Showing posts with label Pa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pa. Show all posts

Sunday, August 14, 2016

An Urban 'Food Desert' Bears Fruit- Part 2 of 2

While in Erie, Pa recently...


                                       ...I toured this spectacular organic garden...





                                     ...which supplies over two-thousand pounds... 





                                  ...of healthy, fresh fruit and vegetables per year...


                                   



                                       ...to the Emmaus Ministries soup kitchen...





                                                         ...and food pantry.





                                                A colorful 'pollinator garden'...



                                           ...helps to revive the health of bees...  



                                                ...butterflies, birds and bats...  



                                              ...in the garden and its environs.



                                               The dedication and hard work...



                                      ...of a small group of committed volunteers...




                       ...makes it possible to provide healthy and satisfying meals...

                  
                                                    ...to hungry area families.



Friday, August 12, 2016

An Urban 'Food Desert' Bears Fruit- Part 1 of 2

This past year...


                                 ...my daughter, Hayden, worked for AmeriCorps...



                       ...as a VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) volunteer.



                               Her job was to support the Erie, PA public schools...



                                                       ...through grant writing...



                                                          ...gardening help... 



                                          ...and direct interaction with students... 



                               ...on curriculum topics like the conservation of water...

                                           ...(including the use of rain barrels)...



                                    ...composting and responsible waste disposal...

                                            ...(including tours of a local dump).



                                      To make their gardens even more fun to visit...



                                          ...a number of high school art students...
                                
                       



                                       ...created site-specific ceramic birdhouses.




                         I realize that these are mostly photos of flowers, not food...



                                                 ...but my daughter tells me...



                   ...that the children are often so charmed by their miniature veggies...



                   ...that they pick and eat them before they can ever reach maturity!







                        Next time: photos of an extraordinary community garden...

                                                ...run by dedicated volunteers...



      ...which produces several thousand pounds of vegetables and fruit per year...



                              ...in support of an Erie soup kitchen and food pantry.