healthy food - A new intern at GardenShare - SIBEJO

Hogan helps out at a soup kitchen in
Philadelphia on a spring break trip.

A second summer intern joined the team at GardenShare this week - a little about him:

Name: Hogan Dwyer

Town of residence: South Orange, New Jersey

Role at GardenShare: Part-time summer intern

How long: 6 weeks

Why I do what I do: I will be working primarily on promoting local Farmers Markets, but I help out with anything I can. I�m currently doing extensive research on recipes for in-season vegetables.

Role outside of GardenShare: I�m a rising sophomore at St. Lawrence University and planning to major in Environmental Studies. I am a member of the XC and track and field teams and the student group DivestSLU.

Hobbies: Hiking, Reading, Eating good food

Most recent accomplishment: Did some really great bargaining at the downtown market in Nairobi, Kenya

Last read: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Share something about yourself that few people know: I used to take piano lessons and can still play some songs by memory

healthy food - Current proposal cuts funding for school meals - SIBEJO

The Republican proposal to test block granting school meal programs in three states would likely cut school meal reimbursements, according to critics of the plan, which include FRAC. It�s estimated that, under block grants, California could lose $78 million in federal reimbursements, Texas could lose $72 million, Georgia $30 million and North Carolina $24 million annually.

Advocates: School meal budgets could lose millions under GOP plan � The Hill, June 15, 2016

healthy food - Summer food programs successful in Vermont - SIBEJO

While the distances and low population density of the North Country make providing summer meals to children in need challenging, our neighbors in Vermont seem to have figured it out.

The Food Research and Action Center�s summer meals report found that Vermont�s rank in serving children free summer meals improved from fourth to third and average daily participation in the state increased 14 percent in July 2015 compared to July 2014. The number of summer meal sites also increased six percent.

�The rural nature of our state presents unique challenges for sponsors who provide summer meals to children,� said Marissa Parisi, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont. The organization has been working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and local communities to feed more children summer meals at sites including libraries, day care centers, and housing developments.

What can we learn from their work?


Vermont ranks 3rd for providing summer meals for children at risk of hunger � Vermontbiz.com, June 14, 2016

healthy food - "Farmer Friday" - Fuller Farm - SIBEJO

Kathy looks at her mustard plants, which
have recently flowered due to the high temperatures.

It's "Farmer Friday" and intern Amanda has another farmer profile to share...

Tucked away on a side road in Canton New York is a small-scale, but fully functional vegetable farm owned by Kathy and Tim Fuller. From the road, you can only see a partial view of the farm as tall deciduous trees hide it. Once in the driveway, however, you get a glimpse of the 59 acres. Five of which are cultivated, divided into three sections: an open field for the summer planting, a 30 x 96 high tunnel and a 30 x 78 high tunnel. The two greenhouses are used for three and a half seasons out of the year. The couple takes December and January off, although Kathy said she is always itching to get back into the gardens: �Planting is like a disease!�

Kathy and Tim are trying a new method of growing
this year with their suspended cucumber plants.

Although Fuller Farm is not certified as organic because of expensive  costs of doing so, Kathy and Tim use organic practices. They do not use pesticides, and keep their fertilizer use below 20 lbs. per year. A beekeeper has 32 hives on the edge of their property, which aids in pollination. Kathy believes sustainability is �being able to operate in a way that keeps [the farm] operating,� a point many farmers agree. Environmentally, they recycle as much as possible, but they do not have enough labor to go without plastic and just weed using manual effort. Kathy reminded me how sustainability focuses on the process of farming and how small-scale decisions impact the wider implications of agriculture on both the environment in addition to the economy.

Fuller Farms initially started like many farms do, a family garden. Three and a half years ago, Tim had an aneurism, which forced him to retire. Kathy came home from teaching at Heuvelton Central School District one day to find Tim had plowed a large strip of land for vegetables. The first year their harvest was abundant enough to share their overflow with community members. Kathy and Tim made the economic decision the second year to sell their produce to North Country Grown Cooperative. As part of their operation, the Co-Op partners with local universities who purchase produce for their dining halls; however, the lack of students in the summer months left families like the Fullers without any income. As a result, Tim and Kathy expanded their business to the Potsdam Farmers Market on Saturdays. The third year, the couple decided to open their gardens filled with tomatoes, squash, kale, lettuce, mustard, peas, onions, beets, brussel sprouts, eggplants and many other vegetables for CSA shares. At first, the program had only 10 recipients, but now has grown to 15-20 with the help of GardenShare�s Bonus Bucks program.

One thing GardenShare strives to promote is the SNAP Double Up program. Kathy claimed she is seeing new faces at the Potsdam Market as a result of the program. One new customer, a middle aged mom, was impressed how she could receive $10 worth of produce by only spending $5. As a result, she buys her produce specifically from the market now, a change from which Kathy and Tim personally gain in return.

Kathy is a full supporter of GardenShare�s mission. She said, �Working with [farmers] markets is wonderful. I don�t know where we would be without them [GardenShare]�. Last autumn, GardenShare helped Kathy receive a grant for Heuvelton Central School to implement a community garden. She wishes to educate the next generation about the influential effects of small-scale farming. Many people think having fresh produce is a complicated, time-consuming process. Kathy stressed the solution to hunger in the North Country is to �get people to grow more food�it�s as simple as growing a tomato or two on your porch.�

Thank you Fuller Farms for an amiable visit!

Behind the farmhouse are plowed strips of land waiting to be planted.
Kathy said this year they are running short on time and labor to get everything accomplished.

The front third of the 30x96 tunnel yields lettuce and tomatoes.
The back portion was damaged during a heavy snowstorm and was recently repaired.

The smaller 30x78 tunnel is a product of a grant received by Kathy and Tim. 

Eventually, this tunnel will have raised beds.

healthy food - GardenShare annual dinner - a reflection - SIBEJO

GardenShare summer intern, Amanda, reflects on her first Annual Dinner and Silent Auction, held earlier this week at Jake's on the Water...

"There is some phenomenon about both preparing and sharing a meal with people you enjoy. At Thanksgiving after we carve the turkey, set out the cranberry sauce and test-taste the stuffing, there is a hurried scramble to find the best dark meat. Christmas calls for at least two of Grandma�s famous rolls piled onto already heaping plates. Simple summer barbeques are my favorite with mac salad, dill pickles, hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips, mixed vegetables and strawberry shortcake feeding the many mouths of our large family.

"I cannot eat a meal like those listed above without thinking about who looked like a chipmunk with stuffed cheeks at the dining room table, who whipped the mashed buttery potatoes, who burned the spicy Italian sausage or who skipped the meal altogether to swim in the lake instead.  As humans, we can separate neither food from people, nor food from memory.

Adirondack Fragrance, Inlay Designs, Gene Newman were 

just a few of our donors for the silent auction!

"This past Tuesday, GardenShare created a seventh annual memory at Jake�s on the Water at its annual silent auction and dinner. GardenShare staff and volunteers arrived early to set up the silent auction, and slowly eighty guests trickled in to share each other�s company. Clinks of glasses and twinkles of laughter filled the room as sponsors, donors, volunteers, friends and neighbors gathered in solidarity to make sure all residents in the county can have healthy and affordable food to eat.

"The event fundraised $6,000, which will go towards GardenShare�s mission of solving the issue of hunger in St. Lawrence County. GardenShare is a keystone organization, promoting both local food systems that produce the food who feed our community and programs that make buying local accessible to low-income families.

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"Thank you for joining us in a hearty meal that will eventually put another nutritious meal into someone else�s household. The dinner reminded me how fortunate the North Country is to have a unique crowd of individuals who band together for a common cause. Upfront on Tuesday, I witnessed how the people I broke bread with are interdependent with the community. One man I sat with is a full-time professor, a village trustee, a hunger activist, and a husband. This was the case of many people attending the dinner as occupations and passions mingled together over six different courses.  Hunger, approached locally, is a solvable issue. At GardenShare we say 'Healthy food, healthy farms, everybody eats.' Tuesday was a reminder of how strong and true that simple is to our community."

Megan Bowdish donated 120 tomato and pepper plants which were 

used as centerpieces and given to dinner guests.

Jake�s on the Water was the place to be this past Tuesday, 

especially with the warm sunny breeze on the back deck!

This unique presentation of food in a mason jar was filled 

with farrow, smoked mushrooms and pea shoots!

Behind the scenes with Executive Chef Josh, 

offers a peek of how he prepared the smoked mushrooms.

healthy food - New report on summer food for children - SIBEJO

After three years of significant growth, national participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs plateaued last summer, according to the Food Research & Action Center�s annual Hunger Doesn�t Take a Vacation report (pdf) released today. During July 2015, the programs served nearly 3.2 million low-income children across the country, a modest increase of 11,000 participants from July 2014. The Child Nutrition Reauthorization currently being considered by Congress provides an important opportunity to invest in the Summer Nutrition Programs so that more children return to school in the fall, well-nourished and ready to learn.

While the report shows New York State among the top ten in the nation for participation in summer meals by low-income children, that does not hold true here in the North Country, where it is very difficult for children in need to find a meal site.

healthy food - Quote of the Week - SIBEJO

"House Speaker Paul Ryan�s poverty plan...is not just about drastic cuts to proven programs; it�s also about dismantling the stable and effective structure of our nation�s safety net.  It is downright dangerous."

Jim Weill, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), June 7, 2016