Grow Your Own
The mission of Grow Your Own is to increase food independence, better health, and well-being through shared
knowledge and experience.
GYO is a collaborative effort of the Hardwick Area Food Pantry, the Center for an Agricultural Economy,
and NEK Kids on the Move
Began in 2014 with 5 workshops and 17 attendees
In 2017 GYO offered 13 workshops, mentorship program, seed giveaway, sent 10 newsletters to 75+
members, and had over 100 workshop attendees
8 person steering committee to guide programming, fundraising, and expansion
Our partnerships have expanded to include local schools, churches, small business owners, and farms
Workshops are hands-on and include shared food, open discussion time, and free childcare
Included in this packet:
Annual calendar of workshops for 2018
Newsletter (sent out to members monthly)
Outreach/publicity plan
Invitations to workshops (distributed locally)
Leader orientation
Workshop questionnaire (filled out at the end of each workshop)
GYO program design worksheet
2018 Workshops January 13: Soil Science
February 3: Bread Baking
March 3: Mushroom Growing
April 7: Healthy Snacks
May 5: TBD
June 2: Wild Edibles Walk (3 hours)
July 7: Companion Planting
September 1: Food Storage
October 6: Cold Frames/Putting the Garden to Bed
November TBD: Pies for People
Gatherings are from 11:30-1:30
All workshops of the Grow Your Own program are FREE and open to the public. Childcare
offered on request. Shared meal. Please reserve a spot by the Wednesday before the workshop
by calling or emailing Ruby at 472-5940 or [email protected]
Carol brought a wealth of knowledge to a
packed house. She walked participants
through the life cycle of mushrooms.
Then she demonstrated two methods for
growing mushrooms, one inside and one
outside. The mushroom kits provided a
hands on opportunity to see the oyster
mushrooms in various stages of emer-
gence. Then the group drilled holes in
log sections, hammered in the spore
plugs, and waxed over the holes to make
outdoor shiitake logs. At the end of the
session 2 oyster
mushroom kits and 2 shiitake logs were
raffled off to participants. The group en-
joyed a delicious stirfry lunch which fea-
tured shiitake mushrooms. Yum!
Mushroom Growing with Carol Fairbank
On April 7th Grow Your Own will be exploring a couple of new part-
nerships to offer a workshop on Healthy Snacks. Allison Van Ak-
keren is joining us from Sterling College and will bring her extensive
knowledge of nutrition and delicious eating to make this a fun filled
day. As we are hoping to encourage more families to explore cook-
ing with their children, Hardwick Elementary School will be hosting
this workshop in their Teaching/Café classroom. As this is a school,
there is increased security, so be sure to contact Laura at the Hard-
wick Area Food Pantry to clarify where and when to enter the build-
ing. Bring your kids or just yourselves for a fun day in the kitchen!
To sign-up or for more questions, contact Laura at:
(802) 472-5940 or [email protected]
Healthy Snacks with Allison Van Akkeren
Volume 3, Issue 2, 4/5/18
Fungi, Fungi, Fungi
Spent indoor kits can be lay-
ered with log coins to create
an outdoor “totem”
Old laundry baskets make a
great place to grow mus-
rooms in a substrate such as
wood chips or spent grain
Grow mushrooms in raised
beds in the garden
Use freshly cut wood when
making “totems” or logs
OTHER WAYS TO GROW
MUSHROOMS
Have an idea for
a GYO workshop?
Let us know!
This workshop
was sponsored
by the Craftsbury
General Store.
EXCITING NEWS!
The next Perennial Care workshop will take place on
April 21st at 9 am, and we are opening up 6 spaces
to the general public! Russ Brown is a 40 year
pruning veteran and will guide us through the ba-
sics of pruning trees, with the main focus being on
apple trees. The workshop will be offsite but we will
carpool from Atkins Field. Afterwards we will have
a potluck lunch. Please DRESS in LAYERS, as this
workshop will be outside RAIN or SHINE! Suggested
donation for community members is $25 but don’t
let cost stop you! Let Ruby know at
[email protected] if you would like to
join us!
To remove your name from our mailing list, please respond with subject line: unsubscribe.
Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected] or call 802-472-
Volume 3, Issue 2, 4/5/18
PAGE 2
WIC Community Program
All GYO workshops for 2018 have been
approved as WIC Community Programs
and can be used to satisfy the requirements
of your WIC benefits. Be sure to tell the
staff person if you would like us to record
this for you with the WIC office.
The CAE and CVSWMD are hoping to host a repair café on April 28th. Location TBD. Get in touch with
Bethany [email protected]) to learn more. For more information on Repair Cafés, check
out: http://www.cvswmd.org/what-is-a-repair-cafe.html
Hardwick Area Food Pantry Welcomes a New
Executive Director!
Laura Wilkinson brings her extensive
knowledge of agriculture and community life to
HAFP this week. She is very excited to be join-
ing the team and we are thrilled to have her!
Ruby Baker is the new Executive Director at
Community of Vermont Elders where she will be
working to ensure a better life for older Ver-
monters across the state through advocacy and
education. She is sad to leave but excited for
this new part of her journey.
Grow Your Own Outreach Plan Create- Quarter page invitation, Newspaper/Calendar blurb 6 weeks in advance Quarter-page invitations printed and cut 4 weeks before workshop Distribute quarter page invitations at food pantry, post around town. Submit Newspaper/Calendar blurb to free calendar listings in all local and surrounding area newspapers, radio stations, online calendars, facebook page Green Mtn Trading Post – need to submit advertisement the Monday morning before each month’s new edition North Country Notes- send workshop blurb to be published in Green Mtn Trading Post for each month Thursday before a gathering: 10 quarter page invitations to the Hardwick Community Lunch Post Newspaper/Calendar Blurb on Front Porch Forum and repost on Facebook Sample Newspaper/Calendar Blurb: Grow Your Own will host a gathering on May 2 from 11:30-1:30 at Atkins Field in Hardwick on the topic of wild edibles. Jane Doe will lead the workshop about wild edible plants and we will share a meal. Workshops are free and open to the public but RSVP is mandatory as space is limited. Children aged 6 and older are welcome to participate. Childcare is available for younger children if arranged in advance. We can sometimes provide transportation as well. RSVP to Hardwick Area Food Pantry at 802-472-5940. Grow Your Own is a project of the Center for an Agricultural Economy, the Hardwick Area Food Pantry and NEK Kids on the Move.
New location: Hardwick Elementary Enter at the kindergarten hallway door
(facing Catholic church parking lot) Free of charge BUT
SPACE IS LIMITED!!! Reserve your family’s spot by April 4.
Contact Ruby Baker -Hardwick Area Food Pantry
802) [email protected]
Let’s make snacks: muffins, hummus April 7, 11:30 to 1:30, Kid-friendly, family
workshop and meal with Allison Van Akkeren
Grow Your Own
New location: Hardwick Elementary Enter at the kindergarten hallway door
(facing Catholic church parking lot) Free of charge BUT
SPACE IS LIMITED!!! Reserve your family’s spot by April 4.
Contact Ruby Baker -Hardwick Area Food Pantry
802) [email protected]
Let’s make snacks: muffins, hummus April 7, 11:30 to 1:30, Kid-friendly, family
workshop and meal with Allison Van Akkeren
Grow Your Own
New location: Hardwick Elementary Enter at the kindergarten hallway door
(facing Catholic church parking lot) Free of charge BUT
SPACE IS LIMITED!!! Reserve your family’s spot by April 4.
Contact Ruby Baker -Hardwick Area Food Pantry
802) [email protected]
Let’s make snacks: muffins, hummus April 7, 11:30 to 1:30, Kid-friendly, family
workshop and meal with Allison Van Akkeren
Grow Your Own
New location: Hardwick Elementary Enter at the kindergarten hallway door
(facing Catholic church parking lot) Free of charge BUT
SPACE IS LIMITED!!! Reserve your family’s spot by April 4.
Contact Ruby Baker -Hardwick Area Food Pantry
802) [email protected]
Let’s make snacks: muffins, hummus April 7, 11:30 to 1:30, Kid-friendly, family
workshop and meal with Allison Van Akkeren
Grow Your Own
Grow Your Own: background and format
The mission of Grow Your Own is to increase food independence, better health and wellbeing through shared knowledge and experience. Dear Potential Workshop Leader, Thank you for considering being a leader for one of our Grow Your Own workshops. We have developed a format and culture of sorts for our gatherings. This is our way of explaining that so you can be prepared.
1. Grow Your Own is a program run by the Center for an Agricultural Economy, the
Hardwick Area Food Pantry and NEK Kids on the Move. About half of the people who usually attend workshops are clients of the pantry. This information is confidential and we avoid discussing anything about who is and who is not a pantry client during events.
2. Children are often participating or in attendance. We have found allowing children is an essential component. If a number of children will be on hand we will provide child care.
3. We usually have about ten -15 adults and a few children as participants, plus two GYO staff members
4. Workshops should be designed as hands-on and activity oriented. We follow a format:
Introductions around the room (10 minutes)
Explanation of photography permission (optional), liability permission, and evaluation forms (5 minutes)
Discussion of the topic by the leader, (10-15 minutes) leading into action. The leader will demonstrate and allow everyone to participate individually or in family groups (60 - 75 minutes total)
A shared meal and door prize drawing (15 -30 minutes) with a chance for everyone to discuss the topic, their favorite recipes or other ideas participants might have to contribute
After the gathering: a tour of the Vermont Food Venter Center for anyone new if they want it. (if the gathering is at the VFVC)
We hope this is helpful as you prepare a plan for your workshop. If you are able to purchase the ingredients you will need to use, please save the receipts so we can reimburse you. If you are not able to purchase ingredients, please give us a week’s notice and we will do the purchasing. We will provide the shared meal. Let us know what equipment you will need (bowls, stove top, garden trowels, etc.) If you are available to attend a meeting of the Grow Your Own steering committee, we’d love to have you there. In the first half-hour of each meeting we debrief from our last workshop and prep for the next one, so that would be the best time to be there. If you have questions please get in touch with the Center for an Agricultural Economy Community Programs Manager Bethany M. Dunbar [email protected] or 472-5362 ext. 204; or Hardwick Area Food Pantry Executive Director Laura Wilkinson at 472-5940.
Grow Your Own Gathering Questionnaire
All answers are confidential. If you do not wish to answer a question, please leave it blank. Thank you!
Name:
Do you qualify for any of these services (whether or not you use them)? Circle all that apply
Food Pantry Reach up 3 Squares WIC Head Start none
What age category do you fit in?
Under 18 18-30 30-50 50-65 65+
How many people are in your household? ________________________________________
Would you come to another gathering like this? What topic would you want to do? ____________________________
How often do you eat home cooked dinner each week?
5-7 nights 3-5 nights 1-3 nights never
Do you garden? Circle all that apply
At home At community gardens Other location _____________
In raised beds In containers In full soil
Please rate the instructor/gathering on a scale of 1-5:
5. Excellent! 4. Good 3. Average 2. Needed some work 1. Not really my kind of event
Comments or Recommendations:
Grow Your Own Gathering Questionnaire
All answers are confidential. If you do not wish to answer a question, please leave it blank. Thank you!
Name:
Do you qualify for any of these services (whether or not you use them)? Circle all that apply
Food Pantry Reach up 3 Squares WIC Head Start none
What age category do you fit in?
Under 18 18-30 30-50 50-65 65+
How many people are in your household? ________________________________________
Would you come to another gathering like this? What topic would you want to do? ____________________________
How often do you eat home cooked dinner each week?
5-7 nights 3-5 nights 1-3 nights never
Do you garden? Circle all that apply
At home At community gardens Other location _____________
In raised beds In containers In full soil
Please rate the instructor/gathering on a scale of 1-5:
5. Excellent! 4. Good 3. Average 2. Needed some work 1. Not really my kind of event
Comments or Recommendations:
Questions for Grow Your Own workshop participants
Who? Who is your target audience? Who will teach? Who are you collaborators?
How? How will you get people to attend? How will the project be formatted? How
will you pay for it?
What? What do you want participants to take away from this experience? What
topics will be covered/how will you choose the topics? What materials do you need?
Where? Where will the workshop be held? Where will you get materials/supplies?
Reporter:_______________________________________________________