GardenShare's Bimonthly Newsletter  |  April 2014
Volume 14 No. 2
Spring Is Finally Here! Connect With Your Local Growers.
Many of our local growers have been busy in their greenhouses. Salad greens will be available soon, as well as asparagus, winter spinach, spring dug parsnips and more. The St. Lawrence County 2014 Local Food Guide just went to press and will be available in about three weeks. If you are on our mailing list, you will get one in the mail. If you don't already get mail from us, email your mailing address and we'll send you the Guide hot off the press.

We have two new Farmers' Markets in the County this year. DeKalb and Hammond markets started up late last year, and the communities have encouraged them to continue. Current information about all St. Lawrence County Farmers' Markets is available here. 
Neighbors Helping Neighbors Garden Sprouts in Hopkinton 
Carlyn McKee is spearheading a Community Garden Project in Hopkinton. She sent us this story about her project.

A few weekends ago, I gave away seeds, tools and books to my neighbors. I've been organizing donations from local businesses and private citizens since January, developing the idea of The Neighbors Helping Neighbors Community Garden.

Our primary mission is to help local folks grow their own gardens. Our secondary mission is to nourish and educate the public through the establishment and maintenance of a communal garden, donating the fresh food to our local food bank.

Our seed and tool giveaway reinforced that people in this community want to participate. Donations were plentiful, and here's a small sample of the smiling recipients who made it worthwhile:

  • A mother of four children requested a packet of kale seeds because she can't wait to make kale chips for her family.
  • A teenager planning a large family who wants to learn to garden received seed packets of lettuce, peas, beans, and squash and a hand cultivator.
  • An older gentleman with a cane came to discuss concerns about his soil quality, which we were able to look up in the donated reference books on hand, and share our own experiences.
  • A mother of 4 children under the age of four asked for lettuce seeds to fill her raised bed; a simple garden project for this year.
Low-income, moderate-income or high-income; being here is making a difference.

Read more and follow the progress here. If you'd like to participate, contact Carlyn. The community garden breaks ground on April 26. 
Hunger Is A Problem We Can Solve
On April 7 Cinema 10 showed A Place At the Table at the Roxy Theater in Potsdam followed by a GardenShare-hosted panel discussion. The film and conversation reinforced the need for all of us to get involved eliminating hunger and poverty in our communities.

A Place at the Table does a great job of shocking us with the staggering statistics of hunger in America, connecting those statistics to the policies that support  them, and illustrating it all with real life stories of every day, working people struggling to eat. The rural perspective was well represented. If you haven't seen it, watch this film.

Thanks to Cinema 10 for showing the movie, Cortney Shatraw, Dr. Stoian, Dr. Williams, Daisy Cox, and Anneke Larrance for sharing their perspectives, and to everyone who attended the showing.  
Community Supporting GardenShare
A few area businesses are holding fundraising events for GardenShare this spring. Since our work is largely supported by community donations, we are thrilled by this trend!

The Kitchen at Iroquois Farm and St. Lawrence Brewing Company are teaming up to present a unique six course meal, featuring local seasonal ingredients, along with a complimenting locally crafted beer for each course.
Thursday, May 1
6:00pm
$65

The Kitchen at Iroquois Farm

10951 CR 37, Lisbon
Call (315) 388-3077 for reservations
More information here.

AND

The Potsdam Food Co-op is replicating their winter baking contest that supports the Neighborhood Center to support GardenShare in the summer! 
Save the Date: Sunday, June 6.
Details to follow. 
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Life on the Farm Q&A at TAUNY
Friday April 25
5:30-7pm
TAUNY 53 Main St., Canton
FREE
Dairy farmers featured in TAUNY's current exhibit "Every Single Day: Life on North Country Dairy Farms," will join Program Director Camilla Ammirati for a free-flowing conversation about life on the farm, changing dairy farming practices, and more. Panelists will include Mark and Ally Akins, Andy and Mary Gilbert, Blake Gendebein, Kevin Acres, and Dairy Princess Brooke Rastley.

The event is free and open to all. Light refreshments will be provided courtesy of the Dairy Princess. 
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Bonus Bucks '14 At Capacity 
GardenShare's program to help make CSA accessible to more families has become quite popular, and we have already reached our capacity for the 2014 season.

We continue to seek sustainable funding sources for this program as it successfully provides high quality, healthy food for program participants, while at the same time bringing new market to our direct market farmers.
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We Need Your Help! 

GardenShare is always looking to reach new people. You can help by forwarding this e-newsletter to anyone you think may be interested in our mission of ensuring that everyone in St. Lawrence County has enough to eat and enough to share, and that our food choices are healthy for ourselves, our community, and the environment.  
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