Signs of divinity and ethos (good people exist and so does good food)

We had our first harvest of the season on Monday! In the early morning, we pulled 10 butterhead lettuce plants from the hydroponic and half a dozen radishes right from their beds. All were washed, weighed, recorded, and transported to the Kalispell feeding program's central kitchen at Flathead High. Ideally, we will develop a relationship with the feeding program and eventually sell them our summer-born vegetables. The income generated from these sales will enable us and future Somers VISTAs to buy seeds and materials necessary for the garden.

When we went up to Woodland Park to help out the Kalispell Feeding Program with lunch, Katie let out a shriek of utter delight upon seeing the radishes we had pulled in a little container for the kids to eat. Tragically, the kids were momentarily stunned by the shriek. On the bright side, the kids were easily resuscitated not with smelling salts, but with the spicy allure of the radishes themselves. 

No single person is the backbone of the feeding program. The thoracic could be linked to Jennifer Montague, the Food Services Director for School District 5, who advocates the use of local foods in the feeding program's supplied meals. Perhaps the label of lumbar is best assigned to Katie Wheeler, the full year Americorps VISTA working with the Montana Foodcorps out of Flathead Valley Community College, who pushed for the implementation of a summer feeding program in this area. The cervical might be the chef behind the program's meals, Malcolm Orser, who incorporates the vegetables we donated into his menu. Haley Johnson, the PRC Americorps Summer Associate who coordinates the feeding program, is a huge section of the spine, too, as well as Shelia Musick who delivers Malcolm's dishes to each feeding site and serves meals at Woodland Park. Additionally, there are numerous community members who volunteer their time to serve breakfast and lunch. 

Clearly, this feeding program was not put together by one person. Its existence is the result of a community effort to provide kids with free, healthy meals throughout the summer. How awesome is that!

Continuing with the good news that just doesn't seem to end, we now have four brand new picnic tables at the middle school all paid for with grant money procured by Robin. If you haven't had the pleasure of sitting at one of the old picnic tables, imagine yourself on several giant splinters sloped at a 40 degree angle --- and that's why we replaced them.

Before ^
v After

Two newbies are in the courtyard area to provide students with smooth outdoor lunchtime seating. The other pair will be placed in the main garden, facilitating Robin's nutrition classes. They give her a more convenient space to hold her nutrition classes as instead of sitting in the dirt, the kids will be on picnic tables where they can plant seeds, harvest vegs, complete worksheets, and dream of glory. Plus, the surface area allows Robin to demonstrate garden activities. To preserve their wooden glory, we slathered preservative on their every inch. Our efforts were rewarded the next day with a huge thunderstorm that couldn't even moisten the tables.

More good news soon!