Lessons Learned with NB ROOTS
We asked our high school City Growers to write essays reflecting on their time spent working with ROOTS, including personal stories and lessons learned. Read below for an essay by our grower, Abi Delgado, a New Britain resident and senior at Kinsella High School in Hartford.
I chose to work at ROOTS because it's a non-profit and I wanted to help my community directly. I started working here in July of 2020. I’m very passionate about food injustice because I’ve experienced it in school. I have attended the same school since Pre-K, and through the years I’ve watched the quality of school lunches decrease. New Britain ROOTS has school programs that teach kids about farming and cooking in New Britain Schools, and I think these things should be implemented into other towns/cities because there is a real benefit.
In my freshman year of high school, we would be served lunch in prepackaged containers. The food would always be soggy so none of us would really eat it. A few students put money together to get us a microwave for the cafeteria. But, it was usually dirty and there was always a long line for it. Plus, most kids would make ramen, which isn’t the healthiest thing in the world. Some people packed lunch from home, but a lot of us didn’t have much food at home either. We weren’t even given water bottles, and the water from the fountains was just weird tasting. We all thought it was temporary, because we were located in a temporary building that we shared with High Road School.
I started sophomore year on a new campus, Weaver High School. They put Journalism and Media Academy, High School Inc., and Kinsella Magnet High School into one $133 million building. The lunch was on real trays, but it still wasn’t great. They sold small bags of chips for $0.50 and sparkling waters for $1. But, they would only start selling it toward the end of our lunch wave. The french toast was just eggy bread, the beans were very sweet smelling, and the jamaican beef patties were pale white. It was a big difference from elementary and middle school, where the majority of students would eat and enjoy the school lunches. They added parfaits as a cold lunch option and they had vegetarian alternatives everyday.
Through my junior year to now, I’ve noticed more changes. They stopped selling chips and sparkling water. They started giving water bottles out to everyone for free in my junior year, but a few weeks into school, that stopped. The water fountains are closed due to COVID, but they added water bottle refill stations on every floor. Now, we get food on disposable trays, and a lot of the food is still prepackaged. We got a hot sandwich in a bag after the SATs.
While working at New Britain ROOTS, I learned about how they help the community and schools. Having a garden at many New Britain Schools exposes the kids to farming and inspires them to grow their own food at home. There are programs to teach students about farming and cooking. The farmer’s market goes all around New Britain, making locally grown food more accessible. The SNAP/EBT match program is a good way to encourage people to shop local as well. If people know that they can get half off and have healthier foods, they are more likely to keep shopping there. I’ve had so many people ask for the market schedule and say they will definitely be coming back after they get 50% off. I hope that in the future, more organizations like this will exist in every city/town.