A Community Treasure

This December brings great promise to Mendocino County! There's the welcome rain, of course. But there's also a new social movement afoot... a movement towards creating a culture of health and wellness. It's called Leaders for a Healthy Community.

Over 40 service professionals (including professionals from health clinics, school gardens, family resource centers, afterschool programs, Health and Human Services, high schools, preschools,  hospital foundations, teen leaders, and parent leaders) came together in both Ukiah and Willits for the first of 10 monthly Leaders for a Healthy Community meetings. The participants officially signed on as Health Leaders, committing to work within their organizations to implement health, nutrition and physical activity programming and policies, and committing to collaborate and form new health connections across the community.

What a community treasure! The Health Leaders bring so much enthusiasm and experience to this work. All are dedicated to creating a community where health and wellness are front and center, where opportunities to eat well and be physically active abound. They are excited about sharing resources, learning more about nutrition education, promoting activity, building relationships across the community, and truly moving the dial towards greater health and wellness in Mendocino County.

In the new year, expect to see "health happening here" as the Health Leaders roll out their programs and make presentations to decision-makers and governing bodies around Mendocino County.

Spring Ag Classes at Mendocino College!

Sign up now for the great courses being offered at Mendocino College at www.mendocino.edu.

More on our involvement with Mendocino County's kids and school gardens

For everyone who expressed an interest in the school gardens, here is some more information for you.

GENE, the garden-based nutrition education program, serves 32 schools from preschool to 12th grade in Mendocino County. The Gardens Project of North Coast Opportunities' Community Action Agency is proud to work with these school gardens, and together we reach more than 8,000 students and 1,000 families through gardening and nutrition events each year. This year federal funding for the program ended, putting these gardens at risk of closing.

The U.S. has an obesity epidemic, and we believe educating children about where their food comes from is more important now than ever. We hope to raise enough money to hire a garden coordinator for each school in order to keep the gardens alive and the students growing their own food.

Help fight childhood obesity and keep the gardens alive.

Creating Access to Local, Organic Food 

The Gardens Project is the coordinating agency for The Gardens Network, and facilitates the development of community-supported gardens throughout Mendocino County. 

Additionally, we support various projects including After School Nutrition Programs, Farm-to-Cafeteria, Food Stamp Outreach, and our Food Policy Council. The Gardens Project relieves hunger and inadequate nutrition in low-income neighborhoods, senior communities, schools, and youth enterprise projects by providing: 

• Education: We teach methods for growing organic food, as well as its nutritional, social, and economic benefits. We also offer leadership training for garden members and organizers.
• Nutrition/Physical Health. We do our best to bring a nutritious food supply to individuals, children, and families in a physically engaging, community-supported environment.
• Economic Development. We work to provide people with life-long, transferable, and self-sustaining skills in food production, cooking, surplus food sales, and reducing household food costs

Ford Street Cooking Class is a Success!

Homemade Turkey Sausage Breakfast Sandwiches and Sweet Potato Hash started off the second session of COCER (Community Organized Cooking and Edible Resources) last Tuesday. COCER is a pilot cooking class held at the Buddy Eller Center of the Ford Street Project. The impetus for the project is teaching healthy recipes and cooking techniques to those living in transitional housing at Ford Street.
In the first session, participants enjoyed tasting new foods like kale, chard and fennel, and experimenting with healthy alternatives and learning new tricks in the kitchen.
The first session was a series of four classes, meeting once a week. During one of these classes, the group took a trip to the Ukiah farmer's market, where they learned about the Food Stamp Match program and purchased produced to make hearty Spring Veggie Quiche with Fruit Salad.

The classes are taught by three AmeriCorps members serving in the community (Natalie Loots, Lucy Shapiro and Jessica Ohland). These three have enjoyed the successes of the first session and are excited to continue the class!

Try out this tasty COCER recipe:
Sweet Potato Hash
Makes 6 servings

2 medium sweet potatoes skins on, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation: 
-Wash and chop all vegetables
-Saute onions and bell peppers in olive oil over medium heat
-Add potatoes, spices and jalapeno. Stir to prevent sticking until potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes)
-Serve hot. Enjoy as side dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner

Are You a Beginning Farmer or Rancher?

 

2013 Sonoma County Agropreneaurs Beginning Farmer and Rancher Training Program is now accepting applications!

Who should apply:
If you're an aspiring/beginning farmer or rancher with at least one year of experience under your belt, and want to learn how to take your operation to the next level.
If you are interested in increasing your farming/ranching knowledge, connecting with experienced farmers/ranchers, receiving hands-on education, and creating crop, grazing and business plans. 

Click here for more information or to apply! Applications are due April 15th!