Program History GFGM is a grassroots program that was founded in - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Program History

GFGM is a grassroots program that was founded in 2005 by the non-profit

• rganization Food Works at Two Rivers

Center in Montpelier, VT. Following the 2013 dissolution of Food Works, partner sites Green Acres Housing and Highgate Apartments wanted to continue hosting the

• program. A small group of dedicated staff

carried over from Food Works re-organized as a program under Highgate Non-Profit 501(c)3. Internally, our project staff practices horizontal and consensus based decision

• making. GFGM is the longest standing food

education initiative at affordable housing sites in Central Vermont, and it was a natural transition with our long time community partner Highgate, in Barre City. Since then, this community education project continues food organizing work where it is most needed, at affordable housing with limited income families.

GOOD FOOD, GOOD MEDICINE ANNUAL REPORT 2016

Creating Pathways to Wellness

Year around food & herbal education in community gardens at two afgordable housing sites in Barre, Vermont

Spring planting Summer growing

Winter celebration

Fall harvest

“If you give a person a fish they eat for a day but if you teach them to fish they will eat for a lifetime” So our overarching goal is hands-on practical education!

4 Goals

GOOD FOOD GOOD MEDICINE PROGRAM 2017 ~ A Seasonal Scroll Barre, Vermont

S P R I N G S U M M E R A U T U M N W I N T E R

GARDENING HERBALISM COOKING LEADERSHIP

Open Gardens Day garden plot assignment Collecting seed and plant donation. Garden clean-up Distribution of seed and plant donations Plant-in-a-bucket workshop. Organic pest control: neem and nematodes Mulching as weed control Revamp perennial gardens Compost building Gardens for Learning Program Sowing fall crops Bringing in the harvest, first frost Seed saving Plant garlic garden Youth Build volunteer day Adult Garden Program planning: seed sorting, wishing list for seeds and live plants, garden plot design. The growing cycle: seed, sprout, flower, fruit & root and plan next year’s gardens Virtues of Dandelion: infused oil, syrup and salves. Wild Edibles - first greens First Aid plants: Yarrow, Plantain Dandelion Lavender, Arnica Fresh and dried herbal tea blending Natural insect repellent Herbals for relaxation Culinary herbs for health Calendula salve

• St. johnswort oil

Elderberry syrup and oxymel Drying, labeling and storing herbs for GFGM program herbal apothecary

Respiratory health workshop

Wellness Series pilot program Herbs for each body system Bitters, Oxymels and Syrups Infused oils and salves Bath salts and dream pillows Mothers Day community meal and garden plot sign up Dandelion Fritters Fresh spring greens salads Sautéed fiddleheads Spring rolls with garden harvest Faba beans Sautéed summer squash Spinach pesto Berry scones Sumac aid (drink) Food drop gleaning Applesauce Elderberry and blueberry preserves Food preservation: Roasted peppers Green Tomato minced meat Picked beets sauerkraut butternut squash soup Pickled garden veggies Soups using gleaned and preserved veggies/ herbs Immune building broth Soups Hummus Muesli

NUTRITION

Program planning Meet with GANTA, BHA and Maloney Property Management GA mural project with local kids. GFL Spring Retreat GFL program grant and planning GROW IT! with VCGN Tick and Lyme info. presentation HG community meals Youth hire for GFL program Presentation- Retired Teachers Association Potluck and float making party Barre Heritage Festival parade Field Trip to Local Farm and Farm Stands Fall GROW IT! workshop with VT Community Garden Network F2P presentation Green Acres community meals GFL fall retreat Holiday Gift Make and Take party - community meal Feedback and evaluation with all participants Meeting with VCIH Wellness program Spring health needs assessment Personal Health Goal Setting Cleansing foods, early season recipes Meal planning with MyPlate guidelines Light, fresh and raw quick prep recipes Summer nutrition needs using MyPlate Stress relief meditation and movement exercises Fall nutrition needs using MyPlate- Strengthening and warming foods Recipes for the season Exploring the rainbow

• f nutrients

Winter nutrition needs with MyPlate: Nutrition as it relates to each body system Simple recipes

Gardening Herbalism Nutrition Cooking Leadership

FAMILY WELLNESS SERIES

A fun and relaxing FREE class for adults. Exploring food as medicine and herbs for the body systems

Hosted by the Good Food, Good Medicine Program, made possible thanks to support from the Hunger Mountain Coop and The Vermont Community Foundation’s Donor-Advised Food Justice Fund

Wednesdays at Green Acres Apt 45 JANUARY 17- MARCH 14, 2018 11am-2pm Lunch included

What is the Family Wellness Series?

In this program you will learn easy and effective ways to listen and care for your

• bodies. Each week we introduce a body

system e.g. digestive, cardiovascular,

• immune. You will learn about foods and

herbs that support those systems and make easy and fun herbal remedies to take home.

Open Gardens 2017

Garden plot sign-up

Garden program info session

seed swap and give away

Green Acres Community Garden Program

May - October ******* Wednesdays 1- 4pm.

gardening * nutrition * cooking * herbalism * community * health * sharing

Gardens for Learning

Growing Healthy Children

GARDENS FOR LEARNING (GFL) is a kids hunger prevention summer program that is hosted in many Vermont communities, including low- income housing sites, public schools, early childhood education and community health centers. This program began in the mid 1990’ s through Food Works at Two Rivers Center, to continue growing community gardens and food programs for children during the summer when free and reduced lunches are not accessible. In 2014, VCGN adopted GFL to continue the statewide mission. Our 2016 program ran for 8 weeks at both Green Acres and Highgate affordable housing in Barre, VT. Each week contained theme based learning experiences that included gardening, nutrition, cooking and botanical crafts. This program fosters learning that embraces children’ s respect for one another, sharing, and self esteem building for themselves, their community and the environment.

WEEK 1 — PLANTING THE GARDENS Getting our hands into the dirt / Carrots of all colors - juice, fresh, shredding for salad Making natural insect repellant roll-ons WEEK 2 — POLLINATORS Hand lens exploration, who is living in our garden? / Games- “The Hive & Pretend pollinator” Cooking and Snack- Salads and dressings / My pollinator book WEEK 3 — COMPOST AND SOIL SCIENCE I Spy-Worms and critters, the great decomposers / Games- “Decomposer” Cooking and Snack- Hummus / Building a compost bucket for home WEEK 4 — WEEDS? WHAT ARE THEY Wild plant exploration- weeds with benefits/ flash card plant ID / Flower stained glass pictures Cooking and Snack- Kale Chips / First aid herbs- infused oils WEEK 5 — BOTANY Plant part ID, what part do we eat / Watering the plants, plant part scavenger hunt Cooking and Snack- Pestos / Plant stained prayer flags WEEK 6 — EVERYTHING HERBAL What herbs are growing in our gardens, how do we use them / Herbal flash cards / Lavender - Lemon aid, scones and herbed honey/ Herbal Honeys / Boo-Boo salves WEEK 7— FUN WITH GRAINS Plant scavenger hunt, grains we grow in our gardens / Grinding and sifting grains Cooking and Snack- Corn bread, calendula cookies/ Mandala board & Story time in the gardens WEEK 8 — A GARDEN PARTY Creating garden party invitations / menu planning / rainbow wands Cooking and Snack - Veggie Lasagna, Rainbow salsa w/corn chips / Hand print chefs aprons

GARDENS FOR LEARNING: The program at a glance:

COOKING FROM OUR ROOTS PROGRAM

Cooking From Our Roots is an a!er school cooking and cultural literacy pilot initiative at Highgate and Green Acres affordable housing complexes in Barre,

• Vermont. This program is an

extension of the Good Food Good Medicine Program, conducted during the academic year and geared toward children K-6th grade (5-12 year olds). CFOR classes teach children hands-on, seasonally-based cooking and nutrition basics— critical lessons that can lead to better eating habits, improved health and academic performance among at-risk children. Through the lens of the geographical

• rigins of food, and the traditional

ways of preparing them, we make

• ur way around the globe,

student-made ‘passports’ and cooking kits in hand. The curriculum follows each vegetable

• n it’s journey to our plates, using

fresh local ingredients (some grown on-site at community gardens). Our class conversations and activities explore migration, and the importance of embracing people, food and cultures from different backgrounds. Summary of Methodology: Class begins with an a!er school snack, a game and a story based on the featured vegetable of the day; tracing it’s migration on a world map. Passports are stamped at each country visited. The idea is to immerse the children in a journey which expands their palate, cooking skills, and global awareness of where our food comes from. We seek to taste the traditions. Everyone leaves with a portion of the snack and a recipe to take home. GOALS OF CFOR: *To provide hands-on sensory-based learning for kids at affordable housing sites *To expand children’s awareness of our local foods and diverse multicultural roots *To provide food-based activities during the entire academic year for children of limited income households *To empower underserved children with life long skills and knowledge about whole foods nutrition, gardening and cooking

Cooking from Our Roots: Increasing Food and Cultural Literacy through Local and Global Food Traditions

Personal passports get stamped as they learn about a foods origin. Cooking kits few each child

WORKING TOGETHER

Community volunteers Sandy Batchelder (left) and Karissa Smith (right) (Above) Fence repair team (Below) Decorating fall pumpkins (Above and below) Fall garden clean up Harvest party fun

Fall field trip to Grian Herbs Apothecary and VT Center for Integrative Herbalism in Montpelier (Above) Father and son planting their garden (Below) youth demonstrating use of yarrow for cuts, from the first aid garden (Below) Farm to Plate Food Access group tour of the Highgate Community Garden

LEARNING TOGETHER

BUILDING COMMUNITY

(Top left) Garden plot sign up day (Top right) Youth lead spring community meal cooking (Above) Bree mows the garden paths with muscle! (Right) Garden map and harvest overlooking the garden (Below) Spring GANTA resident association meeting Brian of Barre Housing Authority

Growing Healthy together

GROWING HEALTHY TOGETHER

(Left) Spring planting team. (Below) Gardens for Learning Program (Left) Cyrena making elderberry oxymel (Below) Making fresh lacto-fermented vegetables (Below) Left: Tomato in a bucket workshop; (Center): Elderberry harvest (Below) Right: Jane tending her community garden plot

Local Milk and Meat Berry picking

GROWING THROUGH NEW EXPERIENCES

Youth Leaders:

Destiney and Lydia serving at a community meal

Youth Leaders:

Savanah and Donna Joe presenting for a “Grow- It” workshop with Charlie Nardossi