By Constance Beutel
AFTER WATERING MY GARDEN, I decided to take a picture of my radishes. I may have been carried away with the abundance of radishes that I planted. However, I have found that if I only plant a row or two, the radishes are consumed in a flash, and I really do enjoy some of the first spring produce in my garden. I also have a good crop of lettuce and spinach coming but that will take just a little longer before it reaches the dinner table.
How do my radishes relate to the power of a community? Perhaps only tangentially to what I have been hearing about in some communities around the state and country, where groups are being formed that go about harvesting excess produce and distributing it to food pantries. I just read a piece about the Vallejo People’s Garden doing local harvesting and I know a local Benicia Girl Scout troop has done such work, too. Our Benicia Community Gardens have also discussed a way of sharing the abundance with the community.
Neighborhood Fruit, FoodShare, Foodswap
It turns out there are lot of people and organizations spreading the wealth of our gardens and trees! I really enjoyed reading the information on Neighborhood Fruit’s website. While I don’t know if the group is still operating, I found their thinking and work to be important. They started a way to register fruit trees and even developed an app to download to your phone that helps track accessible trees. They have registered more than 10,000 fruit trees on public land alone.
Sunshine Harvest Sharing in Urbana, Ill., “seeks to link backyard growers to local food pantries and soup kitchens so that surplus produce can be donated,” and they’ve linked up with gardeners in Moab, Utah! Another group, Ample Harvest, seems to have a wonderful national reach of gardeners and connections to food pantries. They make the case for sharing fresh food: “One out of six Americans (including a quarter of all kids under 6) does not have access to healthy fresh food at their food pantry. The AmpleHarvest.org Campaign is a national effort utilizing the Internet that enables 40+ million Americans who grow food in home gardens to easily donate their excess harvest to one of 5,603 registered local food pantries spread across all 50 states.”
Ample Harvest began in 2010, when it collected 3 million pounds of fresh, local produce. In 2011 the collection grew to more than 20 million pounds. Using their site, I found a way to locate food pantries near Benicia, finding 20 organizations within 15 miles.
Neighbors are like that
A terrific neighbor of mine, Chris, has been faithfully pointing out to me the opportunity for Benicia to get organized in sharing our fruit abundance with one another. I often tell my Minnesota friends that the bounty is so rich in Benicia that in the spring I see oranges, lemons and grapefruit rolling down our hilly streets. Perhaps we already have a way to share fresh fruit and vegetables. If I find that we do, or you know this information, let’s share it so we can offer our abundance among ourselves and with those in need.
Green Business — FREE seminar workshops
Speaking of green things, there is still space for participants in the upcoming Sustainable Benicia: Green Business Seminar workshops offered by the Community Sustainability Commission. This is the second time Dominican University of California’s Green MBA faculty are offering a five-session, free program open to any Benician 18 or older, or anyone working for or owning a Benicia business. If space remains available, we will accept those who may not live or work in Benicia.
The workshops are substantive and pragmatic, covering the following topics:
• “Sustainability: Making the Case for Business”
• “Lean, Green and Clean: The Design Revolution and the CleanTech Sector”
• “Green and Social Marketing Tactics and Strategies”
• “Action Plans: Profit, People, Planet”
The workshops will be held Thursdays, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7, 14, 21 and 28, from 5:30-8:45 p.m. at the Benicia Community Center, 370 East L St. Participants must attend all five sessions to receive a Letter of Completion from Dominican University.
Having attended the first offering of this program in 2011, I can assure you it is excellent. The value to you and your business of some of the social marketing tactics and strategies alone makes the program well worth your time. Besides, graduates of this second offering will join an “alumni community” that is making a difference for Benicia.
To learn more or to register, contact me at cmbeutel@sbcglobal.net.
Resources
• http://neighborhoodfruit.com/
Constance Beutel is chair of Benicia’s Community Sustainability Commission. She is a university professor and videographer and holds a doctorate from the University of San Francisco.
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