Hello Farm to Fork Friends!
Who’s ready for some spring weather? While it’s not quite time to set things out in the garden (at least in northern Utah), we do have a few exciting plant share/sale opportunities coming up.
Dirt2Table is holding their annual Spring “Foodraiser” plant share. You can order plants for free now, and they will be ready to pick up in May. Learn more here.
Wasatch Community Gardens’ annual Spring Plant Sale will be held Saturday, May 7th. Learn more here.
Salt Lake Community Mutual Aid typically holds a “really really free market” the last weekend of each month, and spring events feature lots of seeds and edible plants. Follow them on Instagram for the latest updates @slc.mutualaid.
Like any other hobby, gardening can get expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Everyone deserves to be able to grow their own food!
What to Harvest this Month
The Porcini was recently named Utah’s State Mushroom, and April is a great month to enjoy these fabulous fungi. Check out our Harvest of the Season recipe for Beef and Mushroom Tacos with Lime Crema. (And no, you don’t have to shell out the big bucks for porcini—regular white button mushrooms work great and our friends at Mountain View Mushrooms have an ample supply). Want to grow your own, either at home or in a classroom? Fungal Focus is a local business with grow kits and incredible educational materials.
Get Involved!
NEW Promotional Events
If you attended one of our recent workshops, you know that we’re adding two local food promotion events to our schedule. In addition to the Apple Crunch every October, we'll be having a local meat celebration in April (starting in 2024) and a summer squash/zucchini celebration in June (starting in 2023- this year!). These events will have a similar structure to the Apple Crunch, in that participants will be encouraged to serve the featured item in Child Nutrition Programs, while offering additional educational materials on the topic. We need your help coming up with names and promotional ideas for these events ("The Utah Meat Crunch" is... not a good idea). Use this link to share your ideas before April 28th. All respondents will be entered to win a small prize.
School Garden Leadership Network
Are you an educator, administrator, or community member in Salt Lake City School District or Salt Lake Valley that is interested in being part of a group focused on further developing school gardens or have general interest in school gardens? Wasatch Community Gardens will be hosting an in-person meeting April 12th from 6:00 pm-7:30 pm and virtually April 13th 6:00 pm-7:30 pm. Register here
Webinars and Trainings
Summer Training with the Edible Schoolyard, June 15-16, Berkeley and Stockton, CA
In-person trainings are back with the Edible Schoolyard! The 2023 Summer Training will explore instructional strategies and teaching techniques that create engaging and meaningful learning experiences in garden and kitchen classrooms. Experts from leading edible education organizations will facilitate workshops on deepening student engagement, tying garden and kitchen learning experiences to academic standards, creating rigorous curriculum, fostering a supportive and generous classroom culture, and building technical gardening and cooking skills. The program cost is $200 (scholarships are available) and will be capped at 50 participants. The application closes April 7th. Apply here.
The People’s Garden Initiative
People’s Gardens empower communities to participate in local food production and provide diversity and resiliency to the food supply chain. They also teach about the benefits of sustainable, local agriculture and how gardening can foster community collaboration, provide green gathering spaces, and benefit the environment. To learn more, join the inaugural webinar for the USDA’s People’s Garden Initiative on April 26th at 1:00 pm. Register here.
Improving Equity
Children's Books
It’s never too early to start talking to kids about the fact that some people in this county are hungry (and WHY). Two great books to get the conversation started are Maddie’s Fridge by Lois Brandt and The Lunch Thief by Anne Bromley. Share them with a child in your life and let us know what they think!
Job Opportunities
Program Coordinator II, USU Food Security Program, Logan
The Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences at Utah State University is seeking a Program Coordinator for the Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC) pantry. The pantry was established in 2013 and since then has experienced tremendous growth. This position will oversee all aspects of the SNAC pantry, from personnel management and sourcing donations to high level budget planning. Learn more and apply here.
Funding Opportunities
Honor the Earth Grant Awards
Honor the Earth awards grants to 501c3 organizations that are led and managed by Native peoples. Priority is given to grassroots, community-based organizations and groups with a lack of access to federal and/or tribal funding resources. Grants range from $1,000 to $5,000 and will be granted to organizations and projects in two key areas: Implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency/weatherization improvements to advance community dignity and energy sovereignty and creating food security utilizing Indigenous varieties and organic production. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and reviewed twice a year. Learn more and apply here.
Fruit Tree Planting Foundation
The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) donates orchards where the harvest will best serve communities for generations, at places such as community gardens, public schools, city/state parks, low-income neighborhoods, Native American reservations, international hunger relief sites, and animal sanctuaries. FTPF provides high-quality fruit trees and shrubs, equipment, on-site orchard design expertise and oversight, horticultural workshops, and aftercare training and manuals. FTPF also helps coordinate all aspects of the planting, and offers an inspirational, educational experience for volunteers interested in learning more about trees. Deer fencing and drip irrigation can be incorporated as needed. There is no deadline for applications. Learn more and apply here.
Be sure to share your upcoming events, grant opportunities, and jobs with us so that we can share them here!
