Regulars

SENIOR VOICES: THE CLASS OF 2014

Each year, seniors have the opportunity to present issues that matter to them
to their classmates. Most do this in the form of a Senior Convocationa twentyminute speech on any topic. In every issue, we highlight excerpts from convocations
given that month. Occasionally, we will also highlight other senior speeches given at
special occasions, letting members of the Class of 2014 share, in their own words,
what matters to them.

ERIN MOORE
Erin Moore was the recipient of the 2013 Elizabeth H. Broadus Community
Service Project, which was created in 2003 by Thomas H. Broadus III in loving
memory of his mother. Mrs. Broadus was dedicated to Bryn Mawr and to the
city of Baltimore. She recognized the importance of giving back to the community in which one lives and encouraged others to do the same.
The Broadus Project award is given annually to an Upper School student who
has shown a passion for community service in Baltimore, and who wants to
continue her involvement. The recipient of the Broadus Project award receives
a $1,500 stipend so that she may be afforded the opportunity to volunteer at
an approved organization in Baltimore City. She is also able to direct a $3,000
grant to this organization. After the volunteer experience concludes, the recipient is required to deliver a convocation on her community service work in
the hope that she will inspire others to give back to the community as well.
Last summer, I had the pleasure of waking with the sunrise, driving five minutes down The Alameda, enjoying the crisp and relatively cool air flooding my
car windows, and working for five hours a day on an urban and mostly organic
farm. For 11 wonderful weeks I volunteered with Real Food Farmlosing liters
upon liters of sweat and gaining more frizz than you can imagineas part of
my Broadus Community Service Project.
Real Food Farm is located in Clifton Park in the heart of Baltimore, not far from
my home. I hope to study agriculture in college and have already done preliminary research, so on my initial morning at the farm I took my first steps on
that mulch pathway with confidence.
32 / Mawrginalia / February 2014

bles to its residents for prices cheaper than those

Nobody came out to greet me, and there was a
of convenience stores. Customers may also pay
calming silence except for the sounds of chirping
birds and buzzing crickets. Sun rays suspended
using EBTs, Electronic Benefit Transfers, which are
dusty stars that danced above garlic shoots, kale
basically food stamp debit cards. The farm makes
leaves, and basil bunches. A light breeze, as if the
access to food easy for the community by having
trees were whispering something across the vast
a mobile market; operating a CSA (City Supported
farm, blew the loose hair at the nape of my neck.
Agriculture), which is like a subscription service for
The ground gave way, like soft rubber, allowing my
fruits and vegetables; selling at farmers markets in
shoes to sink deep into the earth, and with each
Waverly and Govanstowne; and outsourcing their
step, spring up with renewed vitality. The air was how
foods to restaurants such as Woodberry Kitchen,
I imagine Winnie the Poohs Hundred Acre Woods
Donnas, Gertrudes, and Shoo Fly Diner.
to smell, only intensified by the characteristic BaltiThe mobile market, nicknamed Big Blue, runs
more humidity. It was hard to imagine this tranquility
on biodiesel to reduce its carbon footprint, and
as unsafe, occasionally punctured by loud gunshots
its graphics were designed by MICA students. It
and whirling cars. At night, I imagined only twinmakes trips to farmers
kling blackness overhead,
but in reality, light pollumarkets, homes, office
tion would make this nearly
buildings, schools, popuimpossible. The sounds of
lar street corners, and
police cars, ambulances,
many more locations. Big
SERVING OUR COMMUNITY
street murmurs, and homeBlue tackles the difficulty
HELPS TO FORM STRONG
less people would be scatof accessing healthy foods
tered about. This isnt to
that many city residents
FOUNDATIONS SO THAT
say that Clifton is a bad
face; by having a market
WE
MAY
LIVE
REMARKABLE
on wheels that not only
area filled with bad people.
accepts EBTs and welfare
It is simply a product of hisLIVES THAT SUPPORT AND
checks, but, in fact, has a
torical circumstance.
STRENGTHEN OUR WORLD.
rewards system for them,
it encourages people to
In the 1970s, Baltimore
steer away from fast food
passed a series of housjoints and eat the carrots
ing codes that racially seginstead.
regated neighborhoods.
Known as White Flight, these codes led to whites,
One of my jobs on the farm was to pack the CSA
who had more opportunity and more money, movboxes. There were about 40 boxes, half shares
ing north, into the suburbs. With them, all the busiand full shares, that were placed on shelves in the
nesses, including grocery stores, moved as well.
Businesses knew that if they were to stay in the city,
walk-in fridge and filled with fruits and vegetables
they would not be as prosperous, because blacks
harvested that day on the farm. Members came
did not have the same high-paying job opportunito pick up their weekly produce directly from the
ties. This created what is known as a food desert,
farmers.
a region, typically urban, where access to food is
limited to fast-food and convenience stores. This
When we go to the supermarket, we see the shiny,
makes healthy food options almost impossible to
dirt-free produce in the misted, cooled shelves,
not only afford, but also to access. It is no wonder
unblemished and in plentiful monotony. But few
that obesity is most prevalent in lower-income mipeople know what it really takes to grow those
nority individuals. The economy and social trends
fruits and vegetables.
make it so.
Take, for example, a potato. Lets start by planting
Real Food Farm works to resolve Cliftons food desa seed. First, choose a field. Make sure that the
ert conditions by offering fresh fruits and vegetafield has been weeded, the soil turned, and that

February 2014 / Mawrginalia / 33

ERIN MOORE, CONT.

the nutrient content is ideal. The nutrients were, of
course, added and retained a few seasons ago by
the planting of cover vegetation and the rotating
of crops. OK, great. Now we have the seeds. Because the weather is a little too cool, we need to
germinate them in a slightly warmer greenhouse.
Well take coconut coir, a sustainable alternative
to peat, which weve taken a few moments to mix
with water and prepare, and plant each seed in a
container that has been filled with the coir. Then,
place that container, or cell, into a plastic bin.
Leave the cells to grow for a week or two. In the
meantime, lets choose some rows in which to plant
those potato seeds. Well carry the 200 pound
barrels of rolled up drip tape, a sustainable alternative to spray watering, and roll it out, cut it, hook
it to the groundwater pumps and measure out the
holes. We will dig some holes in the ground, close
to the drip tape, and head back to the greenhouse
to grab the baby potatoes. We will take each one,
place it in a hole, and pack it in snuggly with dirt.
Then, all they need is some water and a good suntan until theyre ready to harvest.
Harvesting. Oh, boy, harvesting. These potatoes
were harvested in late August, which, to put it
mildly, is not the most comfortable weather. My
farmer friends, Ms. Jessie and Constance, helped
me. Potatoes are harvested using large forks that
we shove into the ground, stomp on, and then
use to pull up the roots of the potatoes. After that
it is just a matter of bending down and grabbing
them...or so I thought. By 11 oclock on that humid morning, I was shivering from losing so much
sweat. The fork had scraped me in many places
and I had sweaty, smelly mud in my hair and on my
face. My shorts and shirt were soaked through and
my mouth had dried up. Potato after potato, we
kept going.
Ms. Jessie, an energetic lady in her 80s, took some
breaks, but she always came back. Constance, with
her beautiful floppy sun hat, threw each potato into
a bin, then a basket, then random hats, and finally,
when we had exhausted our containers, we filled
our shirts too. Two more rows to go. Even standing
in the burning sun, covered in sweat, blood and
34 / Mawrginalia / February 2014

a little fewer than a trillion mosquito bites, I realized I was smiling. Never had I been more proud of
myself than in that moment. Exhausted, drenched,
and stinky beyond belief, I kept going. I kept
harvesting potatoes. I carried over 300 pounds of
potatoes into the wash house that day. I weighed
and recorded each one, then packed them into the
CSA boxes. I earned my apple and peanut butter
at lunch that day.
The farmers at Real Food Farm dont take shortcuts. They dont use air conditioned tractors and
fans in their wash house, they dont spray fertilizers and pesticides all over the earth, nor do they
complain about the work they do. They dont do
it because its easy or because its fun. They do
it because its right. Its sustainable and what the
people of Baltimore deserve to have, no matter
their income.
The Broadus Community Service Project Award is
helping to make their work possible. It has granted
not only Real Food Farm, but many other prior
projects, the money to continue and improve the
work that they do for our Baltimore community.
As the fourteenth Dalai Lama said, Let us try to
recognize the precious nature of each day. It is not
enough to be compassionate, we must act.
Real change is waiting to happen. We can laugh all
we want about our bold voices, strong hearts, and
great minds, but they are indeed powerful. Our
founders fought to shape Baltimore and create a
platform for girls like us to have a positive impact. I
want to thank the Broadus family for this life changing opportunity. It is a truly remarkable gift that
you have given, and continue to give, to Bryn Mawr
girls. This award grants recipients the opportunity
to give not only money, but also time, to a nonprofit of their choice. It is an incredible opportunity
to get involved with an issue that you care about.
I encourage you all to apply for this opportunity.
Make our founders proud and serve.
Serving our community helps to form strong foundations, so that we may live remarkable lives that
support and strengthen our global community
sustainably.