5 Questions with Claire Murphy, GardenShare
Claire Murphy is a No Kid Hungry Youth Ambassador working this summer at GardenShare. The Youth Ambassador program is a ten-week paid internship program for undergraduate students to help end childhood hunger in their communities. Learn more about No Kid Hungry’s youth engagement here.
No Kid Hungry New York spoke with Claire about the challenges, opportunities, and impact of feeding kids through summer meals.
Can you describe your community? What do you love about it?
I am from St. Lawrence County, an area of New York a little north of the Adirondack mountains and just south of Canada. This region is fairly rural, but there is definitely a strong sense of community, and this is something that I’ve really gotten to see while working at GardenShare. Through this internship, I work at local farmers markets multiple times a week and this has given me the opportunity to interact with the hundreds of county residents who flock to the markets. There are children who stop by with their parents on their way to the library, families coming to buy their groceries for the week and lots of people who come to market to simply experience the atmosphere. At the market, I’ve had the opportunity to hear stories of the history of the region, talk to kids about local produce, and pet many, many dogs. These interactions are what I love about my community: People will go out of their way to connect with one another. At the market, both shoppers and vendors who I have never met have stopped by to strike up conversations with me. They ask me about my life and share some of theirs. We often find that we share something in common; a product of growing up in a tight knit community. These interactions that occur all over the market are exactly what makes it special. Without these conversations, the market would just be a place to buy goods but with it, it becomes a community center.
How did you decide to become a Youth Ambassador? What have you learned from the experience so far?
I decided to become a Youth Ambassador because I was interested in working to address issues of food insecurity in my region and also because I wanted to have more opportunities to interact with my community. I just finished my freshman year in a college outside of the county, and this has taken me away from the community for the majority of the year. Being a No Kid Hungry Youth Ambassador with GardenShare has allowed me to reconnect with the people in my area and do so in a way that helps to combat one of the most
prevalent issues my region faces. The connection with the people in my area has helped teach me the importance of direct
communication when it comes to addressing widespread issues such as food insecurity. I have found that it is one thing to look at statistics about food insecurity and another to actually have a conversation with someone about the barriers that they face to access fresh food. Having direct conversations can help identify areas at the market and beyond that should be improved to provide more opportunities for shoppers.
What are the most memorable parts of your experience as a Youth Ambassador?
The most memorable part of my experience in this internship so far has definitely been my interactions with kids. Although GardenShare does not work exclusively with kids, I’ve had many opportunities to interact with children in my community. During my time in the internship, I helped create several educational resources including a photo booth and a magnet fishing game to teach children about seasonal produce, and I’ve had the opportunity to facilitate these activities at four different farmers markets. I’ve also had the opportunity to lead a seed planting activity with several groups of students. Through these experiences, I’ve had some wonderful
(and at times, hilarious!) conversations with kids of all ages, and it’s given me the opportunity to educate about local food.
What are some of the challenges you or your organization are facing?
GardenShare facilitates a variety of farmers market incentive programs such as programs to expand SNAP benefits at the market, and one challenge they face is encouraging participation in these programs and in the markets in general. Unfortunately, there are still
people in the county who aren’t aware of the benefits they can receive to shop at farmers markets and don’t come to the markets as a result. Because of this, GardenShare has worked to spread awareness about importance and availability of local food in the area, through social media, events and literature.
If you could tell everyone in America something about childhood hunger or summer meals programs, what would you tell them?
If I were to tell everyone in America about hunger and access to local food, I would tell them that there are a lot of resources out there that promote food security that they may have never heard about. Before working with GardenShare, I did not know many of the specifics about the farmers market incentive programs that GardenShare provides, and I have had conversations with new shoppers who had similar experiences. I know that there are also many summer meal programs in my area that provide free meals to those under 18, and there are several food pantries in my area that people may never have heard of. I really think that the more awareness that goes out about these programs, the more people will be able to use them. I’m very happy to be working with an organization this summer that promotes conversation about local food resources because I know it can play a part in tackling the food insecurity in St. Lawrence County.