This morning, I met with the director of Caroline's Promise, Sarah. She was wonderful, a young woman (similar to me) who want to make a difference in the world, through starting with the young people in the county she lives in. She was very excited to talk about the program and how they could be involved in the gardens. She thinks that there is great opportunity for the different programs to become active in the gardens. She herself is an avid gardener and looks forward to helping in the gardens, as well as adding to the pantries from her own backyard garden.
We also talked about how the church she attends could get involved if they decided this was something they wanted to support. Sarah realizes the importance of food and the growing issues of food insecurity for many of the young people in Caroline county as it is. She also realized that her little church, where she is a member, and their sister church, might have a real niche in the area, as they are located in a predominately rural area that often gets forgotten.
While I was at the office that is housed at DSS, I spoke with the director, to see if there might be an opportunity for me to come and "live" there as well... I was welcomed into the building. Now all I have to work out are some logistical things, and then I will have an office home closer to the areas in which the program is focused in during these first few years. It was really wonderful.
I also stopped into Fredericksburg DSS and spoke with them, about the possibility of doing a bag-lunch presentation once Community Food is ready to roll out in Fredericksburg area. Very exciting!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Day 74 - First Grant Application
Today, I submitted the first grant application for the program. It was a small grant application for a local foundation that chooses local projects to get involved in. The local organization is a branch of the SunShine Lady Foundation, they are referred to as Sunbeams. They seek out projects and funds for the SunShineLady foundation to invest in.
It was really a wonderful, and at the same time, daunting task. It did prepare the program (and its documents) for what is to come in the future of grant writing.
We ultimately asked for enough money to fully setup two of the seven gardens that are committed for the Spring of 2010. This was VERY exciting! And a HUGE relief once the grant was postmarked and mailed off.
We'll find out in November but no later than the beginning of December (i think...)
It was really a wonderful, and at the same time, daunting task. It did prepare the program (and its documents) for what is to come in the future of grant writing.
We ultimately asked for enough money to fully setup two of the seven gardens that are committed for the Spring of 2010. This was VERY exciting! And a HUGE relief once the grant was postmarked and mailed off.
We'll find out in November but no later than the beginning of December (i think...)
Monday, October 19, 2009
Day 72 - Pantry HUB meeting number 2
Today I met with the pantry HUBs in Caroline County, as well as with two of the Garden partners. It was a wonderful meeting. It was great to feel their excitement about the program and that we are moving along. I showed them the draft database with hopes we'll be using it soon. Maybe even the first of the year.
We also set the date for the garden spaces to be established, also in the beginning of the new year. This is very exciting. During our next meeting, we will talk about what will be planted, although I think I will set what we plant and standardize it, and then as a group simply determine what will be grown where.
Overall, it was a great meeting and it really boosted my spirits as I head into intense day of grant writing, to fund these Gardens!
We also set the date for the garden spaces to be established, also in the beginning of the new year. This is very exciting. During our next meeting, we will talk about what will be planted, although I think I will set what we plant and standardize it, and then as a group simply determine what will be grown where.
Overall, it was a great meeting and it really boosted my spirits as I head into intense day of grant writing, to fund these Gardens!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Day 68 - garden measurements
This morning, I spent 2.5 hours with Mac, the Caroline County Extension Agent. We drove around to four of the 7 garden locations that will be started in the spring. He helped me to take soil samples in 2 of 4 gardens. i wil box them up ans send them off to VT where the soil testing is done. We should get the results before December!
At each location that we stopped at, we looked at it, walked around it, and talked about what would need to happen. It was wonderful to see the gardens, start the planning.
In just a few short hours we were very productive and made some great plans for where to go in the future, and what will need to happen before spring.
At each location that we stopped at, we looked at it, walked around it, and talked about what would need to happen. It was wonderful to see the gardens, start the planning.
In just a few short hours we were very productive and made some great plans for where to go in the future, and what will need to happen before spring.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Our First Food Drive
We are officially having our first Food drive!
EVB Bank locations in Ole Church and Aylett are going to have a canned food drive to help us get the Walkerton pantry up and running. This is VERY exciting. It means that we are going to be moving along.
The contact at the bank, Amy, was very excited about the prospect of helping, and continuing the relationship. She is hoping to get more bank branches on board as well as to do more food drives in the future to assist in keeping the pantry alive and well for the community.
I am so excited about this. In the midst of everything that is going on, this is a wonderful step for this pantry. Now all we need is to move the fridge there and to get some shelving in! And do maybe one or two more food drives to get it well stocked.
Food is coming...
EVB Bank locations in Ole Church and Aylett are going to have a canned food drive to help us get the Walkerton pantry up and running. This is VERY exciting. It means that we are going to be moving along.
The contact at the bank, Amy, was very excited about the prospect of helping, and continuing the relationship. She is hoping to get more bank branches on board as well as to do more food drives in the future to assist in keeping the pantry alive and well for the community.
I am so excited about this. In the midst of everything that is going on, this is a wonderful step for this pantry. Now all we need is to move the fridge there and to get some shelving in! And do maybe one or two more food drives to get it well stocked.
Food is coming...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Day62 - Hanover Cannery - Wright's Chapel cans Applesauce
Today I was invited to visit the Hanover cannery while Wright's Chapel canned applesauce. It was a great experience. I was so excited to see the inside of the cannery a second time. I was even more excited to see everything in action. It is one thing to know about the process in general and another to see it truly working and going on. It was also eye opening to see how many people, and how labor intensive parts of the process could be.
A pickup truck full of apples arrived at the cannery at 8am. The apples were loaded into large buckets and brought in.
First all the apples have to be washed. The wash bins were filled with water and the apples dropped in. They were then put into rectangular pans and moved to tables.
At the tables the apples were cut into quarters. Any brown spots were cut off as well. The apples were finished being quartered just before 12 noon.
Once quartered they are placed into trays to be dumped into the kettles to cook until they get soft.
Bob, retired pastor, and I figured out a faster way to process the apples. He would quarter them, and I would sort through and cut off the bad spots. We were able to make light work of the apples, once we had our system down.
The lids of the cans had to be labeled. These ladies were, in their best printing, labeled the lids with two different sets of information. The information indicated date, product, and which retort it was processed in.
On the other side of the shop, folks were filling the rinsed cans with piping hot applesauce. The apples had been processed through a really neat machine that separated the apple pulp from the seeds, skins, and all the other things no one wants in applesauce.
These ladies were dynamite at filling the cans. Once full, the cans were put into the Line Exhaust system. This machine heats the product (applesauce in this case) and the can to the correct temp for sealing the can.
The cans come out HOT at the other end, lids are put on them and then they are sealed. Once sealed, the cans are put into a HUGE metal basket, in neat circles (14 outer ring, 8 middle ring and 1 in center) and 5 layers high.
Once the basket is full, it is transferred to the Retort for 15 minutes where it is cooked, and the excess air is removed through very high temperatures.
Over all it was AMAZING experience. There were 20 people there, and it was likely to take from 8 am until 5 pm to finish everything.
Seeing this today really helped me to understand what it will take to process our food once it comes out of the gardens. I am very excited that Carol and the Hanover Cannery are willing to help us in our long term project.
Another great day!
A pickup truck full of apples arrived at the cannery at 8am. The apples were loaded into large buckets and brought in.
First all the apples have to be washed. The wash bins were filled with water and the apples dropped in. They were then put into rectangular pans and moved to tables.
At the tables the apples were cut into quarters. Any brown spots were cut off as well. The apples were finished being quartered just before 12 noon.
Once quartered they are placed into trays to be dumped into the kettles to cook until they get soft.
Bob, retired pastor, and I figured out a faster way to process the apples. He would quarter them, and I would sort through and cut off the bad spots. We were able to make light work of the apples, once we had our system down.
The lids of the cans had to be labeled. These ladies were, in their best printing, labeled the lids with two different sets of information. The information indicated date, product, and which retort it was processed in.
On the other side of the shop, folks were filling the rinsed cans with piping hot applesauce. The apples had been processed through a really neat machine that separated the apple pulp from the seeds, skins, and all the other things no one wants in applesauce.
These ladies were dynamite at filling the cans. Once full, the cans were put into the Line Exhaust system. This machine heats the product (applesauce in this case) and the can to the correct temp for sealing the can.
The cans come out HOT at the other end, lids are put on them and then they are sealed. Once sealed, the cans are put into a HUGE metal basket, in neat circles (14 outer ring, 8 middle ring and 1 in center) and 5 layers high.
Once the basket is full, it is transferred to the Retort for 15 minutes where it is cooked, and the excess air is removed through very high temperatures.Over all it was AMAZING experience. There were 20 people there, and it was likely to take from 8 am until 5 pm to finish everything.
Seeing this today really helped me to understand what it will take to process our food once it comes out of the gardens. I am very excited that Carol and the Hanover Cannery are willing to help us in our long term project.
Another great day!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Day 58 - Cannery seeks to go solar
This morning I met with Chuck, a local solar guy who came out and looked at the cannery. We looked at what it will take to set the Caroline cannery up to become truly solar powered. It was a very interesting meeting. it was a bummer that we could not get inside for him to look at the electrically wiring, but all in all we were able to have a rough estimate of what will need to take place in the future in order to make it happen.
We took photos of the outside of the cannery.
I was very excited to hear that there is a potential of being able to set it up with little cost to the cannery, as well as little cost to the county... especially as they don't seem to be too thrilled about the cannery in it's current state.
Here's to harnessing the power of the sun to preserve food and feed more people.
I was very excited to hear that there is a potential of being able to set it up with little cost to the cannery, as well as little cost to the county... especially as they don't seem to be too thrilled about the cannery in it's current state.
Here's to harnessing the power of the sun to preserve food and feed more people.
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