Guess who's coming to dinner?
And he's cooking too!
Make sure to set aside the weekend of July 24, 2010. That weekend will be our major event of the summer. Not to spill the beans but Hosea Rosenberg (winner of TOP Chef, Season #5) will be coming from Boulder, CO to host the event. Many exciting things are planned for this "must attend" weekend. For more information regarding Hosea, visit his website at www.chefhosea.com. Watch for more about this weekend coming soon. |
 Spring is the time of year when you feel like whistling even when you are stuck in the mud and have slush in your shoes. Anonymous. |
What is Next?
This year, as well as the years to come, Grow Benzie will be focusing on the involvement of children of all ages. Our hope is to have an outreach program that will pull children from different schools into our activities including a LITTLE SPROUTS program at our facility as well as other joint projects with various groups and clubs. The focus will be to integrate a child's interest in the garden into better health and nutrtition that stays with them into adulthood.
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With many thanks to all who have made the dream of Grow Benzie a reality.
Fond regards,
from the folks back home.
April 2010 | |
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For those of you who are old friends of Grow Benzie, welcome back. For those of you who
are just getting acquainted with Grow Benzie, welcome aboard. And, for those of you who have yet to learn about our wonderful program we look forward to meeting you. We hope you will be as enthused about this project as we are and that you will be anxious to join in whatever capacity that fits your interest.
To recap, Grow Benzie is a community farmstead dedicated to enriching the lives of Benzie county residents by fostering self reliance through education in agriculture, nutrition, job training and life skills. We are focused on Growing Healthy Children and Communities.
Grow Benzie was founded as a multifaceted garden center in the fall of 2008 by civic-minded folks who purchased the 3.7 acre site with the vision of offering classes and hands on training in gardening, culinary arts, and sustainability in collaboration/partnerships with others to expand economic opportunities for the Benzie community family. Much of the work of our first year involved endless rounds of unexpected hurdles with rules, regulations, permits and grant applications, all of which are time consuming and tedious. BUT, in spite of the hurdles, progress is moving rapidly forward and many exciting things have been planned, new volunteers are on board and the coming season is sure to be an enormous success. |
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Our First Year's Accomplishments
Eight gardens were established with four dedicated to the local food banks. Individual plots were also planted.
We hosted recycling plastic garden pots for Benzie County.
And . . . .we renovated Big Blue, our large, 5,000 sq. foot main assembly building which is now ready for occupancy and will host various groups, classes, and projects throughout the coming year!
The next step for Big Blue is completion of the kitchen renovation, making it a certified kitchen, opening up many opportunities for use.
A Wednesday Farmer's Market
Plans are also a foot to complete the parking lot ready for summer so we can host a Wednesday Farmer's Market. A manager has been recruited and several farmers are all ready on board with more farmers contacting us each day as word gets out of our intent. Can't you just see the luscious fruit and vegetable stands wrapped around this building for all of us to enjoy? We'll keep you posted as we progress.
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Gardens, Gardens, Everywhere!
While winter storms were raging across the southern states the weather in Benzie County remained fairly benign. We have had sunny days, very little snow compared to other years and very little wind. And of course, "If March comes in like a lamb it will go out like a lion". However, with weather like this it is eay to get the gardening bug and with Spring on its way, thoughts turn to things far more pleasant than the usual winter weary humbug malaise that sets in after endless days of grim weather. The seed and plant catalogs have all arrived and the stores have their seed racks on display, asure sign that it is time to begin making plans for delicious goodies to plant.
Lots of volunteers are needed to bring the gardens to life so think about how much fun it would be to work in your own garden plot or help someone else with theirs. Plots will be available on a first come basis so contact Grow Benzie for more information. |
As always, we urge you to spread the word about Grow Benzie. We look forward to seeing all of you soon and hope you will be prepared to jump in and lend a hand in any way that may suit you. We also appreciate your input. Please feel free to send any questions, suggestions or ideas to our email address GrowBenzie@gmail.com.
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