In Memory of Carolyn Wedholm Ambrose

Carolyn was our beloved Development Manager and we are heartbroken that she has recently passed away after a very brave battle with cancer. She cared deeply about Community Harvest Project and worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the food insecure population in Worcester County and beyond. Carolyn constantly and successfully put smiles on the faces of her family, friends and strangers through her humble and infectious spirit. She always seemed to have this uncanny ability to brighten up the room she entered. Her hearty laugh always heard throughout the room, followed by a little dance jig and a big smile. Her contagious sense of humor and genuine care for others drew people close to her and made them instantly feel comfortable. She will be missed by many but left a lasting impact on all those who had the great fortune of knowing her and we will always remember her spirit, energy and grace.

Read the rest of the June Sprout here.

Summer Event to Support Hunger Relief

We have a great event this summer:

“Carolyn’s Garden” Sunflower Festival Fundraiser

August 3 & 4 // 10am – 3pm

This summer event celebrates one of our favorite summer flowers with activities for all ages, including a gorgeous sunflower field for exploring and as a photo backdrop, pick your own sunflowers and zinnias, crafts and activities for the kids, and a picnic area and food trucks. Tickets are available here.

This event is in memory of our Development Manager, Carolyn Ambrose. We are heartbroken that she has recently passed away after a very brave battle with cancer. She cared deeply about Community Harvest Project and worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the food insecure families in Worcester County. This event was her vision that she made come to life in 2018. We continue it in her honor.

Read the rest of the June Sprout here!

Welcome, Interns!

June is always an exciting time here at the farm as our newest crop of interns arrive for the summer. Some of these students may have ended classes one day and the very next day find themselves here at the farm. That’s the type of commitment and drive that these students apply to spending their time here learning while they help us drive our mission forward. Over the summer they will not only be able to dabble in their specific area of interest on our farms but they will also have the opportunity to learn from our staff, partner agencies and many of our regular volunteer visitors. Our hope is that they will leave us with a much more thorough understanding of our work and a vision of how they will apply that to their future. Please join us in welcoming our 2019 Summer Interns as we begin our summer season.  

This year we are hosting Gabby Oliveira from Brandeis University, Maggie Tammaro from Wheaton College, Ellen Walsh from Worcester State University, Josh Hurwitz from Bates College and Carly Dillis from Clark University (not pictured).  In just a few short weeks they have already experienced all that Mother Nature has to offer and learned from some of our best Volunteer Team Leaders. If you see them during one of your visits please introduce yourself and join us in welcoming them to the team!    

Read the rest of the June Sprout here!

Photo by Norm Eggert.

Our Crops Need You

Thanks to thousands of volunteers, all of the seedlings in our greenhouses have been successfully transplanted into the fields. Now we focus our attention to irrigating, fertilizing, weeding, and trellising to ensure that each row of crops can produce fresh vegetables to be donated for hunger relief. There is one additional factor that can guarantee the success of each row: you. Your adoption provides the necessary funds to care for the row through the growing season through the donation of the vegetables to a neighbor in our community who is experiencing hunger.

When you Adopt-a-Row chose from Broccoli, Cabbage, Collard greens, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Okra, Peppers, Summer Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Winter Squash, or Zucchini.  Or adopt one of these trees: Braeburn, Cortland, Empire, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, McIntosh, Macoun, Mutsu, Red Delicious, or Peaches.

The average row yields over 2,900 servings of produce for donation each year and a single apple tree can over produce 700 apples – all for hunger relief.

By adopting, you make a difference in the lives of your neighbors. Your donation helps to put these fresh fruits and vegetables into the hands and homes of individuals and families who need it most. Together we are making a significant impact on hunger relief in our communities.

Donate today, and thank you for supporting local hunger relief.

Read the rest of the June Sprout here!

Volunteer of the Month: Unum and South High Partnership

Our Volunteer of the Month for June highlights a unique partnership with UNUM and South High School that allows students an opportunity for growth in a unique environment here at the farm. In this program the students are given the opportunity to learn leadership and communication skills and then to apply that learning by leading groups of UNUM Associates in farm activities here at Community Harvest Project. This partnership is in the third year and we continue to see participants returning annually from both the Unum and South High School teams.  

This year over the course of three days our engaging group of 10 South High Students led 36 UNUM Associates in different activities on the farm. Whether they were planting or weeding the students did a great job engaging and managing the work. Over the course of these days combined they planted Summer Squash, Zucchini and Peppers that we predict will produce approximately 12,000 servings of fresh produce for donation to hunger relief agencies. We would like to applaud our South High School and UNUM partners and congratulate them as our Volunteers of the Month for June. Thanks to you all for making this year’s program a rousing success.  

What’s Cooking: Basil Lemonade

The theme for May’s cooking class was hydration: absolutely vital, but also an easy way to over-consume sugar. We talked about why it is bad to ingest too much sugar, and then in the younger classes made smoothies, and in the older classes we made smoothies, basil-mint lemonade, and a DIY sports drink.

This lemonade is much lower in sugar than the normal offering, incredibly refreshing, and easy to adapt with garden herbs. Hopefully your child can join us for a class in July, where we’ll spend more time in the garden learning about herbs!

Broccoli Head Chefs (9-12 year olds)

Herbal Mania – Thursday, July 18th, 2019, 2:30-4:30pm

Celery Sous Chefs (5-8 year olds)

Pesto Power – Tuesday, July 9th, 2019, 2:30-3:30

Pesto Power – Monday, July 15th, 2019, 2:30-3:30

Basil-Mint Lemonade

Adapted from Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison

Ingredients:

• approximately ½ cup of fresh basil leaves (regular basil, lemon basil, or thai basil)
• a dozen mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• juice from 2-3 lemons (½ cup lemon juice)
• 4 cups of water

Directions:

Using a muddler or a spoon, muddle the basil & mint leaves with the sugar until the leaves are crushed at the bottom of a pitcher. Add the lemon juice and water. Stir well to combine. Chill and serve. 

Read the rest of the June Sprout here!