This year really seems to be flying by, so let’s take the time to gather our loved ones around a table full of good food and take these beautiful moments exactly as they are.

At our dinner table on the farm, mealtimes with the whole crew are accentuated with rawness. We have moments of hardship, relief, laughter, and humanity even on days filled with frustration and stress. We have overcome increasingly strange weather patterns, flea beetles, and a never ending war on weeds. And yet, at the end of the day we come together over the food we’ve grown with love for each other, the work that we do, and an earth that loves us right back.

On the hardest days, all of us come to dinner with raw hands and hearts. But one look around the table reminds me why we are all here. The team that runs this farm is not the one any of us would have imagined. A group of people so incredibly different, yet impossibly similar. Not unlike the world we live in…

In fact, maybe we (as human beings on this wondrous planet) aren’t so dissimilar at all. All of us come from our own hardships and battles. All of us seek a life that makes our battles worth it. And all of us wonder about a world where we can all come together, maybe over a plate of good food.

In my time at Oz, I’ve come to believe it’s not only possible but incredibly beautiful to see in action. The road may be long and it’s certainly going to take a village, so thank you for being an important part of ours.

Heidi Lundberg, Apprentice