I am extremely grateful for these past 2 years. There has been so much change, transformation, reflection, and growth in my life during this time, and the Fellowship has been the foundation for this. While my work hasn’t always looked like what I thought it might, I can proudly say that I truly have learned so much, and it certainly hasn’t always been easy. At times, it felt that I may not have been doing as good a job as I could have, especially because much of my work involved me creating my own material. This taught me a lot and I soon found myself feeling more confident in myself and my work.
“I am excited to carry everything I’ve learned and experienced in this Fellowship with me as I continue to move through life.”
In addition to nutrition education, I was in charge of creating and facilitating student leadership groups, guiding them in two year-long food justice projects. I met with students on a weekly basis at two different schools, doing a mix of classroom activities and hands-on gardening. The goal was to provide students with the skills and vocabulary to expand their understanding of our food system, its history, the inequalities that exist within it, and their own positionalities. The students from both schools recognized that their surrounding community is food insecure, and that they have the power to address this through gardening.
This work resulted in an end of the year gathering that I planned and led. This convening brought together the groups from both schools where they had the chance to meet one another, share their work, and discuss their experiences. I also invited several Food Trust Staff who asked questions for the students and participated in activities. There were also high school students from an Environmental Management School who shared about future opportunities and the younger students were very engaged.The students did an excellent job presenting their projects and working together. They shared successes, challenges, and ideas about what farm to school can look like.
During the summer, I had the opportunity to take part in the farmers market season. This was some of my favorite work that I have done at The Food Trust. Myself–along with a team of other nutrition educators and farmers market employees–would go to our weekly farmers markets and provide programming at these different sites. We partner with local PA farmers so that they can sell their produce to low-income/food insecure areas through SNAP, WIC checks, and Food Bucks-which we distribute through lessons that we do at the markets. I was the Chef Educator, so each week I would make a recipe while helping to facilitate the nutrition education lesson. We would see anywhere from 100-200 people throughout the day, with upwards of 50 people participating at once.
Being a part of the management and leadership team of the PA Farm to School Network, I was very involved in the work that is carried out. I wrote our monthly newsletter, blog posts, and success stories. In addition to this, I was the point person for our National Farm to School Month efforts, helped with community outreach and created materials in support of passing the Keystone Fresh Act, lead one of our three working groups, planned and facilitated two of our quarterly open houses, and was leading our push to get more youth involved in the network through the creation of a youth council. While this council didn’t come to fruition, I helped create a strong foundation for future efforts.
Now, nearing the end of the program, and thinking about what lies ahead, I am happy to be feeling very grounded and at peace. I am moving back to Pittsburgh in July, where I know I will continue to devote my time, love, and energy to food justice and farming. I recently heard back that I got a position as a Farmers Market Site Attendant with Pittsburgh Parks and Recreation. I am excited to do work that will allow me to be outside using my hands, growing food, and caring for the earth. And I am excited to carry everything I’ve learned and experienced in this Fellowship with me as I continue to move through life.
Michael Varlotta
Michael (he/him) was the FAO Schwarz Fellow at The Food Trust in Philadelphia.