By Christine Galeone, Contributing Writer

Community Harvest Project camp students from a previous year harvest yellow wax beans. (Photo/Tori Buerschaper)
Grafton – For many people, summer days bring back cherished memories of weeks spent at camp. They remember the campfires, swimming, crafts and friendships. But for some local kids, those memories will be a little different. While they will still include new friendships and crafts, they’ll also include gardening, cooking and having fun while learning about good nutrition.
This summer, those kids will also have a chance to enjoy time spent with folks who survived many years without smartphones or the Internet. Because of a grant from Tufts, Community Harvest Project’s 2016 Summer on the Farm campers will have the opportunity to do some off-line social networking with Grafton senior citizens at a special August luncheon.
Community Harvest Project, a nonprofit farm that grows and harvests produce for area food banks and hunger relief organizations, has been offering its Summer on the Farm camp – which focuses on agriculture, health, nutrition, food and the environment – since 2013. The kids hike Grafton Land Trust trails, plant herbs and vegetables, cook new recipes, create arts and crafts, conduct food science experiments and compete in compost relay races and farm Olympics. Alicia Cianciola, CHP’s program manager, said that growing and harvesting ingredients and learning and cooking new recipes “gets them excited about eating food that is also good for them.”
After recently expanding the program to include older children going into the eighth grade and after learning that many local seniors don’t have regular access to healthy food, Cianciola said CHP applied for the Service Fund grant from Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts.
“At Community Harvest Project, we were looking for a way to provide more meaningful experiences for the youth in our summer camp – opportunities that would get the students interacting with a new population and really thinking outside of themselves and outside of the farm,” explained Cianciola. “Because the Grafton Senior Center is so close and is so interested in connecting seniors with healthy food, we felt that this could be a natural fit.”
Besides giving the kids a venue to practice their new culinary skills, Cianciola hopes both the students and the seniors will reap a rich harvest from the luncheon.
“We believe this luncheon is an opportunity to build community by bringing together two groups that do not frequently interact with each other to share a meal,” said Cianciola. “Of course, for seniors, this is an opportunity to learn more about our farm, an opportunity to learn more about nutritious recipes, and to socialize over lunch with some new friends. Across generations, our relationship with food has changed a lot. Our hope is that both the seniors and students can learn a little something from each other over lunch.”
Barbara Connelly, director of the Grafton Senior Center, is equally enthusiastic about the luncheon, which could inspire some cherished camp memories.
“The seniors are very excited about the senior luncheon at Community Harvest Project,” shared Connelly. “In fact, the minute the event was advertised, seniors started signing up for it. It’s been a pleasure working with the staff from Community Harvest Project, and I am looking forward to more collaborations in the future. It truly is a win-win for students and seniors.”
For more information about Community Harvest Project, visit www.community-harvest.org.