Public Service Committee

PUBLIC SERVICE EVENT AT CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION’S CLAGETT FARM

Nine lawyers and law students from the Young Lawyers Section and the Maryland Public Interest Law Project at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law volunteered at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Clagett Farm. They spent at least three hours on Saturday morning, September 18 harvesting large buckets of vegetables including okra and peppers. After volunteering her time on the farm, Jessica Gorsky, YLS Chair, felt energized and invigorated. The group was one of many volunteer groups on the farm who dug their hands in to pick fresh healthy vegetables that will be distributed to local communities throughout the Capital Area Food Bank. They also interacted with the workers and learned firsthand how Clagett Farm is able to provide food to people of all income levels. Those vegetables the volunteers harvested are part of Clagett Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The program collaborates with the Capitol Area Food Bank to provide nutritious, flavorful fresh vegetables to people in poverty or near-poverty in Washington D.C. Clagett Farm uses farming methods that are both economically and environmentally sustainable. It also uses practices that improve soil health and water quality and help mitigate climate change. Approximately 20 acres of the 283-acre farm is dedicated to the CSA program.