Kyle Santoro of Pitney Meadows Community Farm
- Apr 2
- 2 min read
The 606th recipient is Kyle Santoro of Pitney Meadows Community Farm in Saratoga Springs, NY. Kyle writes:
What self-care and well-being mean to me as a farmer: “The farming season is long, hot and laborious. The body goes through many rigorous ups and downs throughout the season. Self care can come in many forms to people, for myself it is mainly physical body care, which could be massage, acupuncture, sound healing, float tank, etc. I also emphasize the importance of attending to mental health needs as farming can be stressful at times and also take up a big portion of our daily lives, and the tiredness contributing to not having as much energy to engage in community outside of the farm work. As a farmer, I am passionate about good, clean and quality food, and although I make that a priority, it sometimes becomes challenging to always be cooking at home after long tiring days. Well being can be seen as taking a day to go out for a nourishing meal and relax. I believe attending to my well being allows me to be more present, active and thorough with my day to day farming tasks, which in turns contributes to the health of the people being nourished by the food I grow. We all rely on each other but to do so we have to take care of ourselves.”
How I might use this $100 self-care award: ”I would use this award towards my physical well being in the form of massage. I think the physical release of tension, whether in the body or the mind, is important for me to stay healthy and motivated and give an opportunity to decompress especially during this time as the season begins to shift and there is still much to be done to prepare for the fall and into next spring.”
Most important self-care needs that contribute to my well-being as a farmer: "My body holds a lot of tension through physical labor but also from mental stress. To me, the best thing to help release and reset that is the form of massage. I have found over the years that I leave a session feeling refreshed and gentle. If it was possible I would take care of myself in this way weekly but a once in a while opportunity is still very important to me. My back and legs are extremely important to keep healthy so I can show up every day in my best self.”
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