[HCCN] Community Gardens Project on MDI

[ron greenberg]

>>
>>
>> Sourcing Our Food Locally - Growing Gardens Communally
>>
>> Imagine a vibrant crop of carrots being harvested by a 9th grader  
>> who hands them over to a neighboring volunteer who washes them  
>> and  stuffs them in bags for Food Pantry Clients. Next to them are  
>> a family who spend their summers on MDI who signed up to volunteer  
>> and are picking greens and bagging them up for Malvern Belmont  
>> residents.  And across from all this activity are sitting a couple  
>> of senior citizens glowing in the sunlight, enjoying the activity,  
>> knowing that they'll be leaving that afternoon having picked their  
>> own salad for dinner.
>>
>> Community gardens will help us create vibrant centers that nourish  
>> creative interaction and at the same time produce nutritious foods  
>> for those most in need.
>>
>> We're asking all local area farmers, gardeners, educators,  
>> volunteers, businesses, organizations, students, and all our  
>> friends and neighbors to join us in establishing the prototype for  
>> community gardens on mdi.  The idea is simple.  Students and  
>> volunteers will start seedlings under the watchful eye of local  
>> farmers and master gardeners.  Those seedlings will be planted -  
>> this first year - at Sweet Pea Farm and at Malvern Belmont  
>> Housing.  Community members will be asked to volunteer - as little  
>> as an hour or two over the entire growing season and with  
>> instructions in hand - water, weed and harvest crops.
>>
>> The bounty will be donated to the Malvern Belmont, the Food  
>> Pantries, on a limited basis to Meals for Me food program (which  
>> has now produced over 250,000 meals for local residents), and for  
>> personal use by residents of housing.
>>
>> The goal is to create community gardens all over Mount Desert  
>> Island to supply food pantries and soup kitchens and with  
>> additional garden plots made available for all potential gardeners  
>> who wish to grow and harvest their own crops.
>>
>> Please attend our first planning meeting to share your expertise  
>> or to simply learn about volunteering option.  Meet the local  
>> farmers and master gardeners who are spearheading this project.
>> Thursday, April 26th.  Union Meeting House/ Parish House  
>> Somesville 7:00 pm.  Bring your suggestions.  Bring a friend.   
>> Tell your neighbor.
>>
>> If you can't make our meeting and would like to be kept informed,  
>> sign up to volunteer or make a donation contact:  Sue Murphy:   
>> smurphy814 at roadrunner.com   or  Ron Greenberg:  ron at benbows.com
>>
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