Double Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup whole-grain pastry flour (or 1/2 cup each whole-wheat and all-purpose flours)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter
3. Whisk the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and brown sugar until smooth, then add the yogurt, oil and vanilla and whisk to combine.
5. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until blended.
6. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened.
7. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and sprinkle with walnuts, if desired.
8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
9. Cool completely in the pan on a rack before slicing.

McDonald's Fries

Ingredients:

• Two Idaho potatoes
• Peanut oil (enough to cover the potatoes in the pan)
• 1-2 teaspoons of corn syrup whisked in water
• Two tablespoons of beef tallow or beef drippings
• Salt to season
• Beef bouillon to season (optional)

Instructions:

1. Start by making long thin batons by slicing your potatoes into planks. Cut them so that they are about 1/8 of an inch thick. Then stack the potatoes and julienne the planks into skinny matchsticks.
2. Whisk the corn syrup into a cold bowl of water that will hold all of the fries.
3. Place the fries into the water and leave to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. After half an hour remove the fries from the fridge and use a paper towel to pat off any excess moisture from the fries.
5. Heat your peanut oil to 375 degrees and add the chips in small batches careful not to overcrowd the fryer.
6. Fry the potatoes for 90 seconds or until they are a pale golden brown.
7. Remove them from the fryer and place them on a baking tray lined with kitchen roll.
8. Allow the oil in the pan to reach 400 degrees and add the beef tallow or beef drippings to the oil.
9. Place the fries back into the fryer (one portion at a time) and allow them to fry for five to six minutes or until golden brown.
10. Strain the fries and then season with the sea salt and beef bouillon immediately, using a 1/4 teaspoon of the bouillon for every two teaspoons of salt.

Taylor's Healthy Recipes

Over the summer, when Weavers Way Community Programs was running the youth summer internship at Henry Got Crops, each student completed a personal project. Taylor was inspired to put together a collection of healthy recipes. Here is a quick excerpt from her project, and a few of her recommended recipes. Enjoy! A Healthy Life Switching to a healthy diet can be challenging if you have a tendency to eat less-than-healthy foods. However, you don't need to avoid all your favorite unhealthy foods to stay healthy.  Some of these unhealthy foods can be made into more nutritious versions. You can increase the healthiness of foods low in vitamins, minerals and fiber or high in sugar and unhealthy fats by: Using Healthier Versions of Ingredients For example, whole grains, removing the skin from meat, low fat dairy products, reduced sodium and sugar. Decreasing Ingredient Amounts Gradually cut back on the amount of meat, cheese, sugar and salt you add, starting with about one-fourth less than called for in the recipe, and see how it affects the taste. Adding Healthy Ingredients Make your dish more nutrient-dense by adding healthy ingredients, such as fruits, beans or vegetables. Adding spices like cinnamon and nutmeg can intensify the sweet taste of dishes while allowing you to use less sugar. Replace Unhealthy Ingredients Replace up to half of the oil in baked goods with pureed prunes, mashed bananas or pureed beans to cut down on fat without adversely affecting the taste or texture. Choose marinara sauce instead of Alfredo sauce for your pasta. Reduce your salt consumption by replacing cold cuts with baked or grilled meats; and replace salt by flavoring foods with herbs and spices, such as garlic, oregano and cinnamon. Change the Cooking Method Steaming or microwaving your fruits and vegetables instead of boiling them helps maintain nutrient content, and baking foods instead of frying them. When you do fry foods, use a non-stick pan with just a tiny bit of oil so your food won't absorb much fat. Poaching, sautéing, braising, broiling and grilling are among the healthier cooking methods. Rinsing canned vegetables before you use them in recipes can get rid of some of the extra sodium they contain.

Spicy Chipotle Beef Burgers Ingredients: 1 lb 96% lean ground beef (or lean ground turkey) 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped pinch salt For the creamy chipotle spread: 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce Toppings/to put together the burger: Whole grain buns (whole wheat, brown rice, etc.) Sliced roma tomato Lettuce Extra sharp cheddar cheese Instructions: 1. Combine beef, chopped chipotle pepper and salt in a large bowl. 2. Create 4 evenly sized patties. Gently press each patty down in the center with your thumb to create an indent (this promotes even cooking). 3. Grill to desired doneness, about 4-5 minutes per side. 4. Blend yogurt and chipotle pepper in a food processor or blender until well combined. 5. To assemble burgers, spread sauce onto the top side of the bun. Yields 4 burgers

Driveway

We are very proud to show off our new gravel driveway at the farm! Thanks to Saul teacher Jess McAtamney who wrote the application on behalf of Saul high school and received the federal vocational funding from Perkins. The driveway is now much improved.  Shareholder Scott Blunk spent all day spreading and smoothing out the gravel, Thank you Scott! The gravel is being used in three areas across the school campus to prevent water run-off and improve water conservation. We now even have a rear exit to our parking area, which takes you past the cow pasture, and through the parking area near the cow barn. Hopefully now we will have improved traffic flow and a few more parking spots.

70x7 Mural Arts “The Meal”

by Clare Hyre, WWCP Farm Educator at Henry Got Crops! CSA On Saturday October 5, two Saul students and I had the pleasure to attend the 70x7 Mural Arts “The Meal” dinner on the Thomas Paine Plaza across from City Hall. It was a beautiful gathering of around 900 people who came together to celebrate Heirloom vegetables (plants bred before the 1950’s, before the rise of genetically modified plants) and talk about what heirloom means to us. Isaiah Nelson, Jada May, and I all really enjoyed the food and company. We each got our very own handmade dish from France to take home that highlighted varieties of vegetables that are going extinct. When the meal began we ate Fennel & Parmesan Gratin, Butternut Squash Caponata, Bagna Cauda with Heirloom Vegetables, and Red Thumb Fingerling Potato salad.  Our dessert was a crispy Granny Smith apple from a local orchard. Chef Marc Vetri created the menu for the meal and the food came from Lancaster Farm Fresh, Green Meadow Farm, and Heritage Farm. Volunteers who then joined us for the meal served it to us and joined our discussion about the work we were each doing in the arts or farm related world. Although the event was short it was very meaningful to each of us and we owe Lisa Mosca from the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society a big THANK YOU for allowing us to be there. This event made me want to go home and take my CSA vegetables and make a huge meal for my friends and family. It made me want to talk about heirloom and what that means to me. It made me want to learn more about GMO’s and Monsanto and loss of diversity in our eco-systems. Thank you Mural Arts Program and Lucy + Jorge Ota (artists from Paris) who made such a lovely and tasty meal and creating a great conversation starter. So… what does heirloom mean to you?

Saul Students, Isaiah Nelson and Jada May.

Heirloom Vegetables

Graduation for the “Beginning Farmer Training Program”

Saturday was the graduation ceremony for the 11 participants of the 2013 Beginning Farmer Training Program. These 11 dynamic adults were a huge part of the 2013 growing season at Henry Got Crops. I am so lucky to have worked with them, and learned alongside them. The participants already have business plans completed for their future projects. Some of these include: a nutrition education based farm at a local church, an herb business, a composting business, managing a farm for the urban farming organization Teens4Good, and a farm that grows culturally appropriate vegetables for the Nepali community is South Philadelphia.

Reflections on the Farm...

By By Mohammad Abuwadeh , Senior at W.B. Saul High School

The share which Mohamed writes about in this article was harvested from the Student Raised beds, a space maintained by our non-profit Weavers Way Community Programs.

As a third year participant in the “Harvest On Henry” fundrasier, I will have the honor of being the MC. The Harvest On Henry has had a relatively large impact on my life. Ever since I came to Saul my mother has been pushing me to get the information so that she could purchase a share from the CSA. She always thought that organic fruits and vegetables grown by students going to the same school as me was always “cool”. For some odd reason I just never got around to getting her the information. So every opportunity I would get to take some fruits or vegetables home from the CSA I jumped on it.  When I won the share from the CSA my mom was ecstatic. I walked in the house with two grocery bags of vegetables and a bouquet of flowers and my mom was shocked. She gave me a big hug and wouldn't let go.  I had no idea that getting a share from the CSA was so exciting to her. I guess since I go to school at Saul and work at the CSA a lot, I don't take organic farming so seriously.

The Harvest On Henry is a great way for locals to get the information they need to understand what exactly the CSA is. Most people don’t understand the benefits of organic farming and to why they would even invest their money into the CSA. Just persuading people into even attending the Harvest On Henry makes me feel like I am helping people’s lives-by them attending they get all the information they need to understand what organic farming is all about. Also, it gives them the sense that the CSA is a fun, loving, and active part of the community; not just a farm.

Henry Got Crops! Vegetables in Saul Cafeteria

After a few years of dreaming about it, and then an entire year of actively pursuing it, we have just recently been approved as an official vendor for the School District of Philadelphia in order to sell produce to the Saul cafeteria (Fan fare! Fireworks!). This is a very exciting step for everyone! The farmers and farm educators are proud, the students are excited, the school district is supportive and the Saul staff are thrilled. Students from Saul can already get free produce to take home from the raised beds  which they tend with Clare and Tara as part of the Henry Got Crops farm education programs; and now this is yet another way we can get healthy, fresh produce which the students themselves help grow, into their mouths. We are starting small with this new plan, in order to work out the kinks. We will try various types of vegetables to see what works best for the cafeteria staff and what is most well received by the students. We will deliver just a case or two of vegetables a week until the winter sets in, and then one or two smaller deliveries a month of salad greens from the hoop houses during the winter. However we hope deliveries can be bigger and more regular once the spring starts up again and we can specifically plan for the cafeteria’s needs. Everything that goes into the cafeteria must be on the approved menu, which was created by a school district dietician. This never would have been possible without the willingness and support from the Saul principal, the cafeteria staff, and of course the Food Services of the Philadelphia School District.

Orchard Field Trip

On Sunday, September 29, the Beginning Farmers from the Philadelphia Community Farming Collaborative (of which Weavers Way Co-op is a part), took a field trip up to New Paltz, NY to visit Lee Reich’s orchard. He showed us around his property and we saw Nan King cherries, paw paws, kiwi berries, Asian pears, hazelnuts, persimmons and more. At Henry Got Crops we have been drawing information and inspiration from Mr. Reich’s books and workshops for our own new orchard, but it was truly exciting to finally see it in person. Since we are growing many of the same varieties of fruits as Dr. Reich, it was tremendously helpful to see mature trees since ours are still very young, as well as taste-test their fruits! It was a beautiful day and it felt like a special occasion to be able to get out of the city and spend the day with such a fantastic group of farmers (pictured below, at Lee Reich’s house).

Juanita Falice's Thoughts on Henry Got Crops!

Juanita Falice is a senior at Saul High School. She is very active in the farm, whether it is during the school day with one of her classes, after school at farm club, or helping to staff the CSA pick-up and farm stand. She is also attending the World Food Prize to present on Somalia and agriculture and drought next month.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and when I spend my afternoons over at Henry Got Crops, I can really feel the support from our shareholders. More often than not I’m actually out in the field side by side with a member weeding a bed or transplanting seedlings. My education may be academic based, but my passion is locally and sustainably grown food, and physically seeing my support system picking up their vegetables on Tuesdays and Fridays means the world to me. Like anybody else, I get a sense of accomplishment from my hard work when I can see where it is going and I have a feeling my classmates may feel the same way.
        Although many of the students at Saul don’t know the exact details of what goes on at the CSA, they are all benefit from it. Sometimes the mixed salad greens (from our very own Henry Got Crops) makes it’s way into our lunch rooms via the hands of one of the many students who have picked it. On those days, I don't know anybody who doesn’t want to try the salad. They may not realize it, but by eating that salad they are part of a community. A community larger than our school grounds that stretches to our local members.        
        Before I was exposed to urban farming I could care less where my tomatoes were being grown or why they were so unnaturally large. I didn’t care that my produce was drenched in pesticides and I surely didn’t see a value in locally grown food. Because of Henry Got Crops, I see that locally grown food ties the community together. Now,  I hope to study sustainable farming in college. I want to take the sustainable farming skills I’ve learned at the CSA , further them in college and then serve a term in Peace Corps with that skill. Now I encourage my friends and family to buy locally grown food.
        The orchard is a big step for Henry Got Crops and I am very excited to see how it furthers the student/member relationship and how it furthers education at Saul. Being that most of the trees won’t be producing fruit for a few years and I am graduating, I’ll have to return to see it’s progress. With the involvement of the students and members (along with Nina’s green thumb) I’m sure the orchard will be a wonderful addition to Henry Got Crops. I’ve already learned a lot at the orchard just from weeding the young samplings.
I am very glad that I have had the opportunity of working at the CSA all four years of my highschool career. I have learned so much and I’m grateful to our members for giving me the opportunity and direction that has greatly influenced my goals and aspirations.

WWCP Fundraisers for Farm Education Programs

Thank you do everyone who came out for the Phillies game and the Urban Farm Bike Ride, two recent fundraisers that were specifically for our Farm Education Programs, run by our non profit, Weavers Way Community Programs (WWCP). We had great weather on both occasions. We appreciate your support!

An upcoming fundraiser for WWCP is the Farm to Table Dinner on October 3 at Awbury Arboretum. To find out more information go to:

http://www.weaversway.coop/search/gss/farm%20to%20table%20dinner

The School Year Begins!

by Clare Hyre, WWCP Farm Education Coordinator @ Henry Got Crops!

Dear Shareholders,

Thank you so much for being a part of the Henry Got Crops! community! I hope that over the past six weeks you had a chance to talk to a youth who was helping out at the CSA distribution or the farmer's market. These youth were part of a summer internship and helped plant, harvest, and prepare much of the food you received in your share. They also helped grow the food in the education beds which are the raised beds at the top of the hill. These students grew tremendously over their six weeks on the farm. One student even wrote on his post-internship survey that he did not feel he could ever go back to not eating organic vegetables.
Seven of the eleven students currently attend W.B. Saul High School so hopefully you will get a chance to see them again throughout the school year and perhaps give them a high five for all their hard work. Starting on September 9th Saul will begin the 2013 school year and the CSA fields will again be filled with classes of students learning hands on farming skills and nutrition education. Although the school district is facing incredible challenges at this time the school is planning to start on time. Students and teachers will receive less resources to work with so if you see a student or a class working at the CSA or in education beds please say hello and offer a kind word. If you have a share you will not be using for a week please let us (Nina or I) know and we will donate it to a student. If you want to volunteer with students let me know and email me athenryeducation@weaversway.coop and we can talk about volunteer opportunities.
I hope you all are as excited about the new school year as I am!

Farm Education Update: Thanks and Welcome!

Hi All, I would like to thank all of you who stopped by our Garden Party on June 18 at the CSA. Although the weather was dreary seeing your smiling faces (and your families) brightened the day. And we hope you enjoyed the snacks made and grown by the students and the bread donated by Pete Merzbacher and Metropolitan Bakery. Also, I hope you’ve had a chance to check out the beautiful raised beds that are growing food for Saul students! Lastly, I would also like to introduce you to our 12 new summer youth interns who will be starting on Monday July 1st. They will be working 20 hours a week at the CSA! The students are Ashley, Kevin, Katelynn, Scarlett, Dajah, Steven, Tymere, Marquis, Ducke, Tonya, Andrew, and Christopher. Please say hello if you see them and offer them a warm welcome to the farm! Thanks, Clare Hyre

Student Highlight! By: Clare Hyre

Yona Hudson is a graduating senior at W.B. Saul High School and has worked at the Henry Got Crops! CSA for all four years. Saul High School, Weavers Way Farms, and Weavers Way Community Programs have a partnership that allows 130 students to work on the farm per week to learn every step of the farming cycle as well as about cooking and nutrition.  Students use the farm as a hand on educational tool and harvest food from their raised beds to take home.  The farm provides food for 130 families and a variety of educational opportunities for community members. Yona has watched the farm develop from its beginnings and has been invaluable to the farm and to the farm education programs. Over the summer she will work as a crew leader for the Urban Nutrition Initiative and then will attend Penn State in the fall. We couldn’t be more excited or proud of Yona. I, Farm Education Coordinator Clare Hyre, interviewed Yona about her experience at the CSA over the past four years in early June.

CLARE  HYRE:  Hi Yona. To begin the interview can you tell me how you first find out about Saul and why you chose to go to an agricultural high school?

YONA HUDSON: I found out about Saul by accident. My old elementary school teacher knew I was into food and I was looking up schools with cooking programs so he told me the school was cool and had animals and stuff and although they don’t have a cooking program they had a food science program. So I applied and I got accepted.
I chose to go to an agricultural high school because this school had something different from the rest. Students could go outside for classes. I wasn’t sure what agriculture was at first but I researched and thought it sounded cool.

CH : What was your first experience and impressions of the CSA?

YH : I found out about the CSA through talking with the farmers, Nina [Berryman] and Nicole [Sugerman] I asked them about Alice Waters and wanted to know if the CSA had a similar program [to the Berkley Edible Schoolyard]. I had a good impression of the CSA and thought what the people were doing was cool and unique. I was like “this is where my food comes from!”

CH : You worked as an summer intern in  2009, 2010, and are currently the Saul student farmer. What made you interested in working at the farm over the summer in the first place and what made you keep coming back?

YH : My experience freshman year was what made me want to work at the farm over the summer. I saw the farm at it’s beginning and the vibe that I got from people that worked here made me want to come back. The atmosphere and the work felt good. I got a lot of joy out of seeing things grow. I had the experience of seeding arugula and then watching it grow! I knew it was mine. I thought the summer internship was great because the school offered jobs to youth to work at the farm and pays them.
The good experiences I had on the farm kept me coming back. I liked meeting the farm interns and learning about their experiences. I got to become closer with Nina and Nicole and developing friendships with them.  Also I learned enough to teach other youth about farming and I really enjoyed that. I liked going to meetings and potlucks and meeting people from all over who are doing this work. Working at the farm and as the student farmer allowed me to explore what farming really is beyond the labor. Going to the farm became something to look forward too.

CH : In 2011 you went to the Rooted In Community Conference in 2011. Rooted In Community (RIC) is a national youth led food justice conference and it was held in Philadelphia. What did you learn at that conference and did it change your relationship with farming? Food justice?

YH : At RIC I learned that I wasn’t the only youth doing this.  I learned that there were other organizations besides Weavers Way and Weavers Way Community Programs that were doing it. I learned that there was a lot of diversity amongst the youth who were farming. At RIC there were people from all over and the youth and adults all treated each other with respect and appreciation.
At Saul I sometimes get criticism for loving the CSA but at RIC we were in unity over our love for farming.
At RIC I learned that the whole idea of food justice is that people no matter what (race, gender, economic-status), we all have a right to access to food. I learned so much about food justice and food deserts. Until that time I didn’t realize I lived in a food desert. RIC made me want to learn about recourses and how to build a more just food system in my community. There I learned about SNAP benefits and how to use your benefits at farmer’s markets around the city. RIC made me feel like I was farming for a bigger cause and that I could use what learned to teach other folks.
Ultimately, RIC helped me meet youth who were enthusiastic about what I was enthusiastic about. I am still in touch with many of the youth and adults from RIC.

CH : I know you stated it above but could you define food justice for me again?

YH : I would define food justice as anyone, or anything despite of gender, race, age, class , etc. , has the right to good and wholesome food. The food has to be organic, pesticide free, good for you and with the intention of keeping you healthy.

CH :  Well said. What are your favorite things about working at the CSA?

YH: Meeting all the different people who come to the farm. I also like the labor of farming and knowing that as much work as I put into the farm comes back out of the farm and seeing the farm benefit others. Making connections with people that will last longer than my high school experience.

CH:  How would you say working with the educational programs at the CSA [WWCP] has changed how you eat or think about food?
YH: Before the cooking demo’s [with Clare during the summer internship] I would grow the food but I wouldn’t know what to do with the food. But after I learned how to cook a little more it diversified my palate and my eating habits.

CH : Congratulations on getting into Penn State. What are you planning on studying there? And, I know this is a loaded question but what do want to do as your future ‘career’? 

YH : Haha. I’m studying environmental studies at Penn State. I have no idea about careers but I know that I want to continue to work in food justice work, sustainability, and farming. I’m not sure WHAT I will be doing but I won’t be inside, that’s for sure.

CH :  You got a job this summer working for the Urban Nutrition Initiative, a Southwest Philly Food Justice organization that works with teens, as a crew leader. What are some of the things you are looking forward to /hoping to learn by working there?

YH : I’m so excited to work with UNI. I’m not sure if the people who work there know how cool they are but I think they are amazing. I’m so excited to work with the people I’ve looked up to for so long. They are very inspiring. They have so much diversity within their program because they work all over and their staff is really unique. I’m really excited to be a crew leader and work with youth. I’ve never really lead youth my age before and it will be a hard but also great for growth. I t will be a challenge but I’m looking forward to learning how to be a teacher and a stronger leader for food justice.

CH : Thanks Yona. I’m so excited about you going out into the world with all your experience in farming, cooking, and food justice. For the last question can you tell me your top three experiences relating to farm education and the CSA in the past four years?

YH :  1. Making connections and relationships with people for future jobs. I’m still in touch with past apprentices from the farm and folks from RIC.
2. Attending Rooted In Community in 2011. I also really enjoyed the 2013 Regional gathering at Bartram’s Garden.
3. Seeing the farm grow… it was just starting when I got here and I got to feel like I really supported its growth. I got to see a lot of people come and gain knowledge here.

CH: Thanks Yona! It’s been such a delight to work with you and I wish you the best of luck in your next steps.

YH : I’m still here for two more weeks. Don’t make me cry!

A letter from the Farm Education Program

Dear CSA family,

You are cordially invited to an end of school celebration on Tuesday June 18th from 5-7pm at the raised beds on the top slope of the hill. This party is to celebrate the hard work students put into the farm and the new raised beds that were built by and for students this year. Please stop by as you pick up your share and introduce yourself. There will be snacks as well as activities designed by the students! If you plan on stopping by please RSVP totcampbell28@gmail.com as soon as possible. We can't wait to see you!!!

Clare Hyre,
Education Coordinator @ HGC CSA

Farm Education Corner Update

by Clare Hyre

This Saturday three farm apprentices and one education intern and I took a bike tour of west Philadelphia farm education programs. Or first stop was Mill Creek Farm on 49th and Brown and we were greeted by a lively farm stand with samples of pasta and squash as well as delicious looking veggies just harvest. Jo Rosen (Executive Director) took us on a tour of the farm and told us the amazing history and then sent us on our way - of to Preston's Paradise . 

We were very lucky to find Ryan Kuck, outside in his yard harvesting sweet potatoes. "I forgot all about ya'll coming" , he said but happily let us into his urban farm. In his tiny yard there was a small plot of veggies, chickens, and an amazing cob greenhouse. Down the street he had planted an orchard for some neighbors and he said there were other small plots they were working with all around the neighborhood.

"I really love farming," said Kuck, "but now we are focusing on getting the food distribution". Look out for Kuck and his partners in their food truck on Lancaster Avenue. The food truck is a partnership between Greensgrow Farms and Preston's Paradise. 

Our next stop was the Urban Nutrition Initiative University City High School Garden were we stopped to eat lunch. Don Key, the farm educator there was not around but we were able to walk around the garden and discuss farm education models and the complexity between for and non-profit establishments. After lunch we snuck over to the Green Line for a quick cup of coffee. 

Last stop ( a little more Southwest) was to Bartram's Garden and Bartram's Farm and Community Center. Located on 54th and Lindbergh Ave. Bartram's Garden is an Oasis in and industrial complex. Judson , Katilyn, Erin, and Matt seemed awed by the age of the garden and the history and were excited to learn about Osage Oranges and other trees. At the farm we met with farm educator Chris Bowden-Newsom and learned about the work the newest UNI farm is doing. 

It was a beautiful fall day and we all had a great time!  The tradition of Weavers Way bike tours continues!!!!

Education Corner and Harvest on Henry Update

With fall just around the corner I'm getting ready to drink cider and donuts and watch the leaves change colors. I'm also excited to celebrate with ya'll at the Harvest on Henry festival on October 20th from 1 to 4! I'll be running the children's events, which will be super exciting. There will be face and pumpkin painting, pumpkin golf and pumpkin bowling, veggie car racing, scarecrow making, and many other events. Please come on out and bring all your friends. There will also be a pie tasting competition so be ready to eat. 

Also make your way on October 13th to Malcolm X Park at 52 and Pine from 3:00 - 6:00 and support the students at Saul at the Youth Growers Market. We'll be partnering with the Urban Nutrition Initiative and Teens 4 Good so this will be a good opportunity to check out farm education programs in our city.

Happy fall!

Education Corner Uodate

By: Clare Hyre, Education Coordinator

We closed out our exceptional season of 2012 with a wonderful Food justice workshop followed by a cook out hosted by the Weavers Way farm crew. As a thank you for their hard work Nina gave our final four interns a choice of salsa, pasta sauce, or peaches, all canned at our Tuesday canning workshop. 

You will see a few youth from Fumcog out on the farm for the next few weeks but the real excitement when our school groups started coming out again in hordes!  Exciting!!!

Rain Barrel Workshop

I think the next time we need rain I’ll just schedule a rain barrel workshop, and wait for the rain to follow! After weeks of dry, hot weather, last Thursday’s rain barrel workshop seemed to bring the rain! I would like to say a BIG thank you to Sally McCabe from PHS who ran the workshop. CSA members Sara and Janice enjoyed a hands on, personalized workshop at the farm last Thursday. Many folks told me they were interested but unfortunately couldn’t make it. The city of Philadelphia also holds rain barrel workshops. The next one is July 25^th in Kensington. Check out for more details

http://www.phillywatersheds.org/whats_in_it_for_you/residents/rainbarrel

Education Update By: Clare Hyre

This weeks growers market was A LOT OF FUN , but it could be more of a success if ya'll came out an joined us. The next growers market will be August 3rd and Malcom X Park (51st and Pine St., W. Philadelphia) from 3:30 - 6:30. This week Jeffrene, Mikel, and Nathan joined me and sold the Henry Got Crops! produce with pride.