Petaluma Bounty

July Newsletter
 
Brews and Bites for Bounty!
Join us as we celebrate our shared accomplishments at the 6th Annual Brews and Bites for Bounty fundraiser!

When? Monday, July 31st, 5:30 - 8pm
Where? Lagunitas TapRoom and Beer Sanctuary, 1280 N McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA

What? This event features food, dancing, and rocking tunes by The Highway Poets. Tickets are $20, which includes delicious Mexican food from Nopalito, meats from Marin Sun Farm, vegetables from Petaluma Bounty, Red H Farm, and First Light Farm, dessert from Three Twins Ice Cream, and non-alcoholic beverages from Petaluma Coffee and Tea. Beer and wine will be available for purchase from Lagunitas.
 
Tickets are available in advance at http://brewsandbites2017.bpt.me/ and at the door. Entrance for youth 12 and younger is $10, children under 7 will be admitted free of charge.  For more information, check out our blog post here

Thank you to the following sponsors for making this event possible: Lagunitas Brewing Company, Nopalito Mexican Food, Highway Poets, Agricultural Community Events, Fishman Supply, Friedman's Home Improvement, Lisa Krieshok, Hydrofarm, Marin Sun Farms, Petaluma Coffee & Tea, Petaluma Poultry, Quality Printing Services, Red H Farm, Sloat Design, and Three Twins Ice Cream.  
In This Issue
Seeking Interns for Late Summer and Fall
   
Fascinated about the ins-and-outs of sustainable farming?  Have the skills to teach students about their food system from the ground up?  We are looking for outstanding applicants interested in sustainable agriculture, education and community engagement, and non-profit administration to join our intern team!  We are aiming to fill positions in late summer, with fall interns working with us through November.  Time frames and weekly availability are flexible.

To find out more information about our internship opportunities, read quotes from past interns, and to apply, please visit the Internship Page on our website.  

Contact education@petalumabounty.org with any questions.

What's Happening at the Farm?
Updates from 55 Shasta Ave

Summer is in full swing and so is our Bounty Bag CSA program!  It has been such a joy to see our community members at the farm each week as they pick up their bags and share their favorite recipes.   We have a limited number of spots left for CalFresh customers. Reach out education@petalumabounty.org if you are interested.

The first session of ALIVE,  our farm-based healthy living and eating program for families, has begun!  Each Tuesday evening, we gather at the Bounty Outdoor Classroom to learn about soil, harvest crops, taste test, and more.  If you have a child between the ages of 8 and 14 and are interested in joining, look out for information about upcoming sessions later this summer or email education@petalumabounty.org with any questions.

Farmer David is starting a new job at College of Marin and thus we're on the search for a farmer to finish out the season at Bounty Farm. For more information, go to our blog post here.

Come out and volunteer at the farm!  We have open volunteer hours every week on Tuesday and Saturday between 9am and 1pm.  Join us in harvesting, planting and caring for the produce you see at the farmers' market or in your Bounty Bag.  Great for the whole family!  Email farm@petalumabounty.org with questions.  
  
Volunteer Spotlight
Martin Bohn

If yo u have ever spent time helping us harvest on a Saturday or Tuesday, you have likely met Martin Bohn.  This month, we are highlighting him and his steadfast work with us as a long-term volunteer with the Bounty Community Farm.
 
About ten years ago, Martin learned of a need for a volunteer at a local community farm.  An avid gardener with a background in carpentry, he jumped on the opportunity and has been assisting with harvest ever since.  Not only has Martin dedicated a great deal of time to the Bounty, but he is also a long-time community member.  Originally from Germany, he moved to the Petaluma area in 1952.  "In those days, there was no freeway.  I liked the surroundings, the weather.  This is where my relatives lived," he says about his move to the community more than fifty years ago.  He continues to care for his home garden (full of cucumbers, squash, beans, tomatoes and more), and cites peaches as his favorite crop to both harvest and eat.
 
When asked about his reasons for joining the Bounty volunteer team and maintaining that connection, he summed it up in three sentences.  "I enjoy working in the garden. I like to work together with the different people here.  I just enjoy coming out here."  We couldn't agree more, Martin, and we are so happy to have you as part of our volunteer team!
 
Call to Action
Share our 2017 Food Resource Guide! 
 
Each year, Petaluma Bounty updates and publishes our Food Resource Guide in English and Spanish with the help of dedicated and staff and volunteers.  This comprehensive packet of information provides resources on where to find free or reduced cost food for children, families, individuals and seniors.  In the 6th year of publication, our community partners rely upon this guide to connect their clients to sources of free and reduced cost food in Southern Sonoma County.  But The Food Resource Guide is only as effective as its reach in the community.  Please help us share this resource via social media or consider printing out a few.   Please take a look at our 2017 Food Resource Guide, with versions in both English and Spanish, and share with your networks!  You can find the link here: Food Resource Guide.  

As a multi-faceted community food security project, we want to raise awareness of food insecurity, resources, and improve the offerings of emergency food outlets while concurrently pushing our community to develop additional long term solutions that benefit farmers and food insecure community members.  One way that we improve the quality of food offered at emergency food outlets is by gleaning and re-directing home grown fruits and vegetables to food pantries and emergency food outlets.  This program is called Bounty Hunters and is an all- volunteer network of gleaners, coordinators, drivers, and enthusiasts.  In order to keep the network going, we need volunteers to step into leadership roles to help coordinate gleans and get the word out. For more information on the Bounty Hunters and our community drop sites, please click here.