Thank You to Annual Fundraising Dinner Sponsors

GardenShare's annual fundraising dinner is coming up on Tuesday, June 9.  This year the event will be held at Jake's on the Water in Renssalaer Falls, where Chef Josh Taillon has committed to a menu from locally grown food!  Have you made your plans to attend yet?

The ticket sales support GardenShare - of your $75 ticket, $40 pays for your meal and $35 is a tax-deductible donation.

We are especially grateful to the following sponsors who have stepped up to support this event with contributions over and above the ticket price!

Presenting Sponsor:

Partnership Sponsors:

Friend Sponsors:

Retiree takes up gardening, in a big way!

A great article about a couple who have turned their yard into a certified organic farm!

In the Post Star

Using Gardens to Teach

Using Gardens to Teach

Summer Institute for Educators

August 18^th-21^th

The summer institute is designed to help educators integrate gardens into their teaching. We cover topics in literacy, social studies, science, math, and nutrition, as well as build knowledge about sustainable agriculture, food systems, social justice, and ecological gardening practices. Join us for two to four days of hands-on learning!

At this year's institute, we are providing two days of instruction in garden-based curriculum for educators of youth in the primary grades (pre-kindergarten through grade 3), and two days of training in hands-on gardening and garden-building. 

Participants may register for two or four days. You may opt for two days of curriculum, two days of gardening, or all four days of the institute. Each day runs from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Dates:
August 18^th-19^th      Garden-Based Curriculum and Instruction
August 20^th-21^st       Gardening Skills and Garden-Building

Workshop Location:
Poughkeepsie Farm Project, Vassar Farm Lane,  Poughkeepsie, NY

Workshop Fee:
Two-Day program: $120 ($60 for City of Poughkeepsie Educators)

14 Professional Development Hours

Four-Day program: $240 ($120 for City of Poughkeepsie Educators)
          28 Professional Development Hours

Registration:
Register online at: farmproject.org/summer-institute-form

For more information:

Jamie@farmproject.org.

GardenShare annual dinner in two weeks - order your tickets this week!

It has been a year of transition at GardenShare and we hope you share our excitement about the future of our work to solve the problem of hunger in St. Lawrence County.

Join us for this fundraising dinner and support our efforts to make healthy, sustainable food choices accessible to everyone in our community.

Our friends at Jake's have prepared an amazing  menu of fresh, locally sourced spring bounty. Share a meal and conversation with others passionate about food justice in the North Country.

Tickets are $75 per person...go here to order your tickets online.

Or go here for information about sponsorship packages.

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Live music with Theresa Witmer, Mike Weil, and Laurel Kuxhaus. A silent auction of locally donated goods and services will help even more! ______________________________________________________ Special thanks to our sponsors for their generous support of this event: Partnership Sponsors: Green Hammer Construction North Country Savings Bank SeaComm Federal Credit Union Stauffer Farms Friend Sponsor: Save-A-Lot There's still time to sponsor!  Go here or contact us for more information!

Plants at the farmers market

At the Potsdam Farmers Market on Saturday!

Why buy plants at your local farmers market, instead of the big garden center?

You are supporting your local farmer's business and strengthening the local economy.

And, you are getting plants appropriate to this climate!  Which all of us who live here know can be a challenge!

Markets are now open in Canton, Dekalb, Potsdam, and Ogdensburg.

Check out the Local Food Guide for more information about the markets and local farmers.

SNAP Challenge

The SNAP Challenge exists in order to help people “with enough food to eat to understand what it feels like to not have a consistent source of nutritious meals,” writes FRAC President Jim Weill in this blog post. Current SNAP benefits are too low because they are based on an outdated emergency food plan. Benefits were increased 13.6 percent during the recession through the economic recovery act, and while research shows the boost resulted in improved health and well-being, the increase has since been phased out. To help protect and strengthen the SNAP Program, Weill urges people to sign a SNAP support petition, in addition to contacting their members of Congress to share SNAP facts and urging more people to speak out in support of these benefits.

Source:
Every American should have to live for a week on a food budget of just $29 – Quartz, May 7, 2015

Stories from the lunch line - kids like healthy food

A decade ago, Whitley County schools in Kentucky began improving the nutritional quality of its school meals in response to rising obesity rate – the state is currently the seventh most obese state in the U.S. USDA’s Smart Snacks in Schools standards helped the school system further improve its meals, writes the district’s food service director, Sharon Foley, in this blog post. Talking to students about their food preferences has helped make healthier foods a success. For example, the district found that students were more likely to select fruit on the cafeteria line if it was sliced and placed in small cups. Staff and parents were also more critical of the move to whole grain versions of bread and pasta than were the students.

Source:
Lessons Learned from a Food Service Director: Kids Like Healthy Foods – USDA Blog, May 12, 2015