Happy AmeriCorps Month! Common Threads feels very fortunate indeed to have 13 fabulous AmeriCorps service members helping to grow good eaters across Whatcom County. These are smart, passionate, creative young people who have gifted our community with 10.5 months of their lives. For the remainder of this month, we’ll be celebrating our service members by featuring a few of the stories they have written about what AmeriCorps service has meant to them. Thank You, AmeriCorps Team!
A story of service, by AmeriCorps Food Educator Angela Moran
Common Threads Americorps Food Educator Angela Moran
“Last week, we tried karate!” Joe, a chipper second grader, gleefully shared when I asked students what they remembered from our last gardening session. Karate? I thought to myself, when did I do karate with this class? I racked my brain trying to think of what song-and-dance or garden game he might be referring to that would have left him under the impression we had done karate.
As I was forming a question to clarify, the boy sitting next to Joe turned his head and stated, “no, that’s not right. We tried kohlrabi. We tried kohlrabi and we learned that it is a stem. And it was delicious.” Ahhh! The kohlrabi!! Everything quickly became clear to me, as a chorus of appreciations for the kohlrabi began to emanate from the students.
This event highlighted an aspect of my position and Common Threads’ mission, which resonates deeply with me: Being able to get students to try new and unfamiliar garden vegetables — or even ones that are familiar — always results in the most fascinating discoveries for the students. Kohlrabi was an exciting discovery! And each veggie-averse kid who gobbles down a fresh carrot or asks for a second snap of broccoli is proof that we can get kids to eat their veggies, and love them too. This is something that I feel fortunate to witness.