Rebecca Place Miller
Letter in support of the Many Hands Sustainability Center
July 16th, 2008
I am writing this letter to commend the Many Hands Organic Farm and Sustainability Center in Barre, MA for their place in our local community. Not only do they provide healthy, locally-grown organic produce for families across the region, but they also open their home, fields, and hearts to nurture and educate a wide variety of people-college students, stay-at-home moms, troubled teens, ex-offenders, and children.
After being a member of Many Hands for three years, I have had the good fortune to work at the farm this spring. What I have learned while working there reaches far beyond how to dig a furrow or plant 450 pounds of potatoes. What I have learned is that Many Hands is much more than just a place to get high-quality organic fruits and vegetables. It is more than just a way to reduce my impact on the environment. Many Hands is about supporting a host of amazing, hard-working people. People like Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge who started the farm 25 years ago as a way to support their family and raise their children and now work tirelessly to run the farm efficiently and responsibly. People like the dedicated guys Julie and Jack hire from the Almost Home program in Worcester-offenders who have done their time in jail and now need a way to gradually re-enter society, a place to work, and an opportunity to get their lives back on track. Aptly named, Many Hands is about a community of people working together to make the world a better place.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Place Miller