Friday, July 3: Summer Program's Last Day

Today is our last day. In the morning we discussed briefly the importance of staying healthy....and what we can continue to do to stay healthy after this program ends. We also did a bit of last minute things before we headed for Fellowship Farm.

At Fellowship Farm we did a few teamwork activities. After that we had a delicious dinner of hamburgers, sausage, tomatoe and cucumber salad, queesh, pan fried potatoes, corn on the cob, berry cornbread, zucchini bread and of course ice cream.

At the conclusion of this wonderful program, I asked some of the workers what they thought of it and here are some of their responses:

Haley: "The staff that worked this year for Food for Thought were really nice, and I thought the program went well overall."

Andre: "I really liked the owner of the CSA I worked at and I liked the work I had to do at the farm because it was really fun. The zucchini brownies we made were delicious!"

Joe: "I thought the program was great!!!"


Immeasurable thanks to all the people who funded this program, Mr. Mark Birdsall and all the staff and volunteers. It has been a fantastic year!!!

Thursday, July 30

This morning we took two assessments...one on work readiness (how prepared we are to enter the work force) and another on health and gardening. After that we played a very exciting game of Food For Thought jepardy as a review for the whole program.

Four of us took some fresh foods from the Park Spring Garden and the Kimberton Waldorf garden and delivered them to the food pantry in Spring City with Mr. Ed and Mr. Mark. We met the pastors at the Church of Christ, where the pantry is. A couple of us who live in Spring City, volunteered to come and help again after the program is over.

In the afternoon we prepared the meal for tomorrow...our final day! One group made zucchini brownies, one made quiche, one chopped vegetables and the last prepared corn on the cob. Today was also a day to clean up from the whole program. Everyone had a good time cooking and are excited for tomorrow....and the big feast at Fellowship Farm!! Note: today was Ms. Denise's birthday--but she still came and spent the afternoon cooking with us. What dedication! Thank you and Happy Birthday, Ms. Denise!!

Some of us are already looking ahead to how we can continue to grow and learn: Andre is applying for a job at Marshalls. He asked Ms. Laura to help him fill out the application for the job; and Mr. Mark and Ms. Laura agreed to be references for him--since he has demonstrated his ability to work very hard and to keep a cheerful and positive attitude in every situation.

Wednesday, July 29-An Introduction to Philanthropy

This morning Mr. Clemens, the president of Triskeles (the company FFT is run by), gave us a lovely talk about the importance of the things we buy and philanthropy, (linked to giving and receiving). He stressed the point that giving is a key concept in our culture. One of our guests gave the example that breathing is a fundamental concept of giving and receiving. We breath out, to give the plants something to breath in and and what they breath out, we in turn breath in again. Money is another key example of giving and receiving in our culture. Mr. Clemens stated the importance of knowing that what you are supporting (say with your money) can help certain companies and put others in bankruptcy.

As an example of how your money can support different values that you have, is if you buy clothes that have been made locally, you are supporting the movement against global warming (because the clothes didn't have to be shipped).

We have created a pool of donated money to give to organizations doing good work in our home areas. Three of us volunteered to make the decisions about which organizations we wanted to give to. They chose: Phoenixville Area Positive Alternatives (PAPA), The Clinic (in Phoenixville), and the United Church of Christ in Spring City. We hope to be able to give each about $100.

Then we discussed a bit about applying for a job, how to approach a job interview and what to write on a resume. A few people acted out some sample interviews, and we discussed what they did well and what could have gone better.

In the afternoon we split up to do some service work. Some people went to Seven Stars dairy and took a tour of how they make their yogurt there, some people worked at Charlestown farm, some at North Coventry Elementary School and some at Park Springs. At Charlestown farm, we weeded the strawberry patch and the leeks. The people that went to Park Springs harvested peppers and tomatoes and also did some weeding.

Tuesday, July 28

Kimberton: This morning we harvested more carrots, weeded and harvested lettuce and washed the dirt off the carrots in preparation for the customers who come today. Today was our last day and it everyone worked very hard.

Sankanac: The group that went to Sankanac twisted the leafy tops off carrots, washed them and harvested beets.

Charlestown: The farm at Charlestown currently has a bad tomato disease called tomato blight, so the people who worked there today attempted to salvage some of the tomatoes, but took the bad ones out. They burned these in an effort to kill the disease so it wouldn't keep spreading. This disease is very disastrous and has threatened their whole crop of tomatoes.

This afternoon one group cooked pancakes (which was the all time favourite...and they were whole wheat!) and the other group talked about money management. The money management group briefly discussed unfair reasons that people get paid less, and also about needless spending and what you really should use your money on.

Mr. Mark got a pleasant surprise today when Robert showed him the lunch he brought: organic peanut butter and jam on whole wheat bread. Robert has really figured out how to eat healthy--and he was willing to share it with you all in this video:

Monday, July 27

Kimberton: This morning we weeded the whole time and came back exhausted.

Charlestown: At Charlestown they weeded, collected weeds to throw away and drove stakes into the ground to support the peppers.

Sankanac: The group that went to Sankanac harvested beets, making sure that they were larger than a ping pong ball and harvested carrots. Everyone also harvested raspberries and peaches....and ate some too!

In the afternoon, one group cooked vegetable quesadillas and the other group talked about money management. To make the quesadillas, we chopped vegetables very thinly, pan fried them, then spread them over a half of a quesadilla. We put cheese on top of that, then another layer of the same thing, and baked them in the oven. They were delicious!

Friday, July 24

Today many people came who sponsored this program. We are immensely grateful to them for the time they spent talking to us and the interest they have shown in our program. Today was also a special day because Mrs. Celia gave us a demonstration on the bees she keeps in her garden. Everyone was really interested in the bees. Thank you Mrs. Celia!

Kimberton: This morning we harvested carrots and twisted the tops off of them. We also weeded the squash and zucchini.

Sankanac: At Sankanac this morning, they harvested beets and twisted the greens off of them. Everyone was delighted that they got to watch the pigs eat the greens! They also weeded one bed of lettuce.

Charlestown: The group at Charlestown harvested tomatoes and made pizza--and took every opportunity to rub it in our faces.

This afternoon we all visited the bees in the Kimberton Waldorf School garden. Celia Martin, the gardening teacher at KWS, talked to us about bees, how a hive works, and why bees are important for the garden. Without bees, none of the plants would get pollinated and if that was so, they couldn't bear fruit. Many, many plants would not be able to grow here if it weren't for bees. Their importance is immense and often unrecognized. She also opened a hive for us to see the bees, honey, pollen, and larva inside. You can get a look at our brave bee keepers in this video:

Thursday, July 23

Today we went to the Tyler Arboretum. It is a really neat place with a beautiful vegetable and flower garden and many tree houses. When we got there, we were introduced to John, one of the workers there. He showed us around the vegetable garden and helped us harvest potatoes, green and yellow squash, swiss chard, kale, cauliflower and carrots. Some brought these vegetables to a food bank, where financially unstable people can pick up food at no price to them. The rest of us took a further tour of the arboretum, stopping by all the tree houses. Everyone was really enthusiastic and excited to see them; most of the boys raced from one to the next in fast succession. They were very naturally made with beautiful wood and each was completely unique from the next.

After touring the garden, we had a picnic lunch and drove home.

Wednesday, July 22

This morning we split up into three groups for our community service day. My group weeded (with hard work and minimal complaining), planted lettuce and thinned carrots and kale at the North Coventry Elementary School garden. It is necessary to thin or take out plants so that others next to them have more room and sunlight to grow and so they aren't robbed of all their nutrients by competing plants.

The group that worked in our garden building had a busy day too. The harvested cucumbers and zucchini, weeded and mulched and made seed balls to throw into the French creek. These were made with sand, compost soil and of course seeds. Floating down the stream, the seeds eventually lay to rest somewhere and sprout.

The group that went to Park Springs came back half an hour late because they were so concentrated on getting the job done! They weeded, fixed a bike rack and put up a fence.

This afternoon, some of us went to a farmer's market to sell corn bread and zucchini brownies, some discussed money management and some talked about the program thus far. During the money discussion we talked about what was completely necessary to spend money on and what you should think about second. We all said what we had spent our pay checks on and why. I think that gave more awareness to some people about what is really important and what is not so important.

The group that discussed the program briefly discussed pros and cons and what they thought could make it better in preparation for next year.

Tuesday, July 21

In the morning at Kimberton today, we harvested carrots by loosening them with a pitchfork. We also twisted the leafy tops off, in preparation for the costumers who came today to buy them. Robert discovered that even though these carrots didn't look like the commercial, baby ones, they still tasted the same and he ate many! Jim also had natural soda for lunch today....with out the dreaded high fructose corn syrup! He got a high-five from Mr. Mark and a $10 gift card to Giant to buy some more. I think over all everyone is eating more healthy foods and gaining more of an awareness.

This afternoon, one group cooked corn bread and zucchini brownies to sell at the farmer market tomorrow and the other group talked about different ways to make money in the food industry and the importance of buying local foods. Mr. Mark is trying to turn us all into future cooks!

Monday, July 20

• MORNING:
  
  Kimberton: This morning we mulched the pathways between the peppers with straw, weeded the compost pile and weeded the pathways between the eggplant.
  
  Charlestown: At Charlestown this morning, they weeded onions.
  
  Sankanac: A couple people picked carrots, while another group weeded lettuce.
  
  AFTERNOON: In the afternoon, one group made pizza and the other group drove to different restaurants in Phoenixville to talk to the owners about where they got their food. The owners said for the most part they got their food locally but only a small percentage of it was organic, due to the economic situation in our country. Buying local food is a plus because you know where it came from (and sometimes how the farmer grows the food or if he treats the animals humanely), there aren't as much greenhouse gasses put into the atmosphere by shipping it and it is so much more fresh! Food is considered organic when the farmer does not use pesticides. It is unfortunate that although these restaurants would love to be selling organic food, they can't because of the expense.
  
  To make the pizza we cut up vegetables and grated cheese to put on our own little pizza. Everyone tried something on their pizza they hadn't tried before. It was a huge hit!