We’re canceling the workday due to high heat. Sometimes we’d work when it’s in the 90’s but last week our volunteers were struggling with heat like this, so we’d rather play it safe. The farm crew is gonna use the day to do some organizing, so enjoy the day off and be ready to [...]]]> Hi all!

We’re canceling the workday due to high heat. Sometimes we’d work when it’s in the 90’s but last week our volunteers were struggling with heat like this, so we’d rather play it safe. The farm crew is gonna use the day to do some organizing, so enjoy the day off and be ready to work on Saturday!

Mark

Saturday, September 11, 2010, at 6 p.m.

Starts with appetizers and a tour at the [...]]]> We are pleased to announce the menu for our upcoming Fundraiser Dinner. Buy your tickets today! www.bountyofheartsdelight.org

Saturday, September 11, 2010, at 6 p.m.

Starts with appetizers and a tour at the Veggielution Farm:
Emma Prusch Farm Park
647 South King Road
San Jose CA 95116

Continues at a Eulipia Restaurant in Downtown San Jose, CA. Tickets are $100 each.

The 2010 Bounty of Heart’s Delight menu is an international blend, drawing from the Deep South and from Korea, inspired by Veggielution tomatoes, peppers, okra and squash and including locally sourced pork.

1st Course

Farm Vegetables
Cured, dried, pickled, preserved and dressed.

Flatbread
With warm fava bean hummus and fresh herbs

“BLT”
Tempura Green Tomato and Crispy Pork Belly
With Farm Chili Sauce and Mixed Greens

2nd Course

Okra, Roasted Corn, and Tomato Gumbo
Over spiced wheatberries

3rd Course

Veggielution Bo Ssäm
Slow roasted pulled pork
Crispy Roast squash

Accompanied by
Veggielution Pickles, Kimchi, Coleslaw
Dressed Black Eyed Peas, Farm Chili Sauce, BBQ Sauce
Steamed Rice, Lettuce Wraps

Dessert

A Farm Surprise!

www.bountyofheartsdelight.org

Join Veggielution Community Farm for a dazzlingly fresh three-course feast of local produce and wine, sourced and prepared by gifted San Jose native Chef Joseph Gaudet.

This sumptuous, healthy, and eco-friendly dinner will benefit Veggielution’s youth program, which not only helps feed the [...]]]>

Bounty of Heart’s Delight: Veggielution’s Annual Fundraiser Dinner

Saturday, September 11, 2010, at 6 p.m.

Join Veggielution Community Farm for a dazzlingly fresh three-course feast of local produce and wine, sourced and prepared by gifted San Jose native Chef Joseph Gaudet.

This sumptuous, healthy, and eco-friendly dinner will benefit Veggielution’s youth program, which not only helps feed the community but also teaches high school students about teamwork, the environment, social justice, cooking, and leadership.

Your evening of fine dining and elegant entertainment will begin with a reception and appetizers at Emma Prusch Park—a chance to visit Veggielution’s farm in style and learn about this jewel of Silicon Valley’s farming roots. Dinner will be served nearby in San Jose. Dress is farm casual.

Starts with appetizers and a tour at the Veggielution Farm, and continues at a dinner venue TBD in San Jose, CA. Tickets are $100 each.

In conjunction with the dinner, we are trying to raise $25,000 by the night of our dinner (including ticket sales). The survival of our programs depends on your support! Even if you can’t attend, a donation of any amount will help. Donations can be made on the ticket sales page. Thanks!

Now Accepting Applications

We are now accepting applications for one full time and one quarter time AmeriCorps position through the Silicon Valley HealthCorps.

Our Members can expect to be fully integrated into the Veggielution team, where we emphasize open communication, innovation, and taking personal responsibility for your own success. We are looking for self-motivated people who are ready to become a major part of our farm community.  Click here to read more and apply.

End of First VeggieYouth Summer

After 6 wonderful weeks of work, learning and lots of fun, the first VeggieYouth Summer Program ended July 31st.  They closed their time at the farm with a little bit of quiet time, fun farm olympics and a celebration lunch on Saturday, which was from food harvested and cooked by the youth.

Seventeen youth came out for 20 hours a week each, putting in hundred of man (and woman!) hours of work on the farm.  They were all trained in specific farm skills to build confidence and knowledge and then allowed to work independently as the summer progressed.  In addition to lots of farm work, the youth had the opportunity to learn about cooking, nutrition, the food system and sustainability.  Also, they took three field trips, visiting farms in both Holister and Pescadero and cooking for over 150 people at a soup kitchen.

The completion of the summer youth program is an important part in Veggielution’s mission to incorporate and harness the power of youth.  They also brought an energetic and fun atmosphere to the farm.  Their dedication, hard work and love for Veggielution is clear to those of us on the farm consistently.  They have taken ownership of their work, coming early and staying late to put in a little extra work.  For those present, they have been a truly inspiring and energizing group of young people to work with and we hope to continue to see them on the farm!

Come Support us at the Downtown San Jose Farmer’s Market

Veggielution fans now have the option of shopping for our fresh produce at the San Jose Downtown Farmer’s Market! The market takes place on Fridays from 10am-2pm in San Pedro Square, at San Pedro and Santa Clara Streets in downtown San Jose. The farmer’s market is a much needed source of revenue for the farm, so we can continue to buy tools, seeds and other supplies.  Help support the farm by buying fresh basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, peppers, chiles, and a bunch of other great herbs and vegetables each week. Special thanks to the Pacific Coast Farmer’s Market Association (PCFMA) for facilitating our involvement at the market.

Saying Goodbye to Zan

Suzanne, or Zan, as you all may know her, has been working as a quarter time Americorp member with Veggielution since last November.  She was our first outreach coordinator and did a wonderful job of leading the charge.  Thanks largely to the work of Zan, we now offer monthly free gardening workshops to community members.   On top of that, she worked with Somos MayFair to organize Operation Frontline classes, which teach cooking lessons for healthy meals on a budget.  She also helped organize family day, as well as the Outreach Committee.  Besides these larger projects, she put in countless hours in meetings, speaking in classesa and tabling at events.  On top of this, she has been a kind and caring friend and staff member at Veggielution.  These are only the things we can enumerate; she has put in countless hours and her contributions will leave a lasting mark at Veggielution.

Zan is leaving us to start graduate school at San Francisco State in August, where she will be earning her masters in Anthropology.  She is still around as a volunteer, so be sure to wish her well if you see her.  Thanks for all of your wonderful contributions, Zan, and we will miss you dearly!

New Chocolate Tractor

Awhile back we got an e-mail from Leanne Hicks, an employee at the Blommer Chocolate factory in Union City, saying that they would like to donate their used tractor.  Last week we had it towed to the farm, complete with a complementary box of their high quality chocolate bars (which was quickly devoured by a hungry youth program and staff!). With a value of around $4,000, (plus another $20 for the chocolate) this tractor from Blommer Chocolate is one of the single largest donations we have yet received.  Our greatest thanks to Blommer Chocolate!

Before beginning use, likely in the fall or spring, their is some standard maintenance and equipment it will need.  Once up and running, this machine will greatly increase our ability to grow quality produce for distribution in the community. However, this will not decrease our integration of hand labor by volunteers- one of the things that makes the Veggielution truly unique. We strongly believe in our mission to educate volunteers about sustainable agriculture, and will continue to use our volunteer energy for every aspect of farm work possible.  But from now on, we will have the option of letting our tractor do the heavy work while volunteers complete other valuable farm tasks.

If you would like to donate money to purchase tractor implements or your skilled labor to help maintain the machine, please e-mail mark@veggielution.org

Volunteer of the Month: Leslie Chang

We seem to have a pattern developing at Veggielution: an unassuming college student comes out, is interested in gaining farming knowledge, and ends up working so much he or she might as well be a staff member.  Sean Jones and Will Chen have both trekked this path, and now short in the footsteps is our summer intern Leslie Chang

Leslie will be entering her junior year at Standford, where she is studying Earth Systems.  She came out to Veggielution on an alternative spring break that led students around the bay area learning about agriculture.  She was intrigued and decided to apply for an internship.  Upon starting her internship, she has been putting in over 24 hours a week on the farm!

She has been working with volunteers, leading youth on Tuesday, helping with harvesting and selling at the farmers market and also working independently.  Like many, she has found the social and educational environment a big draw.  “I like the friendly atmosphere and having the opportunity to learn about growing things”.  Thanks for all the hard work, Leslie!

State of the Farm Address

July has been a great month at the farm. Our land is all planted and is now producing at full speed. We can barely keep up with the summer squash and cucumber harvest, and folks have been snacking on ears of our sweet corn for a couple of weeks now. The tomatoes are producing more every day, the taro leaves are 2-feet-long, our Michoacan corn is 10-feet-tall, the flower and herb garden is full of color and fragrance, and our flock of chickens are getting big and fat. For the next few months, we will be harvesting hundreds of pounds of food each week, and every member of the farm community is reaping the delicious benefits.

A normal day here at Veggielution involves a parade of groups and individuals. On a typical Tuesday, we have volunteers harvesting and watering in the morning, a cooking and nutrition class with neighborhood residents, and visiting youth groups from the Children’s Discovery Museum and MACLA helping us with a variety of chores. Staff, interns and members of our youth program have been hard at work facilitating volunteers, maintaining our crops and making improvements to our worm bins, greenhouse, signage and other aspects of the farm.

For the past three years, the harvest season has been the time to reflect and be amazed at the power of what we have created as a group. This abundance of food is an important symbol for how much good can be accomplished when people work together to affect positive change in their community. So for now, we’re enjoying the full glory of our garden. But before you know it, the time for change begins again. Even though we’re in midsummer, we on the farm crew are anxiously preparing for fall planting. That’s when all the brassicas, leafy greans, garlic and other cold weather crops will be going back into the ground.

Veggie of the Month

Tomatoes

This is probably the vegetable of the month that you’ve been waiting for all year. But first, I want to get the whole, “You know, tomatoes aren’t really a vegetable. They’re a fruit,” out of the way. Unlike, “vegetable,” the word “fruit” has a specific botanical meaning, which is the part of the plant that carries the seeds. So, yes, tomatoes are fruits, but so is almost everything else we harvest in the summer, from green beans to eggplant to sweet corn. But I don’t see people picking up a pea pod and saying, “You know, peas are really a fruit..”

Be Our Fan on Facebook!

We are trying to get as many Facebook fans as we can. Please “like” our page and invite your friends to do the same. Thanks! Click the image below to go to our Facebook page.

Revolution. Evolution. Solution. What’s a Veggielution? We are changing the way people eat. Every week community members come to the farm and work the land – learning gardening skills, building community, and growing food that goes to soup kitchens and our low cost Farmstand. Teenagers in our VeggieYouth program learn about nutrition, cooking, food [...]]]> Dear Veggielutionaries,

Revolution. Evolution. Solution. What’s a Veggielution? We are changing the way people eat. Every week community members come to the farm and work the land – learning gardening skills, building community, and growing food that goes to soup kitchens and our low cost Farmstand. Teenagers in our VeggieYouth program learn about nutrition, cooking, food justice, teamwork, and effective communication through working on the farm.

Veggielution has come a long way since our inception 3 years ago in backyard gardens near San Jose State University. If we are going to keep our programs running, we need your support now. Please help us through this critical time. Our goal is to raise $25,000 by the night of our Fundraiser Dinner, Sept. 11th. Our progress will be updated regularly on our website.

Here’s how you can help:

Purchase a Ticket for the Bounty of Heart’s Delight: Veggielution’s Annual Fundraiser Dinner – $100

Purchase a Table at the Fundraiser Dinner and selling tickets to your friends – $1000

Host your own fundraising event like a summer BBQ to raise funds for Veggielution

Donate Money, any amount helps. Here is what your dollars could support:

- $1000 – Entire program cost for one participant in Fall VeggieYouth Leadership Program
- $600 – 1 Summer VeggieYouth stipend
- $125 – 100 lbs fresh produce donated to those in need
- $60 – Chicken feed for 1 month

Please act now and help us reach our goal. The survival of our programs depends on it!

Sincerely,

Amie Frisch
Director, Veggielution

Our Members can expect to be fully integrated into the Veggielution team, where we emphasize open communication, innovation, and taking personal responsibility for your own success. We are looking for self-motivated people who are ready to become [...]]]> We are now accepting applications one full time and one quarter time AmeriCorps positions through the Silicon Valley HealthCorps.

Our Members can expect to be fully integrated into the Veggielution team, where we emphasize open communication, innovation, and taking personal responsibility for your own success. We are looking for self-motivated people who are ready to become a major part of our farm community.

Full Time Member: Farm Crew/VeggieYouth

This position is closely involved with running both the farm and VeggieYouth. You will work closely with the Farm Manager to help with all aspects of running the farm, including facilitating volunteer workdays, food distribution, and taking the lead on some farm projects. You will also work closely with the Youth Program Coordinator as you help facilitate all youth programs and lead the farm work aspect of the program.

Quarter Time Members: Community Education

This position is focused primarily on educating the community. You will schedule and help facilitate workshops for community members on various cooking and gardening topics. You will also help set up and run the weekly Farmstand on site. You will recruit and retain new volunteers through our website, email, facebook, flyer distribution, and tabling. There will be 2 people working together to share the duties of this position.

Click here for more details and to apply.

Saturdays 10a to 2p.

If you haven’t been to our farmstand in a while, now is a great time to come back! Our early taste tests say that this summer is going to be amazingly delicious. We will be selling [...]]]> Don’t forget about our change in Farmstand hours coming up this Saturday. Our new hours are:

Saturdays 10a to 2p.

If you haven’t been to our farmstand in a while, now is a great time to come back! Our early taste tests say that this summer is going to be amazingly delicious. We will be selling our first tomatoes, an early variety called Stupice. We only have a limited quantity, so come early before we run out. The same goes for our early peppers. You will also find plenty of zucchini and crookneck squash, green onions, cucumbers, basil, potatoes, green beans, rosemary, mint, cut flowers, and t-shirts.

In the coming weeks you can expect an overflowing abundance of tomatoes and peppers, along with everything listed above plus melons, okra, winter squash, sweet corn, taro, oregano, marjoram, parsley, and more.

Please come out and support Veggielution!

Also please note [...]]]>

New Farmstand Hours

Starting July 11th, our Farmstand will be open on Saturdays from 10a to 2p. In July, you can expect to find an abundance of summer veggies, including tomato, zucchini, cucumber, onion, basil, green beans, and more. You will also find some seedlings to add to your home garden, and t-shirts for sale too!

Also please note that our Farmstand and Workday are cancelled July 3rd due to the holiday weekend.

Veggielution Partners with Kaiser San Jose

Veggielution is thrilled to announce our new partnership with Kaiser San Jose to implement VeggieYouth and outreach to the Mayfair Neighborhood which is adjacent to the farm. We aim to bring together diverse youth and adults through the shared experience of growing, cooking, and eating fresh healthy foods – capitalizing on the rich cultural and culinary traditions of the Mayfair neighborhood and San Jose at large. We are excited for this opportunity to develop and deepen our programs to reach more of our community. Thanks Kaiser San Jose!

Thank you for supporting our Strawberry Jam!

Veggielution Community Farm’s first-ever benefit concert—Strawberry Jam—was tons of fun, and a huge success. We were all very pleased with the amount of money we raised as well as the act of bringing many Veggielution fans together.

To the bands, thank you so much for bringing your musical talent and words of support to the stage. To the companies that contributed donations to our raffle, thank you for your generosity. To the volunteers who stepped up to make this happen, thank you for your many hours before and during the concert that went unseen that night.

To everyone who attended or otherwise showed support, we really appreciate it. We hope you had fun while also helping us financially in a big way.

Read full thank you.

Workshop: Handy Herbs, Saturday 7/31/10

Herbs have been used for centuries for their nutritional, culinary and medicinal properties. We’ll learn the best ways to grow these beneficial plants and how to store them so that they’re ready when you need them. Add to your garden tasty herbs like cilantro, arugula, mint, basil, and more. Here you’ll discover how you can use herbs to combat those winter colds and jazz up your home cooking! Saturday, July 31st at 1:30 pm. Click here to sign up.

Summer VeggieYouth Begins

Last Wednesday, June 23rd Veggielution was excited to welcome 17 youth into our summer program!  We have hired local teenagers to work as part of Veggielution’s new youth program, VeggieYouth.  The teenagers will be at Veggielution Wednesday through Saturday for a total of 20 hours per week.  They will put in many hours of farmwork while also learning about sustainable food production, health, and the food system.  The teenagers will also be cooking for each other twice a week, taking home produce and taking field trips to local soup kitchens and production farms.  Help us welcome our new summer youth when you see them on workdays and during the Saturday potluck!

A Garden Where Every Child Belongs

Last family day was a very special time for Veggielution families.  Besides having over 30 parents and young children to tour the farm and participate in farm-related activities, Veggielution also hosted a special blessing ceremony.  The ceremony, which followed indigenous Mexican traditions, was to bless Veggielution’s new children’s garden.  The garden is named A Garden Where Every Child Belongs features two spiraling beds, representing the dual male and female energy.  The male strip is planted with strong sprouting corn while the female strip is planted with sweet, nurturing cherry tomatoes and marigolds.  The planting was done by children, parents and volunteers as a part of the ceremony.  The two strips meet in the middle, representing union of the different forces.  The entrance is to the east, honoring the rising son and is marked by sprouting willow branches.  Although still a work in progress, the space is already introducing children to the wonders of life that can be found in a garden.  As we continue to cultivate this space, we invite you and your children to nurture a plant or flower.

New Committees and Teams: Get More Involved

Veggielution’s Committees and Teams are how volunteers can get involved beyond just coming to workdays. Each group offers a different way to get involved, so choose the one that interests you the most. We have 3 committees, Outreach/Education, Farm Planning, and Fundraising. Under each committee there are teams working on different projects such as helping with workdays, the Farmstand, chicken care, Family Day, event planning, canvassing the neighborhood, and tabling. This is a great chance for you to get involved in the inner workings of Veggielution and help in a big way. Learn more on our website.

Volunteer of the Month: Diana Foss

How has she not been it before? This is certainly the question I asked myself when contemplating the June newsletter.  Diana Foss does so much for us at the farm that she is practically a staff member, and it’s hard to imagine the farm without all of her dedicated work.

Diana now serves on our Board of Directors as the President.  Besides being a strong directing force in Veggielution’s future, she is very engaged in the present.  Ever wonder where those freshly made dishes come from every Saturday?  Diana was the first one to bring camping stoves and start cooking at the farm for our potluck.  She is also leading the Summer VeggieYouth in their weekly Thursday and Saturday cooking.  And let us not forget that the wonderful fundraiser banquet Veggielution had last October was planned and cooked by Diana, with assistance all under her guiding force.

And these are just the contributions we can enumerate from Diana.  There are a countless number of small tasks, quick favors, insights or suggestions that have been invaluable in the functioning of Veggielution.  We truly would not be this far along without her thoughtful and passionate contributions.  Thank you Diana!

State of the Farm

I can feel it coming… summer that is.  The heat, as well as green tomatoes, are both signs of what is to come.  Most of our winter- friendly brassica crops have pettered out with the exception of our every-hardy collard greens.  A few other spring crops- beets, chard, and lettuce- are also hanging on.  Our wildflowers, which peaked in spring, are also still blooming, but even the presence of these have started to fade as they melt into the summer heat.

Why the lull? you may ask.  Well, it is merely a short lull in what is about to be an onslaught of summer crops that is coming.  We have already started to harvest a small number of zucchini.  The few that we have harvested are both delicious and exciting, but is truly a paltry amount compared to the massive volumes we can anticipate.  Similarly, the peppers and eggplants are readying themselves for a fruitful summer.

Perhaps the most exciting news that I can report in regards to summer crops is this: last Saturday, I had the great joy of eating my first summer tomato!  Granted, it was cherry tomato, a small, yellow sungold, and yes the skin was a little tough.  But the taste was sweet and the message clear: summer is here!

Veggie of the Month: Zucchini

Zucca is the Italian word for squash of any kind, and “ini” is the affectionate diminutive plural. Strictly speaking, one would be a zucchino, but who says panino, either? Despite the Italian name, all squash are native to the New World, and they’re all very closely related, mostly the species Curcurbita pepo. Squash, melons, gourds and cucumbers are all part of the curcurbit family.

We also call zukes “summer squash” in English, referring to the fact that we pick and eat them when they’re small and immature. If you’ve ever been out picking in late summer and unearthed a monster zucchini, and then tried to eat it, you know that they get unpleasantly watery and stringy when they get too big, Pick zucchini when they’re no more than 8 inches long. You can even pick them when they’re tiny little babies, with their flowers still attached, and saute them briefly.

Everyone loves zucchini bread, and it’s a good way to use up a big pile of squash. Here’s a recipe with chocolate.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
3 Eggs
1 cup Vegetable oil
2 cups Sugar
1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
2 cups Shredded zucchini
2 1/2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Baking powder

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Stir in zucchini. Combine dry ingredients; add to zucchini mixture
and mix well. Pour into 2 greased 8 x 4 x 2 loaf pans.

Bake at 350 for hour or until bread tests done.

Yield: 2 loaves.

Get Involved…

Please join us at our harvest or workday times!

Tuesday: Harvest 8:30a-10a

Wednesday: Workday 2p-4:30p

Thursday: Harvest 8:30a-10a

Saturday: Workday10a-12:30p, Potluck 12:30p-1:30p

Click here for more details on our website

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