My Culture

This summer, Eva joined the Food Works community as one of 10 new Summer Program youth hired by a peer hiring committee. After a successful summer, Eva was hired on as a member of the Academic Year Program, which meets weekly throughout the school year to plan the farm for next year's season, build community and youth leadership, and explore food and social justice issues.

We sat down with Eva to learn more about her story...

"At Food Works, we grow food from seeds, it is all organic food. We have a CSA and sell to Village Market. We provide organic, sustainable food for the community. People can really get a sense where their food comes from and I think that's really cool.

I work alongside a lot of other youth. A big part of my job is being open to experiences, learning a lot, and taking a step back. Another big role I have is to listen and learn and teach. Just because some people are older than me doesn't mean I can't teach them and they can't learn from me. I think that is a cool part of the job.

A big gift that I learned from my grandma was empathy. She would help other people because she knew the struggles of these people and she could empathize with them. She was one of my biggest role models. Even in my hardest and weakest moments I want to be able to recognize what other people feel and try to help them.

When I was in third grade, I wrote a poem because I was so in to my culture and learning about who I was. I was so inspired by the dancers, and I was having so much fun  at the powwows. My grandma would take me to  powwows and she would be so excited to see me dance." 

My Culture
A small pot of beef stew.
“Dance,” cries my close people and they get their wish.
I slip on my moccasins.
Native dancing is a dream.
The loud shouts make me feel at home.
Just a native song makes me feel like I belong.
So close to god I pray it will never go away.
In a true powwow
when I dance and my feet go off the floor
I never want to leave.
My hair smacks me in the face
and reminds me that I can’t stay forever.
So I enjoy dancing as much as I can.
I can’t believe that one night at the powwow could set me for life
But I can never get enough of my culture.

We want to give a BIG thank you to Eva for sharing her story and her poetry with all of us! The stories that we share are the building blocks of the relationships that make us a stronger community. In 2017, Food Works supported 24 youth leaders like Eva to grow themselves, their farm, their business, and their communities through Food Works programming!  To hear more stories from Eva and others in the Village Gardens community this month, follow us on Facebook and Instagram!