8.25.21

Around The Farm

Internships at the UW Farm are offered every quarter. They are initiated by students who reach out to the farm manager with a desire to have a deeper relationship with topics such as urban farming, food systems, environmental sciences, and sustainability, Often they are asked to write a reflection paper to summarize their experience. This week Gina Simon, a UW Farm Nutrition Education Intern and Food Systems Nutrition and Health major, Nutritional Sciences Program, School for Public Health, will complete her 60 hours of field work and assignments,

Reflection of a Summer Intern

One of my responsibilities as the Nutrition Education Intern at the UW Farm was to do weekly research on the nutritional content and/or benefits of produce items grown on the farm, as well as an inclusive recipe. I would use this newfound knowledge to write “This Week’s Recipe” and “The Nutrition Corner” for the newsletter and social media, including  Instagram and Facebook.  

Another duty of mine as an intern is to complete at least sixty hours of fieldwork consisting of various tasks such as sanitizing tools and harvest totes on harvest days, weeding, sowing, soil blocking, transplanting, watering, fertilizing, composting, bed prepping, thinning, and hilling crops on field work days.

           
Inclusive Food Systems Practices

From this internship experience, I learned how to find and/or create and prepare simple recipes with various fruits and vegetables grown on the farm. It was important to me that the recipes I shared each week were inclusive. When I say “inclusive,” I mean a recipe that is low cost, low preparation, minimal ingredients, minimal equipment needed, high access, in season, culturally appropriate, and usually vegan (no animal products) as to fit most people’s diet and/or diet restrictions. This was important to me because some people may not have access to kitchens or kitchen equipment, may be low on time and/or money, and may have diet restrictions.

I also aimed to feature a produce item that many people, including myself sometimes, would be unfamiliar with or had never tried. I aimed to do this because I wanted to encourage others to try new fruits and vegetables to hopefully include them in their diet or at least  e open to trying new plant-based foods.

Minimizing Food Waste

Another reason I wanted to feature unfamiliar items is so that people will be encouraged to eat them so that they do not go to waste. CSA recipients and food pantry visitors are exposed to many varieties each week and if unfamiliar with a type of pepper for instance, may compost it instead of consuming it. Education and inspirational recipes can reduce the volume of discarded food.  In fact, forty percent of food grown in the United States is unfortunately wasted ^[1]. This also squanders a lot of resources such as twenty percent of all freshwater, five percent of all energy, 160 billion dollars, and more land than the geographic area of Canada ^[1]. Because of these statistics, I would also reference food waste issues through the information in my weekly newsletter sections.

If you are interested in learning more about how to reduce food waste, see these King County food waste prevention resources:

• Tips to Waste Less Food & Why Food Waste Matters
• Food Storage Guide
• Recipes for Leftovers
• EAT FIRST Label

Lessons Learned

Through writing for “The Nutrition Corner” section each week, I learned some basic nutritional information about various produce items such as vitamin and mineral content. Sometimes, I would find interesting information about the origins of where foods came from, their name, cultural relevance, and how they are utilized around the world. For example, I learned that purslane, a “weed” originating from the Mediterranean, is high in Omega-3 fatty acids and is popular in traditional Chinese medicine for treating hypertension and diabetes ^[2]
           
I also learned a lot from the fieldwork I did at the UW Farm, such as how to care and harvest various garden plants. For example, I spent a lot of time learning to prune thirteen different varieties of tomato plants. The tomato plants need to be thinned and re-twined often because they need plenty of airflow, and to increase "fruit set." They are a vining plant, so they must be twined and trained to grow upwards.

When it came to harvesting tomatoes, each variety is different in regard to signs of ripeness. Knowing when thirteen different types of tomatoes are ready for picking is a new skill of mine. I also brought home a Shishito pepper plant at the start of the quarter that I have been learning to care for – they will be ready for harvest soon!  

Relevance of an Internship in Academics
            
The relevance of my research and duties at the UW Farm to the Food Systems major is powerful. Something that I learned a lot about in this major is the conditions that may disrupt food systems, and existing disparities between socio-economic groups in regards to their relationship with food systems. Things like racism and classism for example have negatively impacted a lot of certain group’s access to nutritious foods. For example, some groups of certain socio-economic status such as BIPOC or low income communities are intentionally targeted for the development of food swamps or food deserts. The UW Farm aims to mitigate this by donating fresh produce to the UW Food Pantry and the U-District Food Bank, as well as volunteers, so that way people can have access to nutritious food who otherwise may not have access to it. I then put out the recipes to try to further help in ways I mentioned earlier such as being as inclusive as possible with recipes, hopefully reducing food waste, and educating about nutrition.

This internship also relates to other food systems topics such as food preparation and storage, sustainable agriculture, and veganism. Food preparation and storage is something I have learned more about through gleaning produce at the UW Farm as well as new recipes. The way food is prepared and stored is an important indicator of how long an item will stay edible. For example, some produce should only be washed right before eating because premature washing will cause them to go bad faster. Some produce should be left on the counter, while others refrigerated under certain conditions ^[3]

While I am no expert on sustainable agriculture, I do know that the UW Farm values sustainability and honors that in their practices. For example, they use organic fertilizers to not pollute the nearby waterways, and they use solar power to power things such as transport bikes and electric fences. While there may be some ways in which the farm is not completely sustainable, such as outsourcing their seeds, they do their best to be environmentally friendly.

Arguably one of the best environmentally friendly diets is veganism due to less resources used to produce livestock, which is not necessarily related to the UW Farm. However, I do try to put out vegan recipes each week as that is what fits most people’s diet restrictions. The vegan recipes also familiarize people with plant focused dishes. I will admit though that my concern with this is that my recipes are usually low calorie due to that being the type of produce that is currently in season and having access to enough healthy calories may be an issue for some people.

Recommendations

My recommendation to myself going forward is to stay involved in food systems whether that be volunteering and/or interning at local farms, food pantries, and non-profits. I want to stay involved because I want to benefit the public and help them to live a healthy lifestyle and hopefully bridge the gap between disparities, while gaining personal experience simultaneously. My recommendations to the UW Farm going forward is to maintain inclusivity and promote reducing food waste through the recipes and newsletter in general. It is so important to consider socio-economic and socio-cultural conditions as well as diet-restricting factors when choosing/creating recipes.

by Gina Simon
UW Farm Summer Intern, Nutrition Education 

Resources

1. “Tips to Help You Waste Less Food.” Seattle.gov, Seattle Public Utilities, http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/SPU/EnvironmentConservation/TipstoWasteLessFood.pdf
2. Uddin, Md Kamal, et al. “Purslane Weed (Portulaca OLERACEA): A Prospective Plant Source of Nutrition, Omega-3 Fatty Acid, and ANTIOXIDANT ATTRIBUTES.” TheScientificWorldJournal, Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 10 Feb. 2014, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3934766/ – :~:text=Purslane has the highest level,-linolenic acid (ALA)
3. “Food Storage Guide.” Smart Strategy: Food Storage Guide, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks Solid Waste Division, https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/solid-waste/waste-prevention/too-good-food-storage-guide.pdf

This Week's Recipes:

• ½ cup whole buttermilk
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon finely minced shallot (from 1 small shallot)
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest plus 1 Tbsp. fresh juice (from 1 lemon) 
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
• 3 apples (about 1/2 lb.)
• 8 Hakurei white turnips
• 1 large daikon radish, peeled
• 1 large watermelon radish
• ¼ cup celery leaves (from 1 bunch)
• 2 cups chopped toasted walnuts, divided

1. Prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients in a medium bowl until combined.
2. Prepare the salad: Fill a large bowl halfway with water, and add lemon juice. Using a very sharp knife or mandoline, shave apple (skin on) into thin slices, discarding seeds and core, and place in bowl of lemon water. Repeat with turnips, daikon radish, and watermelon radish. (You will have about 4 cups apple, 3 cups turnips, 2 cups daikon radish, and 2 cups watermelon radish.) Drain and spread on a baking sheet lined with paper towels to dry.
3. Combine vegetable slices and 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette in a large bowl. Mix with hands to make sure to separate and coat all pieces. Stir in celery leaves and 1 1/2 cups of the walnuts.
4. Transfer to a serving platter; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, and serve with remaining vinaigrette on the side.

Nutrition Corner:

by UW Farm Summer Nutrition Education Intern, Gina Simon, Food Systems, Nutrition and Health, Nutritional Sciences Program, School of Public Health

Eggplant 
 

Source: USDA

News and Noteworthy:
 

Seed Savers Exchange Offering Virtual Seed School

Now’s the time to take a deep dive into seed-saving practices!

This course will take place over seven weeks, each featuring a new topic and speaker. Zoom webinars will be presented live each Monday at 6:00 pm Central Time from September 13 until October 25. Students will also have access to a shared Dropbox with webinar recordings and additional educational content.

Learn more by visiting their event on Facebook. Link is here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1732513583585588/?ref=newsfeed

For more background on Seed Savers Exchange visit their website:
https://www.seedsavers.org/

Volunteer with us! 

The UW Farm is experiencing a record low number of volunteers right now. If you have some time to spare and would like to know more about how to grow food, come volunteer with us!  See details and learn more about how to sign up by visiting THIS LINK:

https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/center-for-urban-horticulture/gardens/uw-farm/volunteer/

Help The Farm Grow!

Every year, we have the capacity to grow more food and increase our educational and research program at the UW, but not without your support. Every contribution goes to work immediately, helping us better serve students. Your support can sustain our momentum and help seed new opportunities for student internships, academic work, and future growth. Please consider making a gift to the Farm today.

Click on this link to Make a gift to the Farm online

Copyright © 2021 The UW Farm, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
The UW Farm
3501 NE 41st St, 
Seattle, WA 98105

On campus mailbox
Box 354115