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Dear Community,
We at Petaluma Bounty are working around the clock to continue to support the community we all love. With the threat of fire, power shut offs, hazardous air quality, or closed markets, we're there to provide support, leadership, and build the capacity of our local food shed. Petaluma Bounty is on the front line of the emergency food response- coordinating donations, seeking local sources for produce, sharing staffing and produce with emergency kitchens, providing cold storage, and publishing much needed information on food resources. We did this alongside our continued services to food insecure community members including our sliding scale farm stand and CSA as well as gleaning local produce.
We bring our guiding principles to every aspect of our work and continue to advocate for services, policies, and an economic environment that supports our shared vision of a thriving local food system- where consumers make informed decisions; farmers make a decent living while prioritizing ecological stewardship of the land; and all people, regardless of income, have access to healthy food.
We thank you for your continued actions, donations, and offers. And we ask a few things for you to consider during and after this trying time. First, please don't let this crisis pace become your new normal- we need each other more than ever to be of sound body, mind, and spirit. Second, reflect on how you are manifesting your own guiding principles in your daily life and consider doubling down on supporting local businesses, purchasing locally grown agricultural products, and harnessing the abundance in your life for the benefit of our common good. Let your values lead you to the solutions that already exist. #thefutureislocal
Sincerely,
Suzi and the Bounty Team
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Bounty Responds to Kincade Fire with Resources
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Gleaning 300 pounds of pears. |
As another wildfire threatens our dear Sonoma County, we hope that all community members are staying safe and vigilant during this time. Petaluma Bounty works on multiple fronts to manifest our mission of healthy food for everyone, especially in times of hardship. Some efforts include- immediate disaster relief (mentioned above), sustained programs addressing daily food insecurity in our neighborhoods, building the capacity and effectiveness of our partners and systems to respond to the need of the community
(see published report from last fire here), research on the impact of air pollution and ash on produce safety (
study findings here), engaging the food insecure community in accessing resources (
latest posts), engaging those with extra produce to share their bounty, promoting and administering nutrition incentives that benefit farmers and low-income consumers, and advocating for policies that supports our local food system.
Thank you to those who have
donated thus far! We will continue to share community resources and opportunities to help out on our
Facebook page.
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Harvest Party Recap
Thank you to all who came out and celebrated the changing of seasons at our Harvest Party earlier this month! It was great to gather with both new familiar faces and share stories over delicious food. The kids had a wonderful time using our
new apple press to make cider as well as crafting pollinator houses. Please be on the lookout for our Winter Solstice/Volunteer Appreciation party in December as we close out the year by thanking all of our dedicated volunteers and celebrate with food, fun, and community.
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Fall and Winter Transitions
As summer turns into fall and fall into winter, we have some changes in our weekly produce offerings:
Fall Bounty Bag CSA and Farmstand
ends Thurs., Nov. 7th.
*Winter Bounty Bag CSA and Farmstand to begin Sat., Nov. 23rd 12 to 3pm.
Walnut Park Farmer's Market ends Sat., Nov. 16th.
Free Yoga with Embody Petaluma last session on
Thurs., Nov. 7th, 4-5pm (More details to come on free winter yoga!)
Farmacy at the Petaluma Health Center to continue as usual.
*If you would like to sign up for our 6-week Winter Bounty Bag CSA please contact Harlie at education@petalumabounty.org. Cost is $18/retail, $12.60/low-income, and $9/EBT/CalFresh. Members should expect lots of winter greens!
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Educational Farm Visits
October has been full of curiosity at the Bounty Farm! We have hosted 6th graders from Marin Country Day School, 80 kindergartners from Hamilton Elementary in Novato (yes, 80!), and 3rd graders from Cinnabar Elementary in Petaluma. We enjoy having these students out to learn about what it means to be a community farm as well as be able to explore, discover, and create. To schedule an educational farm visit please contact
education@petalumabounty.org. If you are interested in helping to facilitate these farm visits as a volunteer educator, please fill out our
volunteer interest form and indicate that you are interested in supporting Bounty education programs.
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AmeriCorps VISTA Opportunity at Bounty Farm
Petaluma Bounty is proud to partner with Harvest Against Hunger's VISTA program in hosting a gleaning coordinator at the Bounty Farm beginning February 2020.
The AmeriCorps volunteer will provide capacity building support to a food recovery program, a demonstration production farm, nutrition incentive distribution programs, healthy eating initiatives, and mapping initiatives of our existing emergency food distribution network. For more information please visit the
Idealist posting
or read more on our
website
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Corporate Volunteer Spotlight: Clover Sonoma
A special thanks to
Clover Sonoma
for volunteering at the farm this month. They did an utterly fantastic job pulling out tomato plants, putting up pea fencing, and meticulously weeding the baby carrots!
We are so grateful for companies like Clover that choose to volunteer their time at the Bounty Farm.
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