Last week we had around 90 people attend the Veggie Stand. This was our largest crowd of the Based on a poll of families that attended, the crowd seemed evenly split between newcomers and returning participants. Community members were waiting eagerly in line by 5:00PM. We finished setting up early so we opened the stand by 5:20 PM. This week, we will account for our efficiency so that we do not set up too early and keep everyone waiting in line.
Thankfully, as residents waited in line they were able to enjoy the music of Patrick, local keyboard player and friend of Sophia Feller. There was no demonstration this past week, but in upcoming weeks there will be visits from Easton Hospital’s nutrition team and Pam Ruch of the Nurture Nature Center. We hope to incorporate more crafts, music, and potlucks in the final weeks of the stand.
Patrick Playing Keyboard
We had a beautiful cherry and heirloom tomato harvest. The tomatoes looked funky compared to the typical red tomato so residents were hesitant to take them, but we made sure to promote their sweetness and ripeness! Only a few were left over at the end of the night.
heirloom tomatoes
bags of cherry tomatoes
By 6:00 PM the stand was wiped clean of most produce due to the abnormally large, early crowd. This was the earliest we had run out of produce all summer. All that remained in excess were the less reputable tomatillos. We had a beautiful and flavorful harvest, but they were a tough sell to many residents who were unsure of how to prepare them – turned off by their paper-like wrapping. Rachel and I will be eating tomatillos for a while. It’s a good thing they last long after they have been harvested. We are happy to incorporate them into our meals. Rachel even tested out a new salsa verde recipe! We called off the food bank pick-up for this week, because there wasn’t a substantial surplus.
Tomatillo Harvest
This week we hope to attract another large crowd and return to conducting written surveys. This was a strange week because I only returned from vacation on Wednesday, it has been wonderful to get back to the Veggie Stand and I look forward to learning more in these upcoming weeks. Now Rachel and I have begun to update the working guide and creating recommendations for future summers of the Veggie Stand. We will incorporate these ideas into the EXCEL poster presentation at the end of the summer.
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