This week Rachel was on vacation so it was time for me to take on managing the Veggie Stand solo for a week. Overall, the week was a success, but when all of the organizational tasks fall onto one person, they can become time-consuming. It was a tough week in terms of getting volunteers for harvest and help with veggie pick-ups since many students have returned home for the summer and other obligations are starting up.

Harvest at the Urban Farm took longer than usual, running until about 12:00 PM (we typically finish around 11:AM). This is despite the fact that we harvested fewer pounds of produce than in previous weeks. This week we harvested 275.5 pounds of produce from the Urban Farm as opposed to the 300-330 pounds we typically harvest each week. From LaFarm, we also harvested fewer pounds than in previous weeks – only 83 compared to around 105-190 pounds. Rate of production is slowing down in some crops while others (such as tomatoes) is increasing drastically. We need to be conscious of how many tomatoes we harvest to avoid an excess that will not be fresh enough for delayed consumption in food banks.

Wednesday was the toughest day in terms of completing tasks. I started the day by helping Sophia obtain mulch for the compost at  the 10th & Pine St. community garden. We mixed this mulch with rotten bananas and other nitrogen-rich goodies from local cafes. This task required a lot of shoveling and a tolerance for some distinct odors. Afterwards, I was off to pick-up produce donations from West Easton Treatment Center, East 40, and Lynn St. It was a long day of driving and weighing produce.

Thursday I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Edmond’s colleagues who have just moved to the area from Washington state. They spoke of their experience working in food banks in the Ballard district of Seattle. Nancy Walters (Easton Hunger Coalition), Prof. Ben Cohen, and fellow LaFarm students also  attended this meeting. The goal was to discuss how the successful Seattle model of food banks and food justice can be applied to Easton. It is encouraging to meet with others who are so passionate and able to share success stories in taking on food insecurity and injustice.

This week’s stand was a success despite the rain! This was the first time it rained during the Veggie Stand hours. Easton Hospital’s nutrition staff attended to share a delicious kale salad recipe (http://www.eatright.org/resource/food/planning-and-prep/recipes/kale-salad-with-fresh-strawberries-and-toasted-almonds). It was a big hit! We had a large turn-out despite the weather and set up an extra tent to provide cover for residents as they waited in line.

One issue we had this week was figuring out how to portion produce and establish a fair cut-off for how much each family should take. We tried to implement a limit of three tomatoes and two peppers, but we ended up with a large excess of tomatoes and peppers. Nancy Walters had a lot of produce to pick up for a local food bank this week (even beyond tomatoes and peppers)! This is also partially do to the weather which decreased turn-out at the stand. This week served as a reminder of the necessity to harvest and  portion wisely; also, this week demonstrated the importance of having enough volunteers to make the weekly tasks run efficiently. This will be particularly challenging for the two weeks in September, since classes will be underway.