I typically kick off my week by heading to the kitchen for breakfast and then checking the farm cooler to assess what needs to be processed. Lately, we’ve been dealing with an abundance of tomatoes and zucchinis, so most days involve cutting and storing these items in bags and cambrios. Afterward, we transport them to the freezer and pack it to capacity.
We’ve been focused on enhancing the efficiency of processing the produce from the farm and the truck. One of the challenges we encountered was the kitchen staff not having enough time to process the food and prepare meals for the students simultaneously, resulting in a lot of produce going to waste. To tackle this, Bruce, the farm manager, and Dawn, the kitchen manager, worked together to create a new position that prioritizes the farm-to-table process, elevating it to a leading role over the farm-to-table students. This has streamlined the identification of areas for improvement and improved communication between the farm and the kitchen. In addition, we’ve brought on two other part-time students who work on the farm and in the kitchen, helping us stay informed about farm activities and plan our meals accordingly.
Processing produce also involves making and preparing food for the chefs, which adds another dimension of coordination and communication between the farm and the kitchen.
