Happy New Year!!
2011 was quite the year for us here at The Growing Project! We have a number of accomplishments to be proud of thanks to our tireless volunteers, community leaders and our dedicated sponsors! Here's a recap of what you may or may not have missed!
The Glean Team project had another successful year. Through our gleaning efforts, TGP was able to contribute over 3800 pounds of food to theFood Bank of Larimer County and directly to families in need. Earlier this fall, TGP volunteers also picked and gleaned at the Grant Family Farms 'Harvestival.' Those efforts resulted in nearly 50,000 lbs of potatoes being given directly to the Food Banks throughout northern Colorado.
In 2011 we also introduced another new pilot program, Urban Food Outreach, which brought five new 'Giving Gardens' to the Fort Collins community. These gardens are hosted by homeowners who pledge to donate at least 50% of produce to needy members of our community. TGP was able to provide gardening expertise, plant starts, seeds, tools, and many volunteer hours to ensure these gardens were successful. We have already received a number of applications for new gardens for 2012and are looking forward to expanding the Urban Food Outreach program!
We would like to give a special "Thank you" to our man on the ground, Chad Shavor. His dedication to the design and implementation of the five 'Giving Gardens' this year was paramount to the success of the program. 2011 marks Chad's third year of dedication to TGP's success.
This year, in addition to running the Urban Food Outreach program, Chad continued his work with The Remington House to ensure that our Garden Time program continued to make a difference with at-risk youth. The youth participating in Garden Time were again eager to learn everything they could about gardening! The youth enjoyed giving their extra produce to needy community members as much as they enjoyed eating the veggies they helped to raise. Thank you, Chad Shavor, for your dedication, your time, and your huge heart! You are an inspiration to all of us, and we look forward to all of the greatness to come in 2012!
We would also like to note that 2011 allowed us to coordinate and strengthen ties with several of our partner organizations for the "Plant a Row" campaign. A very special "thank you" to Jedel Graff Farms for participating with "Plant a Row"! Thanks to Native Hill Farm, Happy Heart Farms, and Grant Family Farms, all of which contributed mightily to our Glean Team program.
We cannot begin to thank every single volunteer, company, sponsor, advocate or member of The Growing Project in a single blog post. However, we would like to say THANK YOU to all you that have been or would like to be involved with TGP, by throwing a party! Please join us for TGP Volunteer Appreciation Night at Odells Brewery on January 25, 2012, at 7:00 PM. We would like to invite all volunteers to our event. We will also be hosting a silent auction at the event in hopes of raising money for another great project scheduled for 2012...
TGPsCommunity Gardens at Habitat for Humanity!
The first garden will be at the Rigden Farms Community! Stay tuned for more information this spring!
Please consider joining us and RSVP no later than January 24, 2012, at 5:00 PM to ensure a free admission to our party. RSVP to Becky Weidhass at volunteer@thegrowingproject.org.
2011 was quite the year for us here at The Growing Project! We have a number of accomplishments to be proud of thanks to our tireless volunteers, community leaders and our dedicated sponsors! Here's a recap of what you may or may not have missed!
The Glean Team project had another successful year. Through our gleaning efforts, TGP was able to contribute over 3800 pounds of food to theFood Bank of Larimer County and directly to families in need. Earlier this fall, TGP volunteers also picked and gleaned at the Grant Family Farms 'Harvestival.' Those efforts resulted in nearly 50,000 lbs of potatoes being given directly to the Food Banks throughout northern Colorado.
In 2011 we also introduced another new pilot program, Urban Food Outreach, which brought five new 'Giving Gardens' to the Fort Collins community. These gardens are hosted by homeowners who pledge to donate at least 50% of produce to needy members of our community. TGP was able to provide gardening expertise, plant starts, seeds, tools, and many volunteer hours to ensure these gardens were successful. We have already received a number of applications for new gardens for 2012and are looking forward to expanding the Urban Food Outreach program!
We would like to give a special "Thank you" to our man on the ground, Chad Shavor. His dedication to the design and implementation of the five 'Giving Gardens' this year was paramount to the success of the program. 2011 marks Chad's third year of dedication to TGP's success.
This year, in addition to running the Urban Food Outreach program, Chad continued his work with The Remington House to ensure that our Garden Time program continued to make a difference with at-risk youth. The youth participating in Garden Time were again eager to learn everything they could about gardening! The youth enjoyed giving their extra produce to needy community members as much as they enjoyed eating the veggies they helped to raise. Thank you, Chad Shavor, for your dedication, your time, and your huge heart! You are an inspiration to all of us, and we look forward to all of the greatness to come in 2012!
We would also like to note that 2011 allowed us to coordinate and strengthen ties with several of our partner organizations for the "Plant a Row" campaign. A very special "thank you" to Jedel Graff Farms for participating with "Plant a Row"! Thanks to Native Hill Farm, Happy Heart Farms, and Grant Family Farms, all of which contributed mightily to our Glean Team program.
We cannot begin to thank every single volunteer, company, sponsor, advocate or member of The Growing Project in a single blog post. However, we would like to say THANK YOU to all you that have been or would like to be involved with TGP, by throwing a party! Please join us for TGP Volunteer Appreciation Night at Odells Brewery on January 25, 2012, at 7:00 PM. We would like to invite all volunteers to our event. We will also be hosting a silent auction at the event in hopes of raising money for another great project scheduled for 2012...
TGPsCommunity Gardens at Habitat for Humanity!
The first garden will be at the Rigden Farms Community! Stay tuned for more information this spring!
Please consider joining us and RSVP no later than January 24, 2012, at 5:00 PM to ensure a free admission to our party. RSVP to Becky Weidhass at volunteer@thegrowingproject.org.