Youth Program Begins
We are very pleased to announce the beginning of Veggielution’s youth agriculture program. The program, which kicked off in October, is working to engage teenagers in agriculture while teaching them about the food system, agriculture and nutrition. Twelve teenagers from local high schools come out to Veggielution for two hours twice a week. The time is filled with a combination of working, educational activities, cooking and eating together. The program will run for a few more weeks, then after a break for the winter, begin again in Spring 2010.
Welcome New Americorps Members
November was an exciting month for Veggielution, as we filled two full-time positions and three part-time positions on the farm. The staff members were hired as a collaborative effort between the Silicon Valley Health Trust and the federal Americorps program. The program has brought on Jessie Nichols and Sally Neas, both hailing from North Carolina, for the full time positions. Both have a background in environmental and experiential education, and will be running the youth program. Two of the part time positions, focused on farming, were filled by co-founder Mark Medeieros and faithful volunteer Sean Jones. A third part time position has been filled by Suzanne Walker. Walker, who moved to San Jose a few months ago, will be focusing her efforts on community outreach. All three new staff members are excited to get things up and running on the farm.
Whole Foods Campbell: Nickels For Nonprofits
Veggielution was the recipient of Nickels for Nonprofits at Whole Foods Campbell during the months of August, September and October. For every bag you brought in for your groceries, we received 5 cents. The final calculations have not come in yet, but after only two months, Veggielution had received $1600.
Thanks to everyone who brought in their own bags; 5 cents really can go a long way!
Patagonia: Voice Your Choice
We won! Patagonia Palo Alto customers voted us #1 in their Voice Your Choice program. As a founding member of 1% For The Planet, Patagonia donates at least one percent of its sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. The Voice Your Choice program allows customers to decide which local environmental organizations receive a portion of those funds. We received $2500! A big thank you to Patagonia and everyone who supported our cause.
Spotlight: Sean Jones
If you have ever volunteered at the Veggielution farm, chances are you have worked with Farming Intern, Sean Jones. Not only does Sean attend both workdays each week, he also comes on other days and works on Veggielution projects from home. Despite holding a nearly full time job at Home Depot, Sean puts in well-over ten hours per week to make our farm a successful operation.
Sean first got involved before Veggielution even had land at Emma Prusch Park and then became more involved about a year ago when Veggielution hired on interns. Sean lists many reasons he is so involved with Veggielution, “I love to work the land and be outdoors, it’s very soothing for me.” Sean doesn’t have a garden of his own, but Veggielution makes up for it- and has the added benefits of the friendships he has formed along the way.
Amie Frisch says that “Sean has been an amazing asset to the farm, he works very hard and knows just about everything about what is going on here.” Sean definitely knows what is going on at the farm and if you ever have any questions he is a great person to ask. Although Sean appears to be working all the time, he always seems to have a smile and jovial attitude. Sean puts a lot of heart and soul into Veggielution, and it certainly shows! Thanks for all your hard work Sean!
Workshops
Veggielution has been holding a series of workshops throughout the past few months. We have already hosted successful workshops on mustard making, zucchini bread, composting, growing sprouts, canning, and mushroom cultivation. Thank you Joe, Lisa, Jeannie, Moria, Diana, Sarah and Ray for running these exciting and informative workshops! It is amazing to have so many people donating their time to increase the number of people growing and preparing their own food. We look forward to a new year of exciting workshops restarting in January.
Current Harvest
As fall slowly fades the winter, we are watching the fall crops peter out. However, this has been a successful year for Veggielution. From mid-July until now, we harvested over 3170 pounds! A lot of the weight came from bountiful crops of tomatoes and winter squash, but we are proud to have harvest a diversity of crops, including melon, corn, collard greens, amaranth and many more.
Where does the food go? Volunteers are encouraged to take home produce after the work day, and the rest is donated. Our biggest recipient is Martha’s Kitchen, a soup kitchen which prepares hot meals for local churches, schools and nonprofits. We also donate to the Third Street Community Center, which is a community center in downtown offering programs for youth and elderly. The produce is used to provide healthy snacks for program participants. Starting in February, we will also be selling produce at our farmstand- more to come on this later.
Veggie of the Month: Chard
Chard is also known as Swiss Chard and, in Australia, Silverbeet. Its scientific name is Beta vulgaris, which, if you are a species nerd, you’ll know is also the scientific name of beets. Yes, beets and chard are the same species, but beets are selected for their large roots while chard has been bred for its large leaves. If you pull up a whole chard plant on the farm, take a look at its root. It will be thick and red, although not as round as a beet. While chard is most commonly found with white stems (hence “silverbeet,”) it can also have red, pink, orange or yellow stems. Combinations of all colors are sold as “Bright Lights” or rainbow chard.
The small leaves can be eaten raw, but the larger leaves should be cooked, as they’re tougher. The stems take much longer to cook than the leaves, so if you’re looking to maximize your use of this veggie, cut the leaves out of the middle of the stems and chop them separately, then start cooking them before you add the leaves.
Chard with Currants and Pine Nuts
- 1/4 cup raisins or currants
- 1 small onion or shallot, peeled and chopped
- 2 lbs chard, washed carefully
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 slice bread, torn into pieces
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- chile flakes
Cut the chard stems out of the leaves and chop the stems. Slice the leaves.
In a dry skillet, toast the pine nuts until they just start to brown This happens quickly, so keep a watchful eye on them. Set them aside. Then add a tablespoon or two of oil to the pan and fry the bread pieces in olive oil until crispy and set them aside, too.
Add more oil to the pan and saute the onions until they are soft, then add the chard stems. Cook until they start to brown. Add the garlic and raisins, and stir to combine, then add the chard leaves. Cover so the leaves steam until wilted, then stir everything together and let some of the water evaporate. Season to taste with salt, pepper and chile flakes (if desired) and sprinkle the pine nuts and the bread crumbs on top. Serves 4.
Get Involved
We can always use more help at our workdays. Come out and get your hands dirty and meet some great people.
Check our Calendar page for Volunteer Opportunities this month.
***Important Workday Schedule Change***
Starting January 1, our Sunday workday will be changed to Saturday mornings. Additionally, the Friday morning harvest will be moved to Thursday morning. We hope that this is a convenient time for all volunteers. Please keep Veggielution a part of your routine in the new year and help spread the word about the upcoming changes.
Holiday Workday Cancellation
There will be no workdays on the following days due to the holidays:
Wednesday, December 23rd and Sunday, December 27th
