Tierney digs Food Project field

BEVERLY – In a show of support for sustainable agriculture, U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney joined students from Lynn and other North Shore communities earlier this week in harvesting vegetables from a Beverly field for the Food Project.The congressman’s visit to the growing field highlighted his most recent local effort as part of the National Summer of Service initiative and the recently passed Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.The Food Project has built a national model of engaging youth in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture. By partnering with the North Shore Workforce Investment Board’s FirstJobs program – the latter significantly expanded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – the Food Project has nearly doubled its youth workforce.”The Food Project not only teaches the importance of a sustainable lifestyle, but engages youth in learning how to sustain and enhance their own communities,” said Tierney. “Now more than ever it’s essential that we support such programs in order to continually improve our communities and our citizens.”Tierney, a Salem resident, was joined in the fields by his wife Patrice, volunteers from Electric Insurance and students from Lynn, Lynnfield, Beverly, Salem, Rowley, Ipswich, Gloucester, Danvers and North Reading.Every year, the Food Project employs 140 teens who, along with thousands of volunteers, work on 43 acres of farmland, 10 of which are in communities that Tierney represents. One of the most recently planted gardens is on Munroe Street in Lynn, barely a block from Lynn’s downtown farmers’ market.Youth leaders typically work 35 hours a week during the summer and about 10 during the school year, said Tierney spokeswoman Catherine Ribeiro, noting they are involved in harvesting and preparing produce for sale and for distribution to local charities, as well as staffing stands at local farmers’ markets. Youth leaders are also encouraged to take public transportation to and from work and to mentor their younger coworkers, she said.Melissa Dimond, North Shore director of the Food Project, said participants were “thrilled” to have the congressman and his wife digging in the dirt beside them for the morning. “It was rewarding to highlight the inspiring work that happens on our farms with hundreds of volunteers each year.”As one of the summer youth workers put it, “It was great to be recognized for our service. His visit meant a lot to us.”According to Dimond, by creating a sustainable agriculture system, the Food Project hopes to create a thoughtful and inspired community of youth and adults dedicated to giving back to their communities.Since its founding in 1991, the Food Project has been groundbreaking in its emphasis on youth leadership and encouraging participants to affect change within their hometowns. They remain dedicated to assisting the communities they work in and each season approximately 50 percent of the quarter million pounds of produce grown each season at Food Project sites is donated to local food pantries and soup kitchens.