Garlic is for HEROES

Shallots are for babies;

Onions are for men;

Garlic is for heroes

-Unknown

     What to do on a rainy September day at Laraway?  With our fields and garden doused with heavy rain, a handful of students from Laraway School convened in a small conference room with our Land Steward and AmeriCorp volunteer to trim and snip some of the 500 heads of garlic harvested from our garden.  These tasty, aromatic bulbs are wending their way into our cafeteria and the kitchens of the families we serve, enhancing and fortifying meals.

      The room smelled of garlic which wafted into the hallway----smelling a bit more like an Italian restaurant than a school.  One expected a waiter to whoosh by with a steaming plate of garlicky pesto on pasta. Students chatted as they worked while carefully navigating the bulbs and stems with clippers.

     Garlic, it can be said, IS for heroes.  Our youth, it can also be said, are heroes who---despite significant challenges in their daily lives---make it to school to learn, to grow and to occasionally snip and clip garlic.