I remember being informed about farm lunches on my first day at Gaining Ground last year. Farmers, I was told, would take turns cooking lunch for the team each week. I’m certain I was informed of this during the interview, but had since forgotten and now found myself quite nervous about it all. I had always loved cooking and baking, but definitely wasn’t used to preparing meals for six hungry farmers. Before I could worry too much, though, the season started, and I quickly fell into a routine of spending the week scouring food blogs and cookbooks for meals that would satisfy everyone, preparing what I could the night before my meal, and rushing through the rest of it right before lunch.

Despite the initial stress, and maybe a little embarrassment on the large quantities of food I prepared, I was happy to hear that people actually liked what I had to offer! And I was equally pleased to try a wide array of dishes others had made that I had never thought to make before. Meze plates, homemade ramen, tempeh reubens, chilled soups, macro bowls, curries, salads galore, and seemingly a million takes on veggie burgers and tacos, all determined by what was in season at the time. Needless to say, we ate very, very well, and drank an unspeakable amount of seltzer. 

And so, as I move into the summer of my second year on the farm, my mind is again brimming with ideas about what to cook for the team. It truly is a special thing to cook for one another each week, and even more special that we use the food that we have grown together in our meals. I can only hope that the excitement that we experience working with our food in the field and in the kitchen is passed on and experienced by our recipients as they make and/or share meals with their family, friends and community.