Food For Thought 2009

The Season Continues

2009-08-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

After a needed rest, select Food For Thoughters are back at work helping in the gardens. Megan, Mr. Ed, Mr. Mark and volunteer Hugo Buda were doing some cleaning up in the garden at Park Spring, starting to clean out beds which were finished, harvesting more vegetables for residents, and beginning to build a really great compost pile in the space which the kids built for it this summer. We're going to plant some cover crops soon; these will cover and hold the soil together during the winter and act as a 'green manure' source in the spring when we dig them in.

Meanwhile, at North Coventry, the plantings which the FFT youth did during late July and early August have sprouted and a good crop is going to be ready for fall harvest when the students return: carrots, kale, broccoli, lettuce, and many other delicious treats.

Friday, July 3: Summer Program's Last Day

2009-07-31T18:39:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-20T12:37:00.001-07:00

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!

Friday, July 17

2009-07-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to the Seven Stars farm to see the cows and sample the yogurt that they make there. Mark Dunphy, who works there, talked to us about the cows and how they make the yogurt. He stressed the importance of the cows being well cared for and having as much freedom as possible. The cows there are treated very humanely, and even have foam padding beneath a layer of plastic in their stalls! We also discovered that happy cows make good yogurt...everyone loved it!!

In the afternoon, we drove to French Creek State Park for lunch and to swim in the huge pool there. Everyone had a blast!

Wednesday, July 15

2009-07-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

MORNING:

Today we volunteered at two different local gardens. During the course of the day, either in the morning or afternoon, we also did group activities, talking about positive and negative attitudes and how they can change your experience and perspective, as well as others. In the morning at the North Coventry Elementary School garden, they weeded and prepared soil to go onto the beds. At Park Springs garden they also weeded whole time.

AFTERNOON:

During the afternoon at Park Springs, they continued to weed, also doing a bit of watering. The people who went to North Coventry Elementary also continued to weed and prepared a new bed with soil.

Although it was a hard days work for everyone, I think most appreciated the satisfaction of weeding and reward for their hard work. As Henry said, "It was nice to see the garden before, overgrown with weeds and to see it after we did all that work."

Thank You!! From Your Widener Volunteers :-)

2009-07-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

This week the staff and young people at the Food For Thought Program hosted our group of 8 MSW students on Mon. (13th) and Thurs.(16th). Our goal was to gather as much information about FFT as possible; its mission, goals, and operations, and get as much hands-on experience as we could. With the help of the wonderful staff and hard-working participants we were able to accomplish all of our goals... and more!!!

Both days, we were able to spend our mornings working side-by-side with the young men and women involved in the program as we weeded, planted, made soil and harvested produce... in the hot, hot sun! By the time lunch came around I was ready to pass out! But not the energetic youth in this program. They eagerly returned to the greenhouse to eat their lunches and enjoy their free-time to its fullest after a hard morning's work:-) We really enjoyed watching the boys and girls interact with one another and play games. We also really appreciate those of you who took pity on us and answered our questions concerning your thoughts and feelings on the program. Your honest insights and thoughtful answers showed us just how invested in the program you truly are.

We also appreciate your patience with us as we observed and took part in your afternoon activities. The program counselors do a wonderful job of organizing a variety of games and activities to keep everyone engaged. The FFT youth are learning a variety of enrichment skills from interpersonal communication to team building, to nutrition and cooking.

Thank you so much for letting us be part of your amazing community of young men and women this past week. It was very impressive to see such a diverse group of adolescents (many who are put into an environment that may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable for them) taking on so many challenges and hard work. You should all be very proud of your many efforts and accomplishments!!! We wish you all the best as you complete the next few weeks, and in your future endeavors!

Sincerely,
Mandy Barber, and all of the Widener University MSW Volunteers :-)

Thursday, July 16

2009-07-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

MORNING:

Kimberton Farm: This morning we split into two groups, one which continued to make potting soil and the other which weeded the compost pile. Many of us were very discouraged by the forest of weeds that grew there, but with two people pulling we managed to get the larger weeds. We also planted two rows of sunflower seeds.

Sankanac Farm: The people who went to Sankanac harvested carrots and beets, saying it was a relief not to weed.

Charlestown Farm: At Charlestown, they continued to weed thistles out of the strawberry patch.

AFTERNOON:

We split into two groups, one which cooked salsa and pesto and the other which played football. The cooking group had a lot of fun working together and were proud of what they made. When he tried the salsa, Robert said, "Man, this stuff is good! You gotta try some of this stuff!" Willie responded with, "Yeah, that's cause we made it! Although some people are hesitant and scared to try something new like pesto, some find that when they do try it they really like it, or that maybe they could become accustomed to the taste.

During football, although it was very humid today, everyone worked well together, even praising the other team for getting a touchdown!

Service at North Coventry ES

2009-07-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today the first group weeded all of the garden beds. Then the second group put soil in the new garden beds and evenly spread it out. Then we transplated Alpine strawberries and other various plants and watered heavily.

Tuesday, July 14

2009-07-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

MORNING: This morning we took a quick personal survey which showed us what type of personality we were and how we related to other people. I think it helped us understand ourselves better and consequently how we can better get along with others. Then we split into two groups, one which cooked and one which talked about social conflicts. The cooking group made whole wheat pancakes with fresh fruit, coconut and chocolate. We worked well together and efficiently made some delicious pancakes! The other group analyzed situations and how to properly and ethically respond in these situations, as well as what would be the wrong thing to do.

AFTERNOON:

Kimberton Farm: We split into two groups, one which prepared potting soil with compost, pete moss, lime, and various other mineral rich materials for the plants. The other group weeded the compost pile. We also went over to the barn to see the cows.

Sankanac Farm: The group that went to Sankanac also split up into two groups, one which planted seeds into small seedling trays and one which harvested cucumbers and beets.

Charlestown Farm: At Charlestown they weeded around strawberry plants that were getting smothered by weeds.

Monday, July 13th Week Three

2009-07-13T18:20:00.000-07:00

Working on the Farms: The group that went to Kimberton CSA first transplanted marigolds and calendula plants. To prepare the bed, we raked it smooth, then used a tool to mark where the holes to plant the plants in. Each plant needs a certain room to expand, in other words, you have to place them a different width apart. The calendula needed 6" between them, and the marigolds a foot.

Then we weeded the blackberries, tackling a weed that binds itself to the plant. This is very difficult to weed, as this bindweed is intertwined into everything.

Sankanac: At Sankanac this morning, a group weeded five beds of tamatoes. A small group also weeded watermelons. As Hannah says, "It was a morning of hard work and satisfaction of all we got done."

Charlestown: The group that went to Charlestown weeded sharp thistles out of the strawberry patch. Then they weeded the tomatoes with a hoe and put straw mulch over it to keep the weeds out. A small group also went to weed onions.

AFTERNOON: We split into two groups this afternoon, one that cooked and one group that discussed the importance of eating local, organic foods. The cooking group worked well together to make a delicious quiche with eggs, cheese, and fresh vegetables. (That will be good at lunch tomorrow)

The other group talked about what ingredients are in some of the foods we eat. I think it made an impression on all of us to think of the fact that we never think about where the food we eat comes from and if it is healthy for us.

Later we did team-building exercises, which brought us to the end of the day. There were 7 graduate students visiting us today. It was nice to have guests around.

[Blogging by Alexis]

Staff Are the Key

2009-07-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

What makes a great program? Lots of things, but first and foremost: good people. And Food For Thought is blessed to have a great bunch of enthusiastic young people on our staff who love healthy food, organic gardening, helping young adults learn about these things, and getting their hands dirty and working alongside the youth on the farms and in the classrooms.

So let's pause and salute: Mr. Raj (Lewis); Ms. Caitlin (Rodriguez); Ms. Laura (Yayac); Mr. Greg (Yayac); Mrs. Emilie (Barber); and our uber-volunteer Mr. Pandu (Rao).

And, of course, all the great staff at the farms we work on.

Mr. Mark (Birdsall)

Learning To Eat Healthy

2009-07-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

It's hard to change habits. We think that the best way is to try good-tasting and healthy foods, and then substitute them for other things that ain't healthy. So, soda's sweetened with stevia, a plant that grows right in the garden at Kimberton Waldorf School are on the menu. Also, granola bars, apples, lemonade sweetened with maple syrup. All these things taste great. Oh, zucchini brownies too.
Most important--they are good for you.

Fresh, Local, Healthy

2009-07-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

That describes most of the food sold at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. And that's where we went on Friday, July 10th, to explore how city people can buy healthy local foods.

The RTM is a center of activity in Philly. Vegetables, fish, cleaning products, meat, books, coffee, ice cream--about anything you want in the food department can be bought there. And most of it comes from within 100 miles of Philly.

RTM is also a place for people to go, meet, eat lunch, listen to music, relax, read, and talk. We did all those things. But first we did our Scavenger Hunt: tracking down stalls where healthy local things were sold and answering questions about them by reading the labels and asking questions.

Then we had some interesting food ourselves. Some of us ate sushi. That's raw fish and rice and other things. What did we think? Tamara: 'Execellent, give me another piece." Darrell: 'Yech.' Others: 'HMMM, maybe. . .'

After a busy day, we all had local ice cream and headed home.

Vermiculture - Worms and More

2009-07-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, July 8th, Mr. Raj's friend Kanti came to work with us and explain vermiculture-growing worms in containers. Worms are interesting creatures. Redworms live in the top layer of the soil. They 'eat' organic matter and digest it and make it into rich 'worm castings,' which can be used to grow plants in, fertilize plants, or mix with water to make 'tea' and water/fertilize at the same time.

You put some worms in a bin with holes drilled in it for ventilation. Bedding material can be shredded newspaper or dry leaves or things like that. Some fresh organic matter (fruit peels, apple cores, vegetable waste, etc)is put in and worms added. The worms eat the organic matter, produce castings, multiply, and in a few weeks you have a great source of organic fertilizer. Of course, you keep adding organic matter and bedding every week or so.

Mr. Mark brought in the Sunday NY Times magazine section. It had an article featuring Will Allen of Growing Power in Milwaukee, WI. Growing Power has several hoop houses with worm bins, lettuce pots, fish tanks. They grow and sell over $250,000 worth of materials each year. Who would have thought?

Garlic and Strawberries 2

2009-07-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

While one group was learning to harvest garlic, we weeded strawberries. They were overgrown with weeds, so our work really helped the farm at Kimberton. Strawberries are fruits with the little seeds on the outside. And they are delicious. These are grown with no chemical fertilizers or pesticides--pure delight.

Photographer Megan took these pictures.

Garlic and Strawberries 1

2009-07-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

We learned a lot about different things this week. Garlic, for instance. It's planted in the fall and harvested in July in this area. We helped the Charlestown Farm get their garlic out of the ground and in for pick up. Garlic bulbs have tall green tops, but the cloves of garlic grow in the ground. We picked them, put the bunches together, and took them in on a wagon.

Garlic is a condiment, you add it to foods to make them tastier. It has a strong taste and smell; all our hands reeked of it when we were done. Garlic is also a natural remedy; it can keep you healthy if you eat it. But don't kiss anyone!

Photographer Ed took these pictures.

Baking with Yvonne and Denise from Cooking For Real

2009-07-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

During todays cooking class, we made zuccini brownies and zucini bread. We divided into two groups, one made brownies and the other made the bread. We were given a recipe and had to follow it to succeed.We gathered the ingredients and measured them out. The dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. When we finished measuring, we combined both bowls into one. We then put it into a pan and put it in the oven for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Neomi and Hannah

The Next Two Days

2009-07-07T13:14:00.001-07:00

Wednesday was our first day on the farm. Mr. Raj took a group to Charlestown Farm, Mr. Mark took a group to Kimberton, and Ms. Caitlin took a group to Sankanac.

At Kimberton, the group worked hard on Wednesday. They harvested lettuce that had bolted to seed. Some people harvested dill that had also surpassed its useful life. They brought all of the bad produce to the compost pile so it would be recycled. Dallas worked exceptionally hard as he did half a row himself! Everybody made a great effort.

On Wednesday at Sankanac, the group spent time "thinning out lettuce." They met Sebastian, the farmer, who encouraged them to work carefully with the lettuce. Thinning out the lettuce went smoothly as everyone did their best to work diligently.

On Thursday at Kimberton, Mr. Greg's group pulled out old cabbages and composted them. The kids got to ride in the truck to the compost pile. Towards the end of their work day, Eliana and Darius pulled a weed picker through the ground. When they arrived back at the Garden Building, they were the muddiest group by far! They sure did some hard work.

On Thursday at Charlestown, Ms. Laura's group spent time picking the thistle out of the strawberries. They could see the progress they were making as they did this, which encouraged them to work hard. Liz Anderson gave the group permission to eat some strawberries as it is almost the end of strawberry season! Yum!

On Thursday at Sankanac, the group learned to harvest carrots. Some of the boys and Sheniah were exceptionally good at this while others weeded lettuce which was to be harvested that day.

Aside from farmwork, the group has enjoyed some indoor time. Mr. Raj spent Wednesday afternoon teaching financial skills while Ms. Caitlin led teambuilding activities.

While with Ms. Caitlin, the group had 15 minutes to build the tallest towers they could out of legos. They were then told to destroy their towers, and had only two minutes to rebuild the tallest towers they could. The groups who were most successful spent their first 15 minutes planning, rather than simply building the highest towers they could. One group had a tower of 4'7", the tallest by far of the day! The next highest towers were about 2'7" high. Jacob led his group to a tie with Hannah's group in one round. In the next round, Niri was the "assembler" of her team, which allowed each group member to build small sections which she attached together to make her group's very high tower. The groups learned the importance of communication and working together.

Thursday was also the first day of cooking. Yvonne and Denise came to help the youth make salsa. The salsa was quite tasty, and was a summery fresh version full of green peppers.

All in all, it was a great two days before the long weekend!

The First Two Days

2009-07-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

And we're off! A lot has happened since mid-June: working papers, eligibility certifications, physicals, etc for the youth who will be joining us with the support of the Chester County WIB. With their help, we've been able to greatly increase the size of Food For Thought (FFT), going up from a planned group of 24 to 35 youth presently signed up. AND-we were able to add a week to our program, so we will have five weeks of FFT this year.

Our first day was at Fellowship Farm in Pottstown; an overnight experience to begin to work together as a team and challenge ourselves in varied ways. A lot of group activities/challenges were successfully navigated by our young men and women, including a blindfolded night hike which was much more difficult than we expected. But we survived! And we learned to trust each other to get us over the rough spots and obstacles.

Some of the youth comments on this experience:
"We had to climb a 13' wall. . . We were testing each other . . .It was fun. (Neomi/Niri)
"We had no flashlights, so we used our cell phone lights." (Tony)
"I was scared in the hike; I thought we were lost." (Lonnie)
"I was walking through the mud. One of my shoes fell off and I couldn't find it for a while. It was really annoying." (Sam)
"Last night was fun. We were all hanging out conversing. Everyone helped each other to swing up and through the tire feet first." (Carlas)
"We had to help people balance and help them cross the traverse cable. We were learning to support each other." (Ben)
"I helped Andre up and through the tire thing." (Joe)
"People were running in our room and waking us up when we tried to go to sleep." (Jacob)
"I was blindfolded going up the hill. Joe was guiding me; he was a 5 out of 5 guide!" (Andre)

That evening, Cooking for Real joined us and began the healthy food curriculum. We made our own healthy trail mix and compared it with the store-bought variety. Of course, we ate it all up, and the sodas sweetened with stevia were a big hit.

When we returned to the Kimberton Waldorf School garden building on Tuesday, we had equipment and some ground rules to go over. Yvonne and Abby of Cooking for Real returned and made a delicious and healthy/local salad bar with us to complement our grilling. Then we went down to French Creek to wade around a bit. It was hot and we were tired!

Tomorrow (Wed) we start our first real work days on the farm.