seeding fall peas

Our Community Coordinator Alícia Writes about the Pack Line 

Written by Alícia:

“I had the great pleasure of stopping by the farm and joining the packing line. While I’m an avid gardener myself—mostly vegetables, although I’m trying to develop a pollinator plant garden—I spend my workdays behind the computer, working on various administrative issues or putting out fires. It was a treat to take a few hours out of my day to travel to the Angelic Organics farm and have the chance to join volunteers, farmworkers, and other staff members to fill boxes and get them ready to travel to your homes.

we had three such crates of boxes to pack

The packing process is like an assembly line, although without the dullness. A combination of volunteers, farm staff, and farm workers gather and take their stations. Each person is assigned a vegetable or herb, or setting up the boxes, closing them, or making sure the packers have enough vegetables left in their crates for the coming boxes. Meanwhile, an auditor double checks vegetable quality, making sure veggies are added to the right boxes based on the packing label. As boxes come down the line, we start packing, beginning with the hardier vegetables–corn on the bottom since that will help “nest” the other vegetables; muskmelons and cabbage next, followed by the celery and carrots. Layered over that are the zucchinis and cucumbers. Finally, the delicate items: lettuce mix, bunched kale, and herbs like basil and cilantro. Then, the boxes are closed and organized for delivery, depending on host site or home delivery route.

Before the pack began, each of us gathered at our stations, getting to know each other and our duties. As the packing continued, we would figure out extra ways to work together. Two of us were needed on the corn, and we quickly hit a rhythm. She put in the larger share of the corn, telling me how many were still left to place (if any). Meanwhile, I’d scan the first half of the packing list and give a heads up (shout) to the volunteers working on muskmelons and cabbages in case of multiples. Being heavier items, extra time to gather them was appreciated. As we worked, I heard the second half of the line engaging in a similar way. The volunteer in charge of kale, for example, would give a heads up on cucumber and zucchini numbers, and other popular items.

muskmelons and corn

All the way through, I was struck by how the packing line is such a microcosm of the kind of community we build through Angelic Organics and other CSA farms–from seed to seedling, to growing plant and harvestable produce, through the packing and delivery process, and then to you. Many hands handle the produce, tending and watering, harvesting, ensuring quality and packing, and finally reaching your hands, as you open the boxes and pull out plump and ripe veggies. No person is an island, and we are all interconnected. Whether it be through the host site that hosts your box until you can reach it or the delivery driver that brings the box to your door, we are part of a long process that brings a vegetable to life.

The pack line is illuminating of the many hidden processes along the way that leads to the great produce that arrives at our tables.”

end of submission by Alícia

Farmer John’s Note: We’ve been blessed for most of our packs this season with an abundance of volunteers, though sometimes we are a bit short, and rely on our field crew to help with the pack. Here is more about our pack volunteer program: www.angelicorganics.com/pack-volunteer/.