This Food is Offered as a Gift to Anyone Who is Hungry for Any Reason

Sand River News 6.27

Downtown Keeseville, just a couple of miles from the Farm.

Greetings Neighbors,

Stressed-out parents, teenagers addicted to social media, recent immigrants, drug addicts, people struggling with depression or loneliness, the overemployed, the unemployed, the well-to-do, the working class, those who take vacations and those who haven’t ever dreamed of such a luxury in their lives. The heartbroken, the happy, those searching for meaning in a consumer culture hurtling headlong toward the ecological brink. Whenever people ask me “who is included in the category hungry for any reason?” I tell them that I usually get hungry at least once or twice a day. Do you?

At the very first Gratitude Feast back in 2018, I noticed two unlikely townsfolk sitting next to one another. One was the president of the local chapter of the NRA and the other an outspoken liberal activist. I wondered how it would go for them. As you might guess, they got along just fine.

When you place a platter of food in the middle of a table of ten, portioning and serving become a shared responsibility. To place food on the plate of a neighbor or stranger, and allow them to do the same for you, might be one of our most ancient cultural technologies. Table fellowship is one word for it. The enactment of forgiveness might be another.

In a time when we seem to have lost our appetite for anything or anyone outside of our comfort zones, attending an event open to everyone in town with no ticket price(which generally functions to keep the riff-raff away) requires tremendous courage.

Yesterday, Ilysa and I dropped off invitations translated into Spanish to our new friends who drive tractor at the mega-dairy a few miles away. They have been setting aside used silage tarps for us to use in the gardens here, greeting us each time we pick up with some of the warmest smiles I’ve ever seen. They seemed genuinely interested in the Feast.

It takes a lot of courage to attend a dinner without a curated guest list, especially one where you don’t even speak the language. The word courageous means, literally, “guided by the heart.” I know that’s one thing I hunger for daily: more courage. Maybe you do too.

We’d love to see you at the Farm for one or our upcoming events:

6/30 Sunday Farm Frolic 3-6pm: We have a big garden push this Sunday—tomato pruning and trellising, weeding, potato hilling, etc. We would love your help! Frolic Supper at 6pm. We will serve a main dish from the Farm plus anything you bring along to share.

7/2 Barn Choir: You don’t have to be good at singing in order to learn. These joyful evenings are open to everyone. Choir practice 5:30-7pm. Supper at 7pm. A hearty salad from the Farm served alongside any dishes you bring to share.

7/4-7/6 Feast Preparations: We rely on neighborly hands to get the carrots peeled, the salad greens washed, the desserts baked, and the tables set. If you have it in you to uphold this community effort, please reach out by responding to this email. sandrivercommunityfarm@gmail.com.

7/7 Offering Rides: Would you consider picking up someone who doesn’t drive or own a car? We may have some folks interested in attending the Feast from an elder home in town. Please reply to this email if you are willing to be a driver Sunday at 3pm.

7/7 Gratitude Feast: We ask people to arrive at 3:30 so that we can get dinner started on time. We’ll sing a couple of songs and have a time of spoken gratitudes before the meal, then wash up dishes and clear the barn floor for an old-fashioned barn dance led by the Adirondack 2-Step and caller Jeremy Clifford.

With care, Adam