Week two of the Veggie Stand was a great success. I am amazed by how well it all comes together on Thursday nights. Rachel and I put in a lot of effort during the week to make sure everything from surveys to fridge space are in place to provide fresh produce and a community space on Thursday evenings.
There were familiar faces from last week’s Stand, but many new faces as well. I hope to get to know the community members who attend each week. I am eager to get feedback through conversations and survey responses. I was happy when one woman returned with her son and recognized me from last week. She had a warm smile as she made her way through the stand and enthusiastically collected all of the recipes we had on the board. Last week she even asked for Sophia’s phone number in hopes of volunteering at the Urban Farm. It was wonderful to see this energy from residents at the Stand. This is the only way a program like VIC can continue.
We decided to stick to written surveys this week because we noticed people may have felt overwhelmed by oral survey questions at the stand. Something about a person taking notes on a clipboard may be a little too much to handle every week. Written surveys were distributed at the donation and information table. They didn’t take too long to fill out and we felt that the complete anonymity would help us in getting more accurate and honest responses. We hope to get a better sense of the expectations and thoughts of residents regarding access and affordability of fresh produce in the community. We are eager to use this feedback to improve the Vegetables In the Community initiative and Veggie Stand.
This week, Sophia Feller (WWNP) and Pam Ruch (Nurture Nature Center) hosted a container gardening workshop. At their table, residents could choose an herb to plant in a pot or bucket garden and take home. I chose to plant some basil! The residents at the Veggie Stand seemed to be pleased with this workshop and the opportunity to bring a new plant to their home. The VIC team brought benches from the 10th and Pine community garden over to the workshop tent. We also carried the picnic table and umbrella to the center of the lot. We were trying to create more space for people to gather at the Stand after filling their produce bag. At the donation and information table, I made sure to tell attendees that next week there would be a cooking demonstration presented by Easton Hospital’s Chef Jose Estevez. Community members were excited to hear about this and they eagerly accepted the brochure that listed the calendar of Veggie Stand events. We have a wonderful line-up of activities and demonstrations planned for this summer!
Another accomplishment of this week included coordinating produce donation pick-up times. We now have a set schedule in place to drop off coolers and pick up donations from the Lynn Street community garden in West Easton, the West Easton Treatment Center garden, and East 40 at Northampton Community College. With the help of LaFarmer Joe Ingrao, VIC will be placing a cooler at LaFarm to collect donations from community gardeners. Through these donations we have received an assortment of herbs and special crops (such as cupcake squash) that we otherwise would not have at the stand. We are also hoping to receive more recipe recommendations from community members and gardeners.
We knew we would have an excess of kale and cucumbers at the Veggie Stand this week! We had less excess of other veggies than last week. We harvested less Swiss chard due to limited storage space and the large quantity of kale. Each week we will have representatives from local food pantries pick up excess produce. We have been coordinating with Nancy Walters of the Easton Hunger Coalition to bring limit the amount of wasted food and bring more fresh produce into food pantries. Currently pantries rely heavily on canned goods.
VIC donation to Riverside Ministry on July 9th, photo by Nancy Walters, Easton Hunger Coalition
One issue we encountered in this strategy was ensuring that the produce we donate would still be fresh by the time it is served in the food pantry. Particularly in the case of leafy greens, such as kale, ensuring freshness from harvest to table is challenging. This week Ellen and Dennis Potter, the directors of the St. Vincent de Paul Society Food Pantry at 9th and Washington, came to collect produce at the conclusion of the Stand. They plan to incorporate the VIC produce in Tuesdays meal. We will have to be aware of meal times at the pantries that pick up and limiting the excess of leafy green veggies.
I am eager to see VIC grow throughout the summer. I am excited to see new and familiar faces each week. I will be out of town for the next two weeks, but I am confident that Rachel, the VIC team, and reliable volunteers will successfully manage the Stand through these upcoming weeks. I look forward to seeing the progress of the Stand when I return in August.
