We are All Connected

This January, I began planning a new “yarn bomb” cover for the Peace Pole and started crocheting away. The theme I chose was “We are All Connected.” I hadn’t even heard of COVID-19 yet or had any inkling of how it was soon to affect all of us. This last week, I finished and installed this new Peace Pole covering, with its colorful, intertwined strands.
At times like these, our interconnectedness and interdependence become transparent. The American myth of rugged individualism must step aside as the truth of community and networks carries us through. What would typically be a very quiet time of year at Farmstead Creamery has us bustling, as we work purposefully to be a quality, high-integrity source of clean foods during this crisis. What some saw as a luxury is now a lifeline. Desperate times can clear away the fog of convenience and marketing to bring into focus what really matters.
And what really matters is people who care about each other. We are all connected.
When you dedicate yourself to nurturing goodness in the world, life has a way of preparing you for the moments like these. Resilience isn’t easily won, ingenuity doesn’t fall from the sky, having a honed team is much more than chemistry and chance.
On the farm, we eat all our meals together as a family. For us, it’s always been that way, as it was for Mom growing up, often waiting long hours for Grandpa to come home from his medical practice. It’s a tradition lost in many homes today, but it’s a practice that has helped to keep our family bonds strong and meaningful.
Mealtimes are not just about refueling for the next chapter of the day. They are about connection—checking in with each other, strategizing, bouncing ideas off each other, and planning what comes next. These mealtime gatherings have been especially critical as we find ourselves re-inventing our business model, launching e-commerce, transitioning our practices, and facing the ever-changing challenge that is the landscape of life with COVID-19 at present. I cannot imagine holding it all together without these intergenerational power meetings.
Yesterday morning, over steaming pancakes studded with chocolate chips, yogurt, and real Wisconsin maple syrup, we noted how uniquely equipped we are as a team to navigate these critical times and offer our very best to the community for health, wellness, and smart sourcing of their foods.
Ann’s (Mom) experience as a family physician with an emphasis on proactive care not only makes her keenly aware of the value of nutrition for whole-person health but also enables her to probe the ever-changing data on the virus. This allows us to strategize appropriate practices and efforts to keep ourselves and our clients safe and healthy. She has spearheaded our new “source smart” offerings of additional Organic fruits, veggies, and dairy that we are direct-sourcing from a co-op distributor in Minnesota.
“The latest statistics show that as long as people still visit each other, go to the grocery store, or fly across the country, we will never be able to contain the virus,” she notes. “Our goal is to help people not have to go to stores, where their food has been touched by many hands. Staying healthy means really looking at the system and critically evaluating how to reduce risk of spread.”
Kara, with her emphasis on biodynamic farming, brings a systems-thinking approach. Not only is she spending much of the day stitching medical masks (co-engineered with Mom for best practices) to send to those who have run short on supplies on the front lines of care, but she is also working the back end. Each week, she makes huge pots of soup, which we freeze in quart containers so folks can order healthy, Farmstead food for their home since we are not serving meals at this time. Pasties, gnocchi, ancient grains breads and muffins, all these are part of the litany of her day, keeping us stocked for orders while at the same time navigating the challenging waters of stocking basic supplies in a shortages-ridden supply system.
Steve’s background in technology has been intensely critical during this time of transition. Not only was he able to launch our e-store within a few days of urgent consensus that this was needed NOW, but he’s also managing the intricate back end of our new and developing website—enabling online donations for shipping the medical masks Kara is making, vetting online platforms so I can continue teaching fiber arts classes, and helping train us in videography and editing.
My primary role has been as a storyteller, bringing visibility to our urgent efforts to make a difference during this unprecedented struggle. From relaying the latest changes to pickups and deliveries via newsletters to updates on social media, to populating the e-store with meaningful images and descriptions for products and services, to writing this column each week, my work is to keep this human, personal, and transparent. As leaders in adapting to this new social landscape, our story offers hope and empowerment.
This week, think about how you are connected to those you are “safe at home” with at this time. Take your meals together and think about the skills and experiences each of you have that can combine to make a difference for good—for each other, for the community, for global issues. This can help you find a sense of purpose and disentangle yourself from the mindset of victimhood or helplessness. We can all have meaningful agency at this time. We are all connected, even when we can’t physically be together. Embrace the challenge, as best you can, and move forward together.