From Garden Intern to Farmer: the Jennie Rasmussen Story

Over the years Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard has hosted a number of incredible Community Garden Interns. Some move on to programs like FoodCorps, while others go on to farm, teach, enroll in Food Studies programs, or work in the non-profit sector.

This winter I had the delight of visiting former Community Garden Intern Jennie Rasmussen, who now farms with Alex and Betsy Hitt at Peregrine Farm in North Carolina’s Alamance County. I took a beautiful walk around the farm, marveling at the mild North Carolina winter and tasting spinach and chickweed from one of the many hoophouses.

I then visited with Jennie at the Carrboro Farmer’s Market. It was a wet and chilly day, but the market was bustling. Peregrine Farm was clearly a favorite stall, and I had to fight the crowd to offer Jennie a taste of my homemade apple cider doughnut. After seeing Jennie learn the basics of vegetable gardening in the Banneker Garden years ago, it was fabulous to see how her knowledge has expanded and added to the food security of her North Carolina community.  Learn more about Peregrine Farm here, apply to be an MHC 2015 Garden Intern here.