race, it’s all so constructed, it’s all so made and it also has some kind of serviceability. But when you take it away, I take your race away, and there you are all strung out and all you got is your little self. And what is that? What are you without racism? Are you any good? Are you still strong? Are you still smart? Do you still like yourself? These are the questions. Part of it is, yes the victim. How terrible this feels for black people.”

“If you can only be tall because somebody’s on their knees then you have a serious problem. And my feeling is, white people have a very very serious problem and they should start thinking about what they can do about it. Take me out of it.”

“Look at it. Absolutely. Your own fears, your own history, and what you need. What do you need this for? It’s not – I said glibly a moment ago that it feels good. It must feel good otherwise they’d give it up. It’s wasteful. It costs a lot. It’s ugly. It hurts. What are you paying for that for?”

And so I guess that’s what I can say now (and this is just to white folks): How many times have you laughed at a racist joke to protect the other white person who said it instead of protecting the harm it did to others? How many times did you NOT speak out against racism when current events were talked about at the dinner table? How many times did you CHOOSE to ignore it so that you could keep your friendships and family happy with you? How many times have YOU looked the other way when someone was treated differently right in front of you? What have you risked in your life to stand up for what you say you believe now?

I remember going through a really intense “anti-racist workshop” 8 years ago. I was doing non-profit work. I was feeling really confident in how anti-racist I was. How I was different. At the very beginning of the course, the facilitator asked us all a question. He said, “How many of you are doing work in black communities?” Every single hand in that room went up. Including mine. He said, “Okay now I have a question for the white folks with your hands up.” I gulped. He said, “How many of you are speaking up at work — where decisions are made at the boardroom tables where you have a seat — and saying all that you do in our neighborhoods? Most importantly, how many of you are having those conversations at your dinner tables with your families? I appreciate the work you are doing in MY community, but what work are you doing in yours? What are you NOT willing to risk at your own tables — what are you afraid will happen?”

That one moment was life-changing for me. I realized how much work I had to do on ME first and with the people I’ve let off the hook my entire life.

And so I finally have the words. Stop wasting energy. Spend that energy figuring out why we are in this place and the role you have personally played in getting us here (and where we’ve actually always been). Spend energy listening.

Sending love right now to all of you and also thanking my Mama for giving me the space to be exactly who I needed to be — always.

Categories: Family, Southern, Uncategorized

To Gather During Quarantine? (That is the question.)

Posted on May 17, 2020

Every year in May, Jones Valley Teaching Farm‘s GATHER fundraiser happens in homes across Birmingham, Alabama. We have a GATHER Squad that meets regularly, recruits hosts, and over a few days in May, we watch as families and friends GATHER at each other’s homes for potlucks, bbq parties, cocktail hours, and seated dinners to celebrate and raise money for Jones Valley Teaching Farm. We had 20+ events scheduled for this weekend. Everything was going great and then…hashtag COVID-19, hashtag quarantine, hashtag what is happening!?!?!

Our April Twilight Supper Series Fundraising Dinner was canceled. Schools closed. Offices closed. Restaurants closed. It seemed like the world was moving in slow motion. I don’t know about you, but it took me the entire month of April to get my feet steady (and I use “steady” verrrrrrry loosely here). The GATHER weekend was around the corner and I struggled to even think how we could pull off a concept of GATHERING when we can’t be together. I struggled thinking about how to ask for donations when so many people are suffering right now. I went back and forth between canceling yet another fundraiser or choosing to re-frame it and use it as an opportunity to connect. I mean, who even has the answers these days? Not me, that’s for sure.

Three weeks ago, I went on a walk and listened to a podcast featuring Ross Gay, an author and community gardener. He said:

“I don’t know if a scientist has found this out yet, but when something good happens, do we gather around a thing? It is a feeling that I have, a deep feeling that I have, and I feel like it’s something that I witness, too, that people kind of want to share the stuff that they love.”

Yes. Exactly. We want to share the stuff we love and GATHER around it. It won’t look like our normal GATHER, but that’s okay. In a time of great uncertainty, what if I shifted my thoughts and expectations to be more about HOW we GATHER around the GOOD right now? It may not raise the same amount of money we had hoped, but what if it shared more connection and joy? What if it allowed families to spend more time together doing activities together at home? Well, here I am on the third day of our VIRTUAL GATHER experience, and I can honestly say WE ARE DOING IT!

Instead of events, people are GATHERING around our educational content we’ve been posting — trying out our recipes, making compost bins at home, growing food in NEW gardens or containers, going on scavenger hunts with their kiddos, and sharing ALL of that good stuff on social media. And yes, we are also raising money. Here are just a few examples of the love we are seeing this weekend:

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My heart is full and because it has been such a success, we are going to keep this going throughout May! Please join us as we GATHER around Jones Valley Teaching Farm.

Our content WITH lesson plans can be found here: https://jvtf.org/our-blog/

You can also just re-post our content by sharing our Instagram posts here: @jonesvalleyteachingfarm

Our fundraising page is here:https://gather.swell.gives/

Other folks have been using the Facebook donation button and that works fine too.

In a time when the world feels so divided, it’s been refreshing to see so many people come together to support our work. It has also helped shift my own uncertainty and fear this weekend — probably when I needed it most. So full. So grateful.

Categories: Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Uncategorized

Tagged: Content, food-based education, fundraiser, Gather, Good School Food, Non-Profit, project based learning

Quarantine Discoveries: No, Video Conferencing Isn’t What’s Draining our Productivity.

Posted on May 3, 2020

This morning, I received a newsletter that I subscribe to and the subject was, “Is Video Conferencing Draining Our Productivity?” My immediate response was, “ARE YOU SERIOUS? NO NO NO. IT’S NOT THE VIDEO CONFERENCING THAT IS THE PROBLEM. IT’S THE SCARY PANDEMIC THAT MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.” But then I opened it just to see their advice and quickly realized that it was sponsored content by a company that helps streamline remote work. So I scroll down to see how I can use their product to work better remotely: 9 templates to get ready in MINUTES. The stories under the sponsored one had titles like, “ Science-Backed Tips for Settling Into Your New Work-From-Home Routine” and “The Buy-Nothing Home Office” and “9 Tips to Perfect Your ‘Working From Home’ Morning Routine.” Gah. Blech. Eye Roll.

Then I started to ponder, “Why does this make me so mad?” and realized that all of my indignation and judgement for this newsletter was me needing to confront what was truthfully draining my productivity. Here are a few things I came up with and oddly enough NONE of them were video conferencing (shocking, I know).

Deciphering what is real and what isn’t on a daily basis.
The newsletter I referenced earlier is a perfect example of what I mean. Don’t get me wrong, this newsletter is usually a great resource that links to cool articles, but in this instance every other article linked was sponsored by a remote work from home company. I didn’t even catch the “sponsored” trick at first. Why? Because I’m tired. I don’t have the bandwidth to scour through the stupid newsletter to make sure it isn’t trying to trick me. We do this on a daily basis already thanks to the MANY outlets from which we are inundated by information and what’s best for us and who to believe. I would like — even if only ONCE—for the good, bad, and ugly to be delivered to me on a silver platter. Here it is, Amanda, and you don’t even have to wade through any of it. These are all facts. Enjoy. So, no, video conferencing isn’t really my issue right now — it’s the lack of leadership and the desire for truthful content so that I can protect my family that drains my productivity on a daily basis.

Worry
I’m worried. I mean, aren’t you? Doesn’t that drain your productivity? I spend a lot of time worrying about my kids and trying not to be aggravated as I juggle a full-time job (which I’m lucky to have) and their productivity and happiness. They have been ripped from a schedule because of some mystery virus that even adults (I use this term loosely) and leaders (also loosely) and medical professionals don’t even understand, so how in the world can little people understand? They don’t get to see their friends. They are surrounded by aggravated parents. They are aggravated with their siblings. They are confused by online learning (but probably I’m more confused than they are). And I worry that me worrying about all of this is just a moot point at the end of the day because it’s just a SMALL speck of what other families have to worry about. There are folks stuck in houses they don’t want to be in and that are dangerous for them to be in. There are children with no place to go. There are homes with no food. There are parents risking their lives on the front line every day to help and/or keep their jobs who then have to come home and potentially risk their families’ health. So yeah, I’m guessing that our productivity is drained because of all of THOSE things — not video conferencing.

But see? That’s how it worked before and that’s how we got here now. I fell for all of that. I was downloading apps to make my life easier and my life was being prescribed on a daily basis by what others thought I should do — not what I created for myself. We all were. And then the world paused and sent us to our rooms. And here we are. That’s what brings me to my next point.

What’s Next?
I’m scared that once the orders are lifted, doors start opening back up, and the hamster wheel begins slowly turning that we are going to be right back where we started. Pre-COVID-19, productivity was defined as “being busy.” At least for me it was. Jumping out of bed each morning to pack lunches, hurry through breakfast, hurrying the kids, and that once hot cup of coffee finally making it to my mouth at just the exact second it turned cold. Then it was getting dressed and feeling guilty that I didn’t get in a walk of some sort, carefully planning lunches to maintain correct calories, and checking email and phone calls while doing all of that. Then in the car where I’d spend hour after hour in meetings or traveling to and from meetings (averaging around at least 4 a day), furiously writing grants in between and checking in with staff, always always in a rush, and then finally jumping in the car to do pick up (2 kids = 2 locations). Then we’d all rush in the door, eat a frozen pizza but not all of us together, check in on homework, everyone gets baths, and then bedtime. Then we would do it all over again.

So am I really going to go back to that? I’m scared that all of this introspection will melt away, my boundaries will begin crumbling down, and my one-click response to life’s problems will reappear. Thinking about what’s next, who is in charge of my well-being and health, who is making decisions for my family and are they the right decisions to be making, and forgetting what so many families have experienced and suffered through— this is draining my productivity. I’m also furious that most people do not even have a choice in setting their own pace to live their lives in healthier ways.

Perhaps if we spent more time being truthful — even when the truth is scary — we would focus less on productivity and more on each other’s well-being.

Categories: Quarantine Discoveries, Uncategorized

Tagged: COVID-19, Productivity, Quarantine, The Great Pause, truth, Video Conferencing

The Great Pause

Posted on April 11, 2020

Anyone else out there bouncing back and forth on the pinball machine of emotion? As you can read in my previous post, the news that John Prine passed away truly brought me to my knees earlier in the week. It opened up so many emotions I’d been pushing down. Way, way, way down.

But then a lot of really good things started happening. The night after he passed, I sat in a chair in my living room with the window open, with a glass of wine, and listened to John Prine songs back to back. I haven’t done that in forever. Normally, I’d have some movie that keeps the kids interested on as background noise, but they were forced to actually play with each other in their rooms while the adults listened to music. Before the great pause, we never slowed down long enough to just sit and listen to music, so I hope this new habit sticks after all this is over.

This week had many bright spots to balance out the dark. My friend T Marie King asked all of us what the following statement meant to us, “Better to light a candle than curse the darkness,” and as I watched the actions of others this week, I saw this statement come to life.

For example…

I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to follow Jones Valley Teaching Farm yet on Instagram or Facebook, but you should. In a time when we were forced to abandon our daily lessons, after school programs, and time with students, our staff is churning out educational content for kiddos and parents!

Compost 101 Part One (The kids and I will be building out our compost bin following these instructions today.)

Here’s a link to a lesson from Farmer Fern: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-stR2tBHfY/

Here are the lessons you can download: https://jvtf.org/compost-101/

Compost 101 Part Two

Here’s a link to a lesson from Farmer TJ: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-yBazAht40/

Here are the lessons you can download: https://jvtf.org/compost-101-part-two/

This week also marked the very first week that we distributed food and flowers! When Spring arrives on the Farm, it reinvigorates us. The first flowers and veggies mean all the work during the winter prepared us for this moment. We were proud to partner with HICA to distribute 25 family produce bags filled with lettuce, collards, carrots, radishes, and green onions.

We also participated on a community- focused phone call (thanks to Mashonda Taylor and the Woodlawn Foundation for leading the way) and when I announced we needed more masks and cleaning supplies, we got them the very next day (thank you, Canterbury and Christian Service Mission).

On Friday, we celebrated the first bouquets of the season and dropped them off at UAB Medicine. Two of the arrangements will go on the nurse stations and the rest will be handed out at shift change for first responders to take home with them. Jones Valley Teaching Farm will continue to donate our flowers throughout the Spring and Summer.

We ordered seeds so that we can begin sowing and sharing with our community. Our friends at Yellowhammer Creative launched a new campaign to support Jones Valley Teaching Farm and so many of our friends and now you can help out by clicking here: https://www.yellowhammer.org/localsseries/jonesvalley

Finally, as I was sitting at one of our teaching farms this week all covered up with a mask made and donated to us, I saw this mama bird fly over to her babies and feed them. There was something about that moment mixed in with the other great things happening at the same time that brought all of it in focus. I told our staff to take half a day off because they worked so very hard all week and during this really crazy time, we all need breathers. I’m not so sure I took the breaths I needed prior to the Universe sending us all to our rooms. I’m welcoming the uncomfortable waves of realization that I was participating in this big, wide world in a very unsustainable way and that directly affected my work, my colleagues, my family, my friends, and everything in between. I doubt I ever paid as much attention in my daily life to the things I pay attention to now.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and said that this time – this pause – this “time spent in our respective rooms,” has forced me to get down to the barest of bare. You have to strip all the stuff away to find where you actually really are in all this. I spent a lot of time keeping up with the world and all of its expectations and even at my most “stripped away self” right now, I’ve realized that I’ve actually been enough this entire time.

A lot of folks are asking me about Easter and the kids. I’ve always struggled with the commercialization and capitalization of holidays, so this weekend we are going to take a break, which means no baskets full of stuff that never really mattered in the first place. We just found old baskets and are hiding the plastic eggs from last year and that will be absolutely enough. The world has paused for a reason and I really do think this is part of the why.

Okay so here’s my last thing. I read this article and want to shout it from the rooftops. Wherever you are in “the great pause” – because I do know it has affected each of us differently and our worries are not all the same – I hope you know you are enough in this very moment – a moment we will never get back, but could learn so much from moving forward.

Categories: Family, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Quarantine Discoveries, Uncategorized

Tagged: Alabama, Birmingham, Buy Local, Canterbury, Christian Service Mission, Compost, Compost Stew, First Responders, Front Line Workers, Good School Food, HICA, John Prine, Lessons, Locals series, masks, UAB Medicine, Woodlawn Foundation, Yellowhammer Creative

Speed of the Sound of Loneliness

Posted on April 8, 2020

The only thing I know how to do is write. Sometimes I write too much. Sometimes I don’t write enough. Sometimes I don’t write when I should. Tonight, I’m just writing.

The news of John Prine dying broke my heart wide open tonight. Perhaps it wasn’t just the news of his passing that broke my heart wide open, because I reckon I’ve been holding on to a lot of worry and fear without saying it out loud. My heart was heavy.

Heavy from seeing photos of kiddos with masks on.

Heavy from my 4-year-old reminding me how we can’t touch people or be with people.

Heavy from yelling at my kids because I was inconvenienced or impatient or swimming in uncertainty of how to do this.

Heavy from thinking about the stress already on our community and how that stress is compounded with new complexities and strains.

My heart has been trying to stay focused – looking for the helpers, trying to see the light, keeping my head above water, and making the best decisions I possibly can when I truly don’t what the best options are.

Heavy from watching the videos of humanity clapping as first responders change shifts in NYC. Watching first responders show up EVERY day. Thinking about the families of first responders.

Fumbling through e-learning while wondering on a larger level why we had been running in a hamster wheel all this time: Rushing through breakfast so we could get out of the house on time, drop offs, work work work, pick ups, running late, traffic, rarely having dinner together, rushing around being busy, answering emails, screen time, homework, baths, and then sleep.

John Prine died and I finally cried. Maybe it broke my heart because his songs have shaped my world – the tough times, the good times, and all the in between. It resonated with me and reached me in ways that other music never could. And here we are going through the strangest, heaviest, scariest time and he dies.

The same man that told us to blow up our tvs and throw away our papers, move to the country and get us a home. Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches, and try to find Jesus on our own.

I listened to his songs and felt like I could see the world a little clearer when he explained it. I guess that’s what I need most right now – to see all of “this” clearer and I’d trust him to give it to me straight.

Here I sat tonight worried about things I can’t control. I’m also very angry for reasons I won’t explain here, but there are systems and structures that have NEVER been in place to help people in our communities. The pandemic just exposes it even more, but it has always been there. In this situation it is hard to even begin to help anyone for fear you’d hurt them by being too close, leaving a fingerprint, or comforting them.

I was on a walk the other morning and a neighbor opened her trunk and her groceries fell out and began rolling down her driveway. My first instinct was to run to her and help pick it all up because I could tell she just needed someone to DO that for her in that moment. So, I started towards her and I said, “I want to help you so bad, but I can’t pick up the items. I’m afraid I will get you sick.” She nodded and began picking up her groceries one by one. I kept walking, slowly taking in what just happened and thinking it was all make believe.

Do you do that? Wake up and wonder if this is all a weird movie we are all in?

Anyway, I am scared of what all this means. I’m trying to keep my head focused. I’m trying to stay positive. The problem is, when someone like John Prine dies, it forces me to feel that loss. And then I think about NYC and all of the families around the country who can’t be with their loved ones while they die. I don’t know how we as people physically do that. I kind of need a John Prine song to explain how this happens and what all this means moving forward.

But he’s gone.

And as much as we all pretend everything is okay, we all really know it isn’t. Tomorrow I will do it again – I’ll be brave. Especially for my kids who have no context or understanding why they have been ripped away from teachers who love them, friends who mean so much to them, and family they can’t hug or visit. I haven’t even truly reconciled any of it, so how can two young people do it?

But tonight while they sleep, I need to be really sad that John Prine died. I’m sad for what it represents moving forward and the overall loss it represents and realizing that he is one of MANY losses that I can’t even begin to comprehend. I hope I grow and learn from all this while having my John Prine records on repeat as I go.

I’m thankful tonight for his art and humanity and for creating the kind of music that could reach people like me when we needed it most. I reckon that’s happening now. You see, he’s always come through for me.

Categories: Quarantine Discoveries, Uncategorized

Tagged: John Prine

Jones Valley Teaching Farm Continues to do the ESSENTIAL Work of Growing Food

Posted on April 5, 2020

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Jones Valley Teaching Farm and where our produce will be during this quarantine. I thought I’d use my personal blog to talk about it before it goes public tomorrow on our social media sites.

Jones Valley Teaching Farm operates seven teaching farms (six of which are on Birmingham City Schools’ campuses). We employ 24 incredible folks working across production/farming, education, operation, administration, and development. We employ 8 incredible Woodlawn High School juniors and seniors as part-time employees.

Before the pandemic, we would be growing food on each of our sites to align with our daily lessons reaching 3,000+ students, to use in our afterschool programming, to sell in our student markets, to sell to the amazing chefs who have always supported us, and to sell to our larger community via Pepper Place Farmers Market, Woodlawn Street Market, and on our on-site produce stands. This week, we’d normally host 30+ community gardeners on our downtown site to begin prepping and planting out their individual plots we offer on a sliding scale. We would be filling our on-site produce stand with the vegetables we are harvesting on the downtown farm and polishing off our honor box to collect payment for those veggies. Our high school apprentices would be transplanting seedlings and direct sowing the seeds – seeing the crop plan they worked so hard on come to life. Volunteers would be filing in on our sites helping us get all of the crops planted, beds weeded, and projects completed. We’d still be planning our huge Gather weekend in May (more on that in another post). We would be finalizing our plan for the April Twilight Supper Series dinner we had planned to happen in the Pepper Place parking lot. You know, all of the things that normally kept us moving at warp speed in early Spring.

You see, Spring is an important time for us. We’ve spent the winter catching our breath, doing culinary lessons, letting our sites rest a bit, and letting our own bodies and minds rest. We’ve been preparing for this season all winter despite all that crazy rain and flooding. We’ve been sowing seeds that are ready to be planted. But, things changed quickly. Very quickly.

The pandemic hit fast. Schools closed. Our work halted. We immediately began prepping and planning for how our work could continue. The first week we developed strict protocols. We leaned on other states hit hard before us to see what their best practices were. Our sites did an amazing job before all of this happened sanitation and safety-wise, but we were dealing with a completely different set of circumstances. Now we had to adopt safe distance practices, tool-handling protocols, how we touch EVERY single item while in the spaces, and everything else in between. Our team crafted safety and harvest protocols as well as a plan for how we – a small, but mighty team of 24 – can implement them. We were all in agreement: We MUST continue to do the ESSENTIAL work of growing food now more than ever.

We distributed the protocols and our site managers began implementing them the second week of the pandemic. It was working. Then, we realized that we needed more hands on our bigger sites. Remember, we’d normally have corporate and individual volunteers helping us, which is no longer an option. Our Director of Operations began crafting a schedule on how we could accomplish our tasks as a team paying close attention to groups not crossing over to another group and being small enough to maintain the 10 ft requirement. We launched that plan last week and it is working. I announced to our team last week that we may have to adjust when Alabama hits the peak of this pandemic to lessen the amount of people on sites, but for now we continue so that every transplant can get in the ground. Our masks are being made. We are stocked at every site with the materials and sanitation items we need. Every single member of our staff is growing food – no matter what our jobs USED to be. I have said it before, but there is NO other place I’d rather be in a pandemic than with these colleagues doing THIS work.

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We’ve made some big changes in our day-to-day work.

Obviously, we are not doing Good School Food lessons on our sites with kiddos, but we ARE doing them online so that kiddos can access them. We are also including our lesson plans for parents to download.

We are a non-profit and most of our funding comes from grants and foundations. We felt it was necessary to forfeit our place at Pepper Place Farmers’ Market so that farmers reliant on the income could benefit from the drive-thru market. Here is a link to the drive-thru info! Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network’s link to local food resources is also a great tool!

Because our funding is dependent on foundations, grants, and individuals, we feel that the most responsible thing for us to do (and our driving force as to why we do this work in the first place) is to continue to grow seeds and produce and distribute them at NO COST to our community. So, how does that look?

Seedlings: Normally, once all of our seedlings are transplanted, we stop growing in our greenhouse until the next season. We’ve made the decision to KEEP growing seedlings to distribute to our community. We are sharing with local community gardeners doing work across Birmingham and we will begin sharing with individuals across our community (stay tuned).

Produce: Since we had a delay getting all of our plants in the ground, we are still waiting on the bulk of our harvest to come in and when it does, we will be distributing produce and flowers to local agencies and our neighbors AT NO COST. Stay tuned for more info.

High School Apprentices: We are building out a plan for our high school apprentices to continue to do the essential work of growing food at their homes. We are also reading books, researching, and working on projects so that we can also do the essential work of employing young people.

Fundraising: If you work in a nonprofit, you are always worried about fundraising. All I know is we have to keep going and use Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s essential skills of growing food to help right now. It is my job to do everything in my power to do the essential work of keeping our staff employed and our community fed.

Sites: Our sites are closed to the public right now – including our community garden plots. It is our goal to keep our staff safe so that it doesn’t impact our overall work at seven total sites. We will open our sites up the MINUTE we get the green light, but until then, our 24-person staff will be working as hard as we’ve ever worked to get fresh food to our community in the safest way possible. That is our priority and we hope you understand.

I know that’s a lot, but that’s where we are. I’ll keep updating you as I go because I’m sure things will change constantly over the next few weeks. Thank you for supporting Jones Valley Teaching Farm. Especially now.

Click on the following links to follow our journey:

Jones Valley Teaching Farm Blog

Instagram: @jonesvalleyteachingfarm

Facebook: Jones Valley Teaching Farm

Twitter: @jvteachingfarm

Categories: Community, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Quarantine Discoveries, Uncategorized

Tagged: Alabama, ASAN, Birmingham, Birmingham City Schools, farmers, Farmers Markets, Good School Food, local food, Local Food Access, Pepper Place Saturday Market, Produce, seeds, Teaching Farms

Quarantine Discoveries and Purple Fried Rice

Posted on April 1, 2020

I am not going to lie. Monday was emotionally hard. For a number of reasons. I had deadlines that morning and started working on them immediately. The kids were running in and out of the room asking questions and looking for attention and for three hours, I waved them away. Let that sink in. For three total hours I waved them away with no explanation. I needed to tackle the to do list, my deadlines, my conference calls, and my WORK. There’s something to that “waving away” thing that got to me. I mean, by now they should already know how much this WORK means to me, right? My relationship with my work has always been a driving force. For very good and for bad. Anyway, around 11 am all of that started falling apart. My kids were rebelling (rightfully so). My kids were confused as to why I was sitting in the next room but completely unavailable to them for hours on end. So around 11 am I started to realize I was operating just as I always have by sticking to the schedule, doing all the things, and running around “all busy” because “all busy” has definitely become my norm.

(Pausing here to acknowledge that I’m extremely lucky to do work I absolutely believe in with people I genuinely care for immensely. When the “work” is actually something you care about and something that you believe is incredibly important in our community – things get even muddier. Ooooooooof. Lots of layers are peeling back during this time, which I guess is the point.)

Okay back to the first paragraph. Things broke down. There were frustrations and disappointments on full display. I put the laptop down. I gathered 15 books and got in our bed and asked them to join me and we read for an hour. My phone was dinging, but I decided to leave it in the living room rather than take it with me. Then we had quiet time. All of us. I put on a timer so I wouldn’t miss the next conference call and I was STILL for the first time in a really long time. I realized that I needed the quiet time as much as they did.

Maybe that’s the point of all this? This “Universe sending us to our room thing.” When the world was LITERALLY forced to slow down, I simply transferred my normal “too busy for anything” rat race behavior to quarantine life. But things ARE in fact different. We are operating in a completely different circumstance and my brain is slowly adjusting. The world is literally pausing and here I am rebelling. I’m in denial. Apparently, I’m also afraid to confront all the stuff attached to this reality like what it says about the world we continue to operate in and especially what it says deep down about ourselves. Double ooooooooof.

Here’s what I want to say to all of you if it is helpful: Monday was a good day because I adjusted. I was still and attentive to the kids for 2 hours of my work day. I made time for a walk. I wasn’t 100% kid-focused, 100% work-focused, or 100% me focused. I was all over the place and it was messy. It will continue to be messy. And it is okay if the ONLY thing you do right in one day is make one positive adjustment. Why? Because yesterday (Tuesday) was a total you-know-what show. I hope today will be different. It’s day-by-day at this point because there is no map for any of this.

We are all responding to this global pandemic differently. Some have their schedules down to a science. They have increased their exercise to twice a day. They are creating projects for their kids to do. I’m not that person. I’m truly figuring this out as I go. I’m eating too many Cheetos. I sometimes skip my walk just to skip it. I am checking my phone constantly and either devoting every ounce of energy to my kids or I’m absolutely ignoring them. I am learning more about myself every single day and some of it isn’t pretty.

Maya Angelou says, “When you know better, you do better.” Phew. Trying, Dr. Angelou. I’m really trying. Okay let’s weigh ALL this out with something positive, shall we?

Remember when I mentioned Chef José Andrés in my last post? Well, his video on Twitter inspired me when I needed it most. He made fried rice in 4 minutes all while listening to Hamilton soundtrack. To honor all of the work Chef José Andrés and his team are doing, here’s my own fried rice recipe COMPLETE with Jones Valley Teaching Farm purple carrots (that dyed everything purple) and Rapini. Seriously, watch Chef’s twitter video first before doing anything.

Today we’re cooking #RecipesForThePeople in 3&1/2 minutes! This is angelhair pasta & tomato sauce (a SPANISH invention..! But we love Italy 😘👨‍🍳🇮🇹😈) to the tune of #Hamilton You’ll Be Back…because WE’LL be back, we can get through ANYthing if we keep singing&cooking @WCKitchen pic.twitter.com/H1kokwzb7O

— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) March 31, 2020

FoodRevival’s Purple Fried Rice
I think this rice kind of sums up where I am these days. I combined perfectly cooked white rice with the most delicious purple carrots I got from the Jones Valley Teaching Farm. It dyed everything purple. My eggs turned green. I think it represents my feelings these days – like, letting go of the structure and what’s supposed to be and improvise each day and let some of it GO because it still tastes good. Right? Right. This is my quarantine brain. You are welcome.

First, I cooked my rice the day before in the instant pot
1 cup of rice with 1 cup of water and a little salt
I used the rice setting
Store in the refrigerator until ready to cook

Next Day:
I scrambled my eggs first and put them to the side
Next up, I added some butter to my pan and sautéed the following veggies (because I had them on hand):
Purple Carrots (thanks, JVTF)
Rapini (thanks, JVTF)
Onion

I let them cook until the veggies were soft, but still had a bit of a bite. I added some leftover chickpeas (why? Because I needed to use them and why not?)

Then I added the cold rice. I cooked all of it for 10 minutes and then added some garlic powder and those scrambled eggs. I poured in a few swigs of soy sauce. Continued to cook.

I removed the pan from the heat and added 1 tsp of sesame oil and stirred. Be sure to taste it as you go. For example, I needed a little more soy sauce. Serve it up. We added some chicken we grilled the day before.

But remember, the most important part of all of this is taking the lead from Chef José Andrés and simply add whatever you have and listen to the Hamilton soundtrack while you do it.

Categories: Family, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Quarantine Discoveries, Recipes, Uncategorized

Tagged: carrots, Chef José Andrés, Fried Rice, Hamilton, rapini

Quarantine Discoveries: Week One

Posted on March 29, 2020

I hope we are all finding new and improved ways to live our life during quarantine. I thought I’d start keeping a journal of my own journey with the hopes that it either resonates with you or serves as a way to document my feelings so that I can revisit them if I get off track again after all of this is over.

Personally, I’ve realized MANY things that about myself that needed adjusting. I was running in a rat race – work work work – no time to do the things I want to do – pick up drop offs with kiddos – meetings meetings meetings – no time to read or answer texts. I knew deep down that it was unhealthy and not a responsible way to mirror behavior and expectations to my 8-year-old and my 4-year-old, but the world kept moving and so did I. That is, until the Universe sent us all to our rooms (because that’s how I’m choosing to look at this). There’s only so far you can push yourself, your resources, your stamina, and your health and it is clear we were not listening. Some folks are still not listening, but we can’t let that noise interrupt the larger message. THE PEOPLE – families, young people, older folks, communities, restaurant owners and employees, teachers, non-profits, child care teachers and employees, first responders, nurses, doctors, and every single person risking their lives to save ours – this is where the power is right now and we have to claim it. I’m choosing to focus on how my life should and will change after this. I’m choosing to focus on who I plan to remove from public office after all of this. I’m choosing where my money and support will go after all of this.

Now is this journey as easy as the paragraph above sounds? No. Am I completely overwhelmed by despair at times? Yes. I can’t stop thinking about how hard this is for me when I have SO much help and resources. I can’t help but think about parents who have to leave their kids with someone because they have NO choice but to be at work. I can’t help but think of SINGLE PARENTS trying their best to make this work. I can’t help but think about kiddos who rely on school to be their one safe place. I can’t stop thinking about the individuals who have always lived at or below the poverty level – who already didn’t have the resources needed – and what this does to their sources of food and assistance once everyone else piles on top of the already massive need. I can’t help but think about the people who will simply NOT eat during this time. It haunts me most days. I can’t help but think about my friends – my dear, dear friends in the restaurant and service industry who have helped me over the years by raising money for Jones Valley Teaching Farm—and I have limited ways to help them now. I can’t help but think about the broken food system and how intertwined and broken it has always been. I can’t help but think about all of the other systems I know less about that have been also broken in ways I never paid attention to. I can’t help to think about people who are sick and can’t be close to loved ones or are literally dying all alone. I can’t help to feel overwhelmed by the need to keep a non-profit alive while also responsible for my kiddos who need structure and education and enrichment. I can’t help but wrestle with my own doubt, concern, and optimism for what this “unprecedented time” means for all of us. There’s my brain, folks: full of worry and hope.

Speaking of hope, I have found some bright spots in quarantine time and I’m going to link them here. At the end of the day, this is where the hope and optimism can squarely challenge all that worry (at least for a few moments). Here’s hoping you are in a situation where you can find these glimmers and for those of you who are having a hard time finding those glimmers, I am holding you in the light and sending love. YOU ARE LOVED.

First item of hope: BAREFOOT CONTESSA!
In a world that feels less and less comforting, there is still one person who continues to bring me comfort: The One and Only Barefoot Contessa. Over the last few days she has been sending me (okay, okay…all of us) recipes to follow. They have the Barefoot Contessa swagger, but with things already in the pantry. Last night I decided to make her Tuscan White Bean Soup using carrots from Jones Valley Teaching Farm and rosemary from my yard. I didn’t have pancetta – go figure – so I skipped that step. I also didn’t have celery or leeks (gasp!). I just used onions, carrots, garlic, and rosemary as my base. Then I followed the rest of the directions. The kiddos helped with chopping and pouring and stirring, which helped with quarantine life. Once it was ready, we had it for dinner and it was a huge hit (even by my picky kiddos’ standards).

Second: Massimo Bottura is filming his dinners from his home in Italy most nights. This has been such a HUGE source of inspiration for me and a powerful example of how to infuse ENERGY and SPIRIT during a crisis. I’ve been watching him on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/massimobottura/

Third: Chef José Andrés continues to help heal our communities through World Central Kitchen. If you haven’t read his piece about mobilizing restaurant workers to feed America now, please do so. He is an inspiration for all of us and I feel like if we do NOT do something this drastic, our community will NOT be fed. Plain and simple. Let’s be bold locally and find ways to be as bold as Chef Andrés. And by the way, he is ALSO cooking from home on Twitter.

Fourth: In Birmingham, our Pepper Place Farmer’s Market Drive-Thru is thriving and supporting local farmers and it makes me so happy. Simply order online here: https://www.pepperplacemarket.com/drivethrumarket

Finally (for this post): There are so many restaurants that are doing whatever they can to survive while also feeding us. Incredible examples of perseverance and drive and determination and survival. Wonderful examples of talent and creativity and a desire to take care of our community. There are too many to name, honestly, so I’m going to start with just a few and each week continue to highlight others. Don’t forget to buy gift cards or donate to these restaurants! Shout outs to:

THE AMAZING CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM STAFF AT SCHOOLS ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTING FOOD EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Nourish
Eugene’s Hot Chicken
Post Office Pies
Rodney Scott’s BBQ(offering 50% off meals for first responders)
Hero Doughnuts (also offering 50% off meals for first responders)
Sol y Luna
Bandit x Essential
Automatic Seafood
Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn

Space and Grace,
Amanda

Categories: Community, Family, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Quarantine Discoveries, Recipes, Uncategorized

Tagged: Automatic Seafood, Bandit x Essential, Barefoot Contessa, Child Nutrition Program, Eugenes Hot Chicken, Hero Doughnuts, Jose Andres, Massimo Bottura, Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn, Nourish, Pepper Place Saturday Market, Post Office Pies, Restaurants, Rodney Scott's BBQ, Sol y Luna, Tuscan White Bean Soup, World Central Kitchen