Grow Food, Grow Hope Community Garden Initiative : September 2010

Tour de Farm 2010

A big thank you to everyone who rode in our 2nd Annual Tour de Farm on Sunday, September 26th. We had a great morning of biking through beautiful Clinton County and we had a great time stopping at all of the farms!

Our bikers ready to take-off from the WC Community Gardens.

A special thanks to Bergefurd's Farm Market, Branstrator Farms, and That Guy's Family Farm for being our three farm stops along the way. Bikers also had the opportunity to explore the Grow Food, Grow Hope Community Garden plots on campus before taking off as well as stopping the Wilmington College Farm on Fife Avenue before continuing on to their 35 mile tour of Clinton County.

Clinton County Fresh Network

The mission of the Clinton County Fresh Network is straightforward – to strengthen the local fresh food economy in Clinton County. Working towards this mission, we aim to create a viable and sustainable local food system with direct links between local farmers and local consumers, between local production and local consumption.

In a community with such a rich agricultural heritage, we want to ensure that all citizens in Clinton County have access to nutritious, affordable, local food. At the same time, we want to provide the support that will enable local farmers to secure a living from growing and selling local, fresh food.

In the past year we have taken small strides toward our goal of a sustainable local food system. We now have a Clinton County Fresh Network website where you can view all of the information necessary to take part in this initiative; from grower profiles to participating local businesses the website is your ticket to all things Fresh Network. Click here to view the Fresh Network website and feel free to contact our AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer if you have any questions.

Dessie Buchanan
Farmers' Market & Growers' Co-op Cooridinator

Grow Food, Grow Hope

937-382-6661 ext 488

dessie@buylocalcc.com

A Full Plate

Here at Grow Food Grow Hope we are anxiously awaiting what delicious fresh delicacies Chef Tom Tiner and Sodexo Campus Services will create for our Second Annual Farm-to-Table Benefit Dinner. Hosted by Wilmington College on Fife Farm our event sponsor, Sodexo Campus Services, will be cooking a gourmet dinner on Friday, September 24th at 5:30pm.

We hope that you will consider attending, you can still register through September 17th. Please download a registration form below and return it to Wilmington College Advancement, Pyle Center 1307, 1870 Quaker Way, Wilmington, OH 45177. If you have questions please feel free to contact either Frank Glazer at 937-382-6661 ext 273 or Grow Food Grow Hope at 937-382-6661 ext 321.

Farm-to-Table Registration Form.

But that's not the only reason our plate is full that weekend. We have several events happening that will keep us busy from Friday to Sunday. So please check out the following events as well.

Dancing with the Stars: Barn Dance

Friday, September 24th, 2010 from 9:30pm to 11:30pm.

The Wilmington College Students, Faculty, and Staff will be celebrating the completion of a New Barn on the Fife Avenue Farm with a Barn Dance.

Beginning at 9:30pm on Friday, September 24th we will have guest instructors who will be teaching three different styles of ballroom dance. There will be two hours to learn, practice, and master the steps by 11:30pm we are looking forward to the entire campus community to be dancing under the stars!

For more information please contact us at Grow Food, Grow Hope at the Center for Service & Civic Engagement at 937-382-6661 ext 488. Also, please see the event on our Facebook Page.

2nd Annual Clinton County Tour de Farm

Sunday, September 26th at 8am

Please join us for our Second Annual Tour de Farm where we will be biking through beautiful Clinton County and experiencing many of the farms that we work with on a daily basis. Registration is open to anyone with pre-registration fees at $10 for WC Students, $25 for Adults and $5 for a Kiddie's loop for the 3-10 year-old range. All proceeds benefit Grow Food, Grow Hope and all pre-registered participants will receive a free Tour de Farm t-shirt.

If you have any questions please contact Kaity Best at the Center for Service & Civic Engagement at 937-382-6661 ext 693. Click Here to Download a Registration Form and don't forget to check us our Facebook Event!

GFGH on PBS!

Grow Food, Grow Hope will be featured on Think TV's Our Ohio Television series!

A few weeks ago Think TV came to our Tuesday Garden Night to take video footage as part of the episode. We are really excited that they chose to feature us.

The episode will air on Saturday, September 18th at 5pm on Dayton WPTD TV Channel 16. It will also air Sunday on Cincinnati WCET TV at noon and Dayton Think TV Channel 14 at 5 p.m.

For those of you out of our area you can also check out the Our Ohio website to find out where to watch.