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Good Food Project Garden Newsletter

December 2014

A Salute to 2014

The Good Food Project Staff: Todd Whatley, Barbara Karz-Wagman, and Frances Boudreaux

2014 has been an eventful year for the Good Food Project. The GFP team grew with the addition of two new staffers who came on board as part of the overall strategic plan, Barbara Karz-Wagman, Development Manager, in May, and Todd Whatley, Community Gardens Manager, in June. Along with Director, Frances Boudreaux, this new team has been able to move forward by expanding the program's outreach to more gardens in more communities. New school gardens have been added, along with community gardens, and satellite gardens. The Good Food Project currently has helped develop or is partnered with 28 gardens in eight of the eleven parishes served by the Food Bank of Central Louisiana. Another outstanding component of the program this year is the garden and nutrition education provided by GFP staff to approximately 85 children and 25 adults throughout the year at after school programs like the Pineville Youth Center, Kids Café - Winnfield and non-profits like the Hope House of Central Louisiana. Our partnership with the Rapides Soil and Water Conservation District has allowed us to now have installed gardens in 12 Rapides Parish schools and one Avoyelles Parish school. GFP has partnered with a diversity of organizations, businesses, and groups across Central Louisiana to promote community awareness about sustainable agriculture and the health benefits of growing fresh, local food. The Good Food Project serves as part of CLEDA's local foods initiative by serving as a member of the Food Policy Council for the region as a Local Food Working Group member. It is the earnest desire of the Good Food Project team to strive to fulfill the mission of this model community garden network to feed, educate, and connect Food Bank clients and the broader Cenla community, empowering people to achieve better health through sustainable gardening and access to nutritious food. We wish you a bountiful, healthy New Year and invite you to Come Grow With Us!

For information, contact the Good Food Project staff at 318.445.2773 or via email: fboudreaux@fbcenla.org and on the web: www.goodfoodprojectcenla.org

Recipe of the Month

Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients

1 Cup white whole-wheat flour

1 Cup old-fashioned cooking oats

1/4 Tsp. salt

1/4 Tsp. baking soda

1/4 Tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 Cup packed brown sugar

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

3 Tbsp. fresh-squeezed orange juice

Cooking spray

Filling:

1 1/3 cups dried cranberries (six ounces)

3/4 Cup sour cream

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. white whole-wheat flour

1 Tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 Tsp. grated orange rind

1 Large egg white, lightly beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through cinnamon) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle butter and juice over flour mixture, stirring until moistened (mixture will be crumbly). Reserve 1/2 cup of oat mixture. Press remaining oat mixture into the bottom of an 11X7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

To prepare filling, combine cranberries, sour cream, granulated sugar, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well. Spread cranberry mixture over prepared crust; sprinkle reserved oat mixture evenly over filling. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

Nutrition info: Calories 135; Fat 4.6g; Protein 1.7g; Carb 21.5g; Fiber 1.3g; Cholesterol 13mg; Iron 0.7 mg.; Sodium 68mg; Calcium 27mg

In December plant:

Cabbage
Onion, Leek (Seed)
Onion, Leek (Sets)
Peas (English)
Shallots
Spinach
Turnips

In January plant:

Beets
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Chard, Swiss
Chinese Cabbage
Eggplant (Seed)
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Mustard Greens
Onion, Leeks (Sets)
Peas, English
Pepper, Hot (Seed)
Potatoes, Irish
Radishes
Tomatoes (Seed)

Pineville Youth Center garden club participants harvesting broccoli

Garden News

The Good Food Project celebrated a successful year of garden and nutrition classes with the Pineville Youth Center garden club members and their families on December 10, 2014 by preparing a meal featuring lots of fresh vegetables and fruits for all to enjoy. We thank PYC's great staff for their enthusiasm and support! If your organization would like to partner to promote sustainable gardening and nutritious food, please give us a call. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas! 318-445-2773

Pineville Youth Center Fall Celebration Meal

Workday Wednesday

You are invited to join us at the GFP demonstration garden on Workday Wednesdays. In the garden, you will experience learning to grow food in a sustainable, organic way, while getting an opportunity to meet new people, and to help those in need in the community. If you, your organization, or work place would like to be involved, please give us a call. We would love to hear from you!

Each Wednesday from 7:30-11:30 AM all adults and children are invited to come out for a fun day of learning and giving back to the community. Let's grow together! Learn more.

If Wednesdays aren't good for you, call us to set up another volunteer day! 318-445-2773

Garden Quote

"Children are born with a sense of wonder and an affinity for Nature. Properly cultivated, these values can mature into ecological literacy, and eventually into sustainable patterns o living." Zenobia Barlow, "Confluence of Streams"

Kids Café Participants - Winnfield

Volunteer Al Green, Councilman Ed Larvadain and V.O.M. Don Bullock

Volunteer of the Month

Don Bullock

Sometimes, if you are lucky, you happen upon a gem; the Good Food Project was fortunate enough to find one in Don Bullock. That serendipitous moment came when GFP staff went looking for interested community members to help with a new garden to be located at the corner of Ashley and 15th streets in Alexandria, LA. Mrs. Mercides Harley, an active community leader, and Reverend Nehemiah Harris, pastor of New Pilgrim Baptist Church, referred us to "Mr. Don". Don stepped up to the task without a moments hesitation because he says, "I saw a need in our community". Needs in the community have kept Don volunteering for many years. He served as a Triple A football coach and mentor for twenty-five years in order to be with his five boys , and has currently been volunteering at Friendship House for the past three years. Don, in his humble and unassuming manner has been a champion of this community garden from its inception. He has spent countless hours prepping, tilling and planting fall vegetables that will benefit folks in his community. One of the things that drew Don to the project is that he felt he would be working with a staff who believed in what they were doing, and not "just doing their job". Don has been gardening "from a young age" and remembers always having a garden, as he was raised with his grandparents who were avid gardeners. Don, and his wife, Emelda, also maintain their own home garden, and share that produce with family, friends, and neighbors, as well. Don is retired now, having worked for Rapides General, and then the commercial and residential franchise, Service Master. The Good Food Project staff considers Don to be a rare find and a good friend to the project; he is a shining example of how community-minded folks can work together for good.

We welcome volunteers for our community garden and at the Good Food Project on Wednesday mornings in the GFP demonstration garden, 3223 Baldwin Avenue - Food Bank of Central Louisiana 71301 - 318-445-2773

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