The 261st recipient is Hannah Ladesic of Stearns Farm CSA @stearns.farm.csa in Framingham, MA. Hannah writes:
What self-care and well-being mean to me as a farmer: “Self-care means tending to myself and my needs so I can show up with care to the fields and plants and those I work with and grow food for. Farming requires a lot of commitment and labor-- requiring physical, mental, and emotional energy-- though I also feel like farming is really a labor of love. Often in this current economic and political system, and in the way the current food system is structured, it seems almost impossible to farm in a way that centers care for those who work on the land, and also care for the land itself-- in a system that often needs increasing efficiency and scaling up in order to function or grow. I feel deep care from the work and from the land, and hope that there will be greater recognition of the contributions of farmers and ranchers by society and governmental institutions, so it feels more possible to care for my body and find time for rest and joy, so that I can keep farming for a long time.”
How I might use this $100 self-care award: “I'm part of a beautiful network of beginning farmers in the Boston area, and we love to gather to share food and stories and support each other when farming can often feel really challenging. I'd love to use the award to arrange a gathering where a bunch of my farmer friends and I can eat together, make things together, and celebrate each other.”
Most important self-care needs that contribute to my well-being as a farmer: “As a seasonal farmworker/non farm-owner, being able to make a consistent living wage would contribute the most to my well-being by helping provide for my own health needs and decreasing financial anxiety. The often very underpaid farm jobs in this country have meant I have less of a financial buffer to care for myself if I experience an injury or health issue or unexpected life expense, which affects how I can show up to others. Being connected to land so deeply is a huge source of self care for me, and I'd love to keep having the opportunity to farm for years to come to keep doing work that I find so fulfilling and also provides for others in the form of delicious produce and connection to a local resilient food system.”
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