Week 2 at Local Matters was incredibly insightful – both on the work of the organization generally and the work that I will be doing this summer specifically. On Monday and Thursday, I was able to shadow three Food Matters summer classes, which is a 6-week curriculum focused on healthy food education for younger children. This program is hands on in nature: students have a hand in preparing the food, and they help grow food in learning gardens throughout the summer. This week, the featured recipe was black bean quinoa salad. I was blown away by the reactions that the students had to this food experience: their facial expressions when biting into a lime wedge were priceless, as well as the surprise they had when they actually liked what they were putting into their bodies.

Local Matters employs a “no yuck rule” in these classes: every student has to try at least one bite of the weekly recipe, even if they think they won’t like it. This idea is simple, but I think it would have profound implications if it were to be employed at large. If we were all as receptive to new things – foods, ideas, cultures, perspectives, etc. – I think we would be living in a more beautiful world. The look on some students eyes as they realized something as foreign sounding as “quinoa” could be delicious was incredible; I could see the cogs in their heads turn as unknown worlds of food revealed themselves before their own little eyes.

While I thoroughly enjoyed spending time learning from the program coordinators in the classroom, I learned a plethora of information from conversations around the office this week. My understanding of what is expected of me transformed from a general “data aggregation and organization” to a much clearer picture: what data I’ll be working with, where it’s stored, how it’s collected, why it’s needed, and who is responsible for what. This required asking coworkers a ton of questions, and their answers laid out a much clearer path for how I can contribute to the success of the organization. Furthermore, it gave me an opportunity to get to know a group of incredibly fascinating, passionate, and inspiring people better.

The knowledge I obtained in the classroom and in the office were both extremely powerful – not just for my work this summer, but in getting a glimpse in the inner workings of nonprofit work in general. This is my first experience working in the nonprofit sector, and I am excited to embrace this personal growth while also contributing to the growth of Local Matters. I believe that this week equipped me to do just that – here’s to a third week of making strides towards this goal!