Thank you to everyone who has supported this program over the last few months.
The Vegetables in Community program is a community effort- a true partnership.
It’s a privilege to serve with you all, and the contributions you make to this program make it successful.
Thanks to our wonderful advisors who have seemingly endless patience; who trusted us to work independently; and provided us with expertise, support, and guidance when we needed it.
To the staff at West Ward Neighborhood Partnership, the Community Gardeners, and the produce donors, who support the program with their boots on the ground, literally, cultivating crops and growing the community.
To our volunteers, who have stepped in and supported us when our energy is low and our time is pressed. Your work has been so helpful and we appreciate your flexibility.
To our wonderful sponsors, Easton Hospital and Capitol Blue Cross for their partnership that helps fund the Veggie Van and who provide us with nutritional information about the produce. Our partners, the Kellyn Foundation, who support our mission and are serving the community on Thursday Nights at the Easton Area Community Center.
To Lafayette College and the City of Easton, for providing us with infrastructure to develop and operate this program.
And most of all, to all of our customers and neighbors who have been wonderful patrons the last five weeks at the Veggie Van.
ys Easton has changed over the last decade, learning about the impact WWNP has had in the community. I chatted with another officer about farming and his experience with backyard gardening. I ate dinner with some faces that were new to me, and shared desserts with Sophia, Lynn, and Lexy, who were all present that evening, helping to organize the event and reveling in the success of the event. It was a pleasure getting to join everyone, and I want to express my sincerest gratitude to WWNP for organizing the event and bringing so many wonderful people together with good music and some awesome food!
December 2013, community leaders rallied in support behind the students’ ideas and hard work over the last year. We heard accounts that the Veggie Van helps parents to provide healthy meals for their children by providing vegetables in their neighborhood at no cost. We learned that, through the Veggie Van, children are able to connect lessons about nutrition, learned in school and at after-school care, with their home life and their diet. Community leaders explained that members of our community are eagerly waiting for next summer, when the Veggie Van would return again to the West Ward.
Ward neighborhood of Easton. This vision, set by participants in the Tech Clinic program, is ambitious. It will require participants to be motivated to learn and apply new knowledge and information quickly. Participants will need to be adept at problem solving and creating innovative solutions. When I was asked to join the project team last winter, I knew that I wanted to be involved, even through I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into. That’s the power of a strong vision- it inspires and excites by shining a light on the unknown. Their vision empowered me to make a commitment to serving with my community and helped me to work through early logistical hurdles with our advisors and my peers on this project, Rachel and Alexa.
