Underserved

Garden Share raises funds to give low-income families fresh food

by Missy Votel

For many perusing the array of fresh produce at the grocery store or farmers market, cost is toward the bottom of the list of concerns. Freshness and ability to utilize said produce before it goes bad at the back of the crisper drawer – sure. But being able to pay for that bag of fresh spinach typically does not enter most shoppers’ minds.

However, for many Americans – including an estimated 16 million children – that concern is very real. Fresh produce can often break the budget of families on fixed income or food stamps, leaving them to forego healthier options in favor of cheap, quick prepackaged foods.

However, thanks to high-profile participation in such things as “The SNAP Challenge” – whereby celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow try to live on the weekly food stamp equivalent of $29 – the topic of food justice is coming to the forefront.

However, it is not just the latest cause celebre. A handful of local organizations are working to address the problem as well.

But what exactly is “food justice?” Sandyha Tillotson, executive director for the Garden Project of Southwest Colorado, assures it is not about giving equal billing on the dinner table to rutabagas or Brussels sprouts.

“It’s about making sure all people have access to healthy, affordable, culturally appropriate food,” Tillotson said. “We are trying to demystify that local, organic produce is a high-culture product.”

The Garden Project, along with Manna Soup Kitchen and Cooking Matters, is in its second year of leveling the local dinner table with the Garden Share program. The program works much like a CSA, where each week, from June-October, underserved families are given a box full of fresh, locally grown produce. The families are also invited to volunteer in the Manna garden as well as attend a six-week cooking class with Cooking Matters.

 With such a successful first year, the goal this year is to expand the program from eight families to 15. However, even with donations of leftover food from the Farmers Market as well as food from the Manna garden, the program will need $7,500 to provide enough food for all 15 families. This will cover expanding the Manna garden and paying for more hours for garden coordinator, Brooke Frazer.

As a result, the Garden Project, with the help of Bayfield-based crowd-funding site Harvest Funders, has launched an online campaign. From now through Fri., June 5, people can go online to www.harvestfunders.com and donate money for a variety of gifts, from work gloves to T-shirts and caps. Just $10 will supply one person with a one-week supply of fresh produce and a cooking lesson; $50 will keep a family in fresh veggies for a week and supply two weeks of cooking classes.

“It’ s a pretty reasonable donation,” said Tillotson. “Plus, you get a sweet Garden Project T-shirt.”

Tillotson said the program started in 2014 as an outgrowth of Manna’s backpack program, which every Friday distributed 120-150 backpacks to schoolchildren filled with nonperishable food. The idea was to sustain kids when they didn’t have access to school meals – which are often the only reliable meals they receive.

“We started thinking, how can we supply them with fresh food, especially over the summer months when they’re not in school?” Tillotson said

Another major component to the program is having families get their hands dirty, both in the garden and the kitchen.

“We encourage families to come work with us and gain some self-sufficiency skills as well,” said Tillotson. “You can grow a significant amount of food for your family. People just don’t know how.”

Animas High School students, from left, Garrett Moore and Catherine Dellinger, pick parsley from the Manna Soup Kitchen garden last Wednesday. The garden hosts work days every Wednesday from 10 a.m.  - 12 noon./Photo by Jennaye Derge

Taking the food from garden to table is where Erin Jolley comes in. Jolley is the local coordinator for Cooking Matters, a program of Share our Strength, a national nonprofit working to end childhood hunger. Typically, Jolley’s six-week program entails taking families grocery shopping, teaching them to read labels and find healthy food at the store, and then teaching them how to incorporate these foods into every meal.

“This is a perfect partnership,” said Jolley of the Garden Share program. However, as Jolley points out, there’s no point in having all that fresh produce “just sit there.”

She said her classes focus on simple, easy-to-follow, affordable and quick recipes. And, of course, they should be delicious. The classes also provide any non-fruit or vegetable components of the meal. For example if there are root vegetables in the CSA that week, the class will supply noodles and parmesan cheese for a roasted-vegetable pasta, as well as extras to take home.

“We try to make eating healthy taste good,” she said. “We start by incorporating vegetables into dishes that people are already interested in eating.”

Jolley said the classes also focus on local food that is in season, saying there is often a disconnect at the grocery store, where produce from around the world is available year round. “The idea is to turn something exotic to something familiar,” she sad. “Kiwi isn’t considered exotic, but chard is. It should be the opposite.”

Once people have their first taste of a meal with local ingredients, they are usually sold. “Using local food tastes good,” she said. “It’s easy for people to fall in love with fresh produce, you can taste the difference.”

And learning this together as a family also gives the cooking lessons staying power. “It’s not just telling parents but telling kids, and doing it together; setting a healthy tone that can be carried on at home,” Jolley said. “When kids are involved in the kitchen, they’re more likely to eat it if they’re part of the preparation.”

In addition, Jolley also brings in local chefs to help teach the classes as well as nutrition experts to educate families on the basics of nutrition. At the last class, there is a “graduation” whereby each family is given its own chef’s knife and a cutting board to use at home.

Applications for the Garden Share program are being accepted through the end of May and can be downloaded at http://www.thegardenprojectswcolorado.org/garden_shares. Tillotson said preference will be given to families with small children that have access to refrigeration. A willingness to put in some sweat equity at the garden and attend cooking classes is also a plus, although she said she understands for a lot of families, time is tight.

“Basically, if access to healthy, fresh produce for your family is limited, apply,” she said.

The Garden Project hosts volunteer workdays at the Manna Soup Kitchen garden every Wednesday from 10 a.m. - noon. For more information, email brooke@thegardenprojectswcolorado.org.