Elena is one of our field interns! She is Nutrition and Food Science major with a food systems minor. Elena spent 4 and a half months of her gap year between high school and college living with a Latino family in Viña del Mar, Chile. Through immersion, she developed a deep understanding and love for the Latino culture. Elena was drawn to Huertas because she believes one of the most important things in life is equality. She hopes through this experience she will not only further her education and remain an active participant in the fight to gain food equity for all, but build a food system that can provide and support everyone, including farmworkers with healthy food, a living wage and respect. As our field intern Elena helps coordinate the gardens, starting with initial farm visits to the very end with plot preparation. Elena says she is looking forward to working with a completely new population within Vermont that not many college students or even Vermonters in general have the opportunity to interact with as well as getting her hands dirty once planting starts!