FRESH New London

THE FRESH REPORT

Issue No. 3

Spring 2009

News from FRESH New London

Subscribe to Our Newsletter!

In This Issue

Hello Friends and Supporters of FRESH New London:

We are heading into our fifth growing season; September 2009 will be FRESH's 5th Birthday! It is exciting to pause for a minute to reflect on how far we have come, and humbling to acknowledge that the work is never complete, and inspiring to understand ourselves as part of a greater movement towards a healthier and more just and sustainable society for all of us. Thanks as always for your continued support and involvement. Following are some updates about FRESH's activities over the past six months and news about our plans for this season. Visit our website for regular updates and information about upcoming events, workshops and work days: www.freshnewlondon.org.

Please stay in touch and join us for events and work this year.

FRESH Folks

The dedicated Staff at FRESH continues to make FRESH move and hum. Haley is about to complete her first full year as the Youth Program Manager and is doing an great job cultivating a vibrant and dynamic program culture. Jessica is helping guide the expansion and outreach of the Mobile Market Program for 2009 and has been leading the Youth Crew in a Public Speaking Training this spring. We have welcomed Anique Wiggins, our new Education Coordinator at FRESH, and said a fond farewell to Mary Nicolas in November 2008. Arthur, Emily and their kids moved into a new home in New London in February, and are loving being able to walk to the office and to the FRESH Garden. Dan Thompson is rocking and shaking as our first full-season Farm Intern.

We are also blessed with a dedicated group of regular FRESH volunteers this season, working on many aspects of FRESH from the Farm to the Garden, to Event planning and the Newsletter. A big thank you to: Adam Calkins, Anna Feldman, Barbara Barrett, Chelsea Cleveland, John Clark, Justin Matliewcz, Kerry Orshal, Laura Burfoot, Mandy Berry-Campbell, Mary Novak, Rob Schacht, Sunny Kagan, Tim Grimes, as well as a big thanks as well to our dedicated Advisory Board Members and all the others who contribute to FRESH's work in big and small ways.

FRESH Youth Program

LEARNING WHILE YOU'RE HAVING FUN!
by Celi Marie Perez Suarez

When you work with FRESH, you learn new things, and you learn by having fun. So, when we have meetings we sometimes play games that help us with what we are doing and we also make it part of the meeting. Another thing we do is share something that is happening in real life, and if it is bad we try to solve it as best as we can. We take things seriously, but we like to be dynamic. When we have crew meetings we come in and sit down in a circle or half a circle. We used to have a moment of silence but now we don't. We do an overview of the agenda and then we get going!

This spring, the Fresh Crew is going to the farm and of course growing vegetables! At the office, we are working on creating "Veggie of the Week" cards for the Mobile Market that include nutritional information and recipes. We are cooking different and tasty recipes so we can share them with our customers so they can try good new foods. We are also helping Anique with the Education Programs. Jessica is working with us on learning Public Speaking skills. It is a lot of fun and we do a lot of different things and we have fun with it.

The FRESH Farm by Daniel Thompson

Seeds

The other day, while watering the greenhouse plantings, I impulsively munched on a bit of arugula growing in the raised beds on the floor. The taste was so sublime that I was forced to check myself from devouring the entire bed of still immature plants. Patience, I said, have patience... Patience is one of the great lessons that farm work can teach the human soul. As they say, there is a time to reap and a time to sow, and it ain't quite reapin' time yet. If you want the payoff, you have to work hard, pay attention, and be patient. Farming is, in a way, the antithesis of the rampant, greed-driven, and too long unquestioned methods and ideals that have driven the US economy into the pit its in. Patience and foresight have taken the backseat to instant gratification and instant profits on many levels of our society. In joining with FRESH in 2009, one of my hopes is to play a small role in countering the indoctrination that so many of us, especially the young people of this country, receive from the mass media and the unnatural and reckless methods of wall street.

I have been living a rather nomadic lifestyle, playing music in a touring band and working for various nonprofit organizations. I heard about FRESH from a friend of mine, and made the decision to become a little more stable, at least for the 2009 year, if I could get involved with this organization. It is exciting to work in a relatively small and new nonprofit where one's voice can be heard and one can participate in the organization on multiple levels, from putting seeds into the ground, to discussing the benefits of sustainability and self-sufficiency with young people, to participating in budget planning. I am looking forward to the growing season, and I hope to see you all this summer.

The FRESH Community Garden News

Interest and excitement about community gardens is growing, in New London and beyond! The FRESH Community Garden Center is entering its third growing season and has a wait list of about dozen potential gardeners. In response to this increased interest, FRESH is transforming the demonstration garden located in front of the Gemma Moran/ United Way Food Center into a new Community Garden, which will create plots for 10 - 15 new gardeners. We are also exploring other sites and networking with neighborhoods towards the vision of more future community gardens in New London.

Throughout the 2009 growing season, there will be many events at the FRESH Garden. We kicked off our Workshop Series on April 25th, with a well-attended Introduction to Raised Bed Gardening, led by Linda Turner (www.plantasiact.com). The series continue on Sat, May 30th with Organic Control of Insects & Diseases, with Kimberley Stoner of the CT Agricultural Experiment Station. In June, we will hold a series of "mini-workshops," hour long workshops on such topics as Companion Planting; Herb Gardening; Container Gardening. In July, August and September, we'll also host workshops on Food Preservation and Extending the Gardening Season. For six weeks in July and August, the FRESH Youth Crew will host their Community Lunch Series, which includes dishes prepared by youth from FRESH Farm food and presentations by Youth Participants. All these events are free and open to the public; please visit our website regularly for upcoming events (www.freshnewlondon.org/calendar.html).

FRESH Educational Programs by Anique Wiggins

Hello, my name is Anique, and I am the new Education Coordinator with F.R.E.S.H. New London. I'm a New London native who is currently active in the New London public schools system. I am currently seeking a degree in Education with a major in Environmental Science.

Over the next few weeks I will be working with the Drop-In Learning Center, Issac, and The Regional Multi-Cultural Magnet School focusing on an agricultural based after school program. The students of each group will learning the importance of fruits and vegetables, as well as healthy eating habits. We will be spending a lot of time in the garden planting a wide variety of vegetables, melons, and herbs.

FRESH Mobile Market Jessica Cartegena, Community Organizer

sign

Plans for the Mobile Market are being put into action. Pre-orders & Bodegas Partnerships are the new pieces being incorporated into the Mobile Market route, in addition to our traditional Market Stops. Haley & a few youth have been working closely with a few bodegas that expressed interest in having FRESH produce sold in their store: Diaz Grocery, Los Amigos Mini Market, & two La fiesta markets. The Pre-order Partnerships are a return to an idea we tried in 2006, the first year of the Mobile Market; this year we hope that the new system created will be stronger & more successful over the long term. A few agencies that we are partnering with are the Drop-In Learning Center, New London Senior Center and the Community Health Center of New London. We are pleased to announce that the Mobile Market will have a new mobile vegetable truck. The new design of the truck will help FRESH more effectively and easily market the produce off the truck rather than the traditional unloading & reloading system!

SAVE the DATE:

FRESH will be celebrating its 5th Anniversary

on Saturday, September 12th

with a big Community Celebration

from 2:00 to 6:00

New London location to be announced

** FRESH Food, Music, Presentations and lots of Fun**

FRESH COMMUNITY GARDEN CENTER
MAY -JULY 2009 WORKSHOP/EVENT SCHEDULE

All events are free and open to the public. Rain or shine. All events are held at the FRESH Community Garden Center, corner of Williams and Mercer Sts, New London.

Call 444-8050 ext. 14 for more information, or visit our Calendar at www.freshnewlondon.org for updates and changes.

CONTACT US
If you have questions about FRESH programs, would like to get involved, or would like to contribute to FRESH, please contact us!

FRESH New London
c/o United Way Food Center
374 Broad Street
New London, CT 06320
860.444.8050
www.FreshNewLondon.org
,

Email Marketing by