Our interns have been contributing to Concrete Jungle all summer long! We want to highlight their meaningful reflections and thank them before they start school very soon.
With our Athens branch, Lilly Kirk and Shannon DeLeon work to support CJ Athen’s various programs, like adventure picks and farm volunteer opportunities. Lilly is pursuing her master’s degree in Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and Shannon is studying Sociology and Public Policy & Administration at The University of Georgia.
When asked of their favorite memories working at CJ, Lilly said hers was during a PEEL workshop in partnership with the Athens Community Council on Aging—“Watching people of different generations come together to share gardening tips, recipes, and stories reminded me of the power of food in building community and sharing knowledge across generations.”
Shannon’s was the Blueberry Pick at Hadden Estate: “We had a massive, enthusiastic group and picked so many berries!”
Reflecting, Shannon also remarked that “there are so many seemingly small things that any of us, in any position or place, can do to help food-insecure communities.”
Lilly said that the experience “has deepened my appreciation for solidarity-based food systems that recover perfectly good produce and redistribute it in ways that reduce waste while increasing access to fresh, healthy food for people who have historically faced social barriers.”
Over in the Atlanta office, interns Madelyn Hill, Amelia Danko, and Andreea Trifas joined us. Amelia and Madelyn are both earning Master’s in Public Health at Emory University, and Andreea is pursuing degrees in Political & Environmental Science.
Amelia and Madelyn have shown up and out to PEEL events—cooking recipes and interacting with our clients. Andreea helped out at the farm, often harvesting and creating our new Doghead Farm Walking Tour.
Amelia’s favorite internship memory was making our zucchini pico de gallo recipe. Yum! Andreea said hers was “leading volunteers at Doghead Farm.” “I loved connecting with Atlantans in the outdoors over a shared interest of farming and food access.”
During their time with us, they comprehended the huge amount of food gone to waste each year, and Concrete Jungle’s efforts to prevent it!
“CJ has helped me visualize just how prevalent food waste is in Atlanta, and how much positive change we can make by re-distributing fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste.” “I appreciate how Concrete helps connect produce to people and reduce food waste in Georgia.”
Thank you so much to all our interns for your hard work!