Alrighty, so my world has essentially been turned around. I learned so much about this organization and the Green Garage in the second week. DFA works to educate high school students about food, the local food industry, cooking, nutrition, and the triple bottom line business model. Initially, I thought DFA was an organization that just offered a cooking class for high school students in Detroit Public Schools, but there is so much more than that (I know it sounds cheesy). DFA provides afterschool programs, summer job opportunities, jobs for DFA alumni, and so much more.
This summer I started out confused about my objective for the end of this program and everyday it becomes clearer. I began with data entry and extrapolation. Soon, I will move on to fixing the surveys used to determine what DFA is doing well and what needs to be improved. I’ve already figured out some changes that would improve the survey and now I just have to make them. Though that is not my major goal for the summer, it is still very important for the following years and improvement of DFA. My mission for the summer is mainly the interviewing of the students.
The way that DFA runs, the input from the students is a large part of their programs, so I will talk to the students and ask them what they think works and doesn’t. I will be talking to the summer cohort which is very different from school year cohorts, but they will be working readily with DFA so they must have some opinions about the organization.
A large part of my summer is also to learn about DFA and understand why the work it does is so important. The interviews that I have with the staff really help me with this. So far, I’ve met with Jake, Kamaria, and Jen. Each interview had a different feel and scene altogether. All were relaxed while also giving me more information about DFA and insight on how people who do different types of work within the organization views their job and the DFA community. These interviews also are a great way of integrating myself into the DFA family as an alternative of just introducing myself around the office.
The two new interns from Duke are doing these interviews as well. I forgot to talk about them earlier, but they seem nice, and I’m going to see the place where Mitten Bites are produced, with them tomorrow. I think it’s going to be fun! For those reading this, if anyone is reading this, and I haven’t already mentioned it then Mitten Bites are basically granola bars that are really good for you and come in a few flavors and are sold in Whole Foods across Michigan (impressive, right?).
Anyway, I’m loving DFA more and more everyday but my whole experience in Detroit so far while being in this program is even better. Everyone in this program is great! And it’s only been two weeks! Lindsay and I have so much planned. We even have a list on the fridge of things that we want to do before the program is over and it’s just great. I’m so excited for the rest of this summer!
So glad you’re loving DFA! I learned about them a bit last year in a food systems first year seminar class I took. I was amazed by how much real-world experience and impact the students get to have and create through the program. I love that they want to hear more from the students about how their experience is and have that affect future planning and programming. As we have learned, especially through DCBRP activities, it is so important to get the input of the community members you are serving instead of just blindly coming in and doing what you think is right. That applies in large scale community settings, but also within orgs such as DFA. So it’s awesome that you get to facilitate that connection between program providers and students. You’ll be making sure that the students get the maximum amount of benefit that the program can provide – it could very well change lives! You’re awesome, Daria, can’t wait to spend lots more time together this summer and see how the rest of your work goes! And you can expect me to be joining you and Lindsay in a lot of those little Detroit adventures 🙂
Hey Daria! It’s so interesting to read these from other people that work in the Green Garage, because even though I see you working every day, I never know exactly what you’re up to. Sounds like DFA is doing really cool things, and I agree with Elsa that the most important part of serving a community is getting their input, so it’s great that you’ll be able to do that firsthand. I’m jealous that you got to see the Mitten Bites factory, but I’m definitely interested in being able to “learn” more abut Mitten Bites in the future… and eat more of them. Also sign me up for your Detroit adventures!