I find it ironic that I moved away from Nebraska and ended up getting involved in the world of agriculture when I moved to Boston! I grew up in a town called Grand Island, where there are no islands unless you count the sandbars in the Platte River, and our only hill is made of trash from eight tornadoes that swept through town. I have a deep family connection in the world of farming, with two uncles who are currently still working on our family’s land.
My favorite family vacations while I was growing up were on our grandparents’ farms, swimming in cow water tanks and playing in the dirt. I vaguely remember the first time I ran into an electric fence and still smile when I think of the time I threw my sister and me off the back of a horse. The best part about growing up in the Midwest for me was the people; they are a hard-working, honest, and salty bunch.
When I went through what I refer to as my quarter life crisis, I tried to think about what excites me, what makes me feel fulfilled. It has more to do with a feeling for me; do I feel like I am making a positive change for people? Am I making things a little better than how I found them? At Farm Aid I finally have a real sense of effecting change. It centers on the Good Food Movement, educating ourselves as consumers about what we’re putting into our bodies, where it came from, and how it got to our table. It means I get to be involved in helping farmers like my uncles stay on their land and continue to do what they love. There is no better feeling than that.
Read Kari’s bio here (You’ll have to scroll down a bit).
