Grow through Grounding by Open Spirit intern Yining Lu

Grow through Grounding:

A visit to an afterschool program by Tasty Harvests

by Open Spirit Intern Yining Lu

Wearing a distinctive green hoodie and carrying two big bags of fruits, vegetables, and cooking utensils, Safiyat stepped into my visual field with a fresh shade of green and a smell of nature. Having never met Safiyat in person, I knew instantly and without any doubt that she was the person I was looking for today.

Safiyat has had an innate passion and calling for food, gardening, and nature throughout her life. After pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and food science, she actively engaged in gardening practices and education for all age groups, and now she started her own organization called Tasty Harvests. I was amazed at how clear the throughline in her life story was, and how her journey seemed to unfold in a relatively linear progression, rooted in her passion for gardening. During our conversations, she periodically mentioned new ideas to expand her current project and attract wider audience. As a master’s degree student who was anxious about future careers, I was unfamiliar with this kind of certainty and self-assurance. What does it take to be so determined about what to do in your life?

There were sparkles in Safiyat’s eyes while she was talking about the importance of the gardening project she was doing.

“I believe the gardening project should be a fundamental lesson incorporated in the school system. Just think about this. What do you survive on? Do you survive on Maths? No, it’s food!”

The expression on Safiyat’s face was almost saying: “How can people not realize how important it is to connect with our food and nature?” My initial question of the foundation of her determination was answered right away. There didn’t seem to be anything to be unsure of. She was so grounded, not only by her passion, but also by nature itself.

The after-school program I observed was about teaching elementary school students how to make smoothies. As soon as the word “smoothie” was mentioned, the students started to run around and excitedly tell each other: “We are making SMOOTHIES today!” Safiyat’s words echoed in my mind: “What brings people together wherever they are and whatever they do? Food!”

It was such a joy to watch the children carefully cutting strawberries and bananas on their little chopping boards, enthusiastically discussing the portions and types of fruit they wanted to use for their smoothies and passing around oat milk and regular milk to taste the differences. Just as Safiyat had said, through participating in the process of making food, the children opened up all their senses to the world of food. They used their hands to touch and feel the ingredients, their smell and taste to feel how the food connects with them. They uncovered a whole new world of knowledge and possibilities. “I didn’t know that the leaves of strawberries are edible!” “It’s surprising that even after I put spinach in my smoothie, it still tastes REALLY good!”

It was heartwarming and impressive to see how delighted the children were throughout the whole process of making smoothies. One of the students was even creative enough to put a single strawberry on the edge of the cup of her smoothie. “Do you know how much this cup of smoothie might cost if we bought it in a café?”

When the parents arrived to pick them up, I overheard multiple excited shouts: “Mom, we made smoothies today!” The sparkles in Safiyat’s eyes seemed to pass on to these children. While we were cleaning up, Safiyat mentioned to me: “Sometimes I need to use strategies to make them interested and get started, yet they always ended up being so engaged and proud of what they had made. They call me ‘the Garden Lady’.”

I felt a grounding sense of appreciation as I walked out of the elementary school. It felt like a little sprout started to grow in my heart. Maybe it’s because the smoothie I tasted today was so refreshing, or maybe it’s because, finally, instead of searching for and worrying about something higher up in my mind, I remembered to look deeper down at the root of my survival, my life, and the energy that is constantly nourishing me, which I had long been too “busy” to recognize its preciousness.