Harvest Rescue

Happenings

This spring Harvest Rescue part-

nered up with Interior Health as

caretakers of the garden at McKim

Cottage in Upper Fairview. This

turned out to be a mutually benefi-

cial relationship for both parties as

it benefitted Nelson Food Cupboard

volunteers, clients and Mc Kim

Cottage residents.

McKim Cottage is a centre to sup-

port adults that have experienced

and are coping with mental health

challenges in their transitions. Life

skill training is an important part of

the program including gardening!

As many of the clients are not pre-

sent for the entire growing season,

Harvest Rescue volunteers that

maintain their beautiful garden not

only provide produce and incentive

to get involved but beauty for

McKim residents.

A newly installed deer fence and

manure for soil building contributed

to the successful growth of the

garden this year.

The setting of the garden and its

size, is ideal for welcoming up to

30 children. The residents and

staff at McKim embrace the class

garden work party visits. A class

from Trafalgar’s Food for Life

program came in the spring to

help turn the soil, learn about

‘double-digging’, sow starts and

help prepare the compost. The

garden was permaculturally-

inspired and planned by one of

our HR volunteers, Drea Pheonix.

Furthermore, in early October the

Waldorf school’s class 2 came out

to clean out the garden and put it

to bed in under an hour!

We can’t forget our diligent volun-

teers this summer that came almost

every two weeks to tend to the

garden: Ken Jerome, Franz Grubba,

Dale Williams, Shannon

Shapovalova & Narayani. Thanks!

McKim Cottage & Harvest Rescue, a Win-Win

Relationship!

The expanded Harvest Rescue pro-

gram this year offered produce

from both gardens and fruit trees.

The addition of the seven gardens

was a great supplement to a less

abundant harvest of fruit this year.

Over 225 hours were spent on those

gardens by HR volunteers.

As of October 2nd this year Harvest

Rescue volunteers gleaned a total

of 3458 lbs of fruit this summer and

harvested approximately 500 lbs of

produce from participating gardens

in the Nelson region.

Nathalie’s Fruit Stand donated a

total of 5975 lbs of all sorts of fruit

from the Okanagan. We had a gang

of 6 volunteers help with 1000 lbs

of apples donated by Nathalie in

September!

Thanks to all!

Fruit and Veggies Harvested to Date!

Fall 2014

Volume 1, Issue 2

Did you know?

Harvest Rescue volunteers

picked over eight different

varieties of plums this year

in the Nelson region!

Harvest Rescue redistributed

1500 lbs of fruit gleaned to

social service agencies in the

Nelson area!These agencies

include: Our Daily Bread,

Our Daily Bread, Stepping

Stones, Low-income Sen-

iors, the Women’s Centre,

Mc Kim Cottage, the Club-

house, and Bigby Place.

Harvest Rescue is a

program operated by the

Nelson Food Cupboard

where trained volunteers

garden and glean fruits &

veggies throughout the

Nelson community.

passion for her as she teaches a year-long

beginners bee-keeping course.

Prior to farming, Nette ran businesses. She

was a secretary at a large publication firm in

Hong Kong where she started and operated a

successful antique reproduction furniture

business supplying interior designers from

three international offices. She and her hus-

band sold their shares in the company to begin

their dream of farming.

There is rarely rest or holidays available to

farmers. In many families one partner works

full-time outside the farm for financial support.

Nette states: “Farming is the hardest and most

under-appreciated profession that you can

come to.” Farmers are of course completely

dependant on weather, crops fail, and even if

crops succeed ,ensuring that they are sold at a

fair price can be a challenge. Finally, as a home

business with no benefits, pension plans or

disability insurance, crop failure may translate

to loss of the farm or the home itself.

Despite of all this, Nette’s dedication to farm-

ing is tangible: “True farmers love what they

do, the fact that I am eating my own produce,

and that I did not rely on anyone else to get

here. I grew this food, I know exactly where it

came from and it won’t harm me in any shape

or form.” Consumers may forget the influence

of their grocery shopping decisions on a daily

basis but helping a farmer is a great way to

remember the source of our food system and

feel good getting dirty!

This year, Harvest Rescue expanded to include

a gardening component to assist local farmers

in need. Volunteers were shuttled to local

farms alternating between Mad Dog and Kirtz-

inger farms to help with transplanting bedding

plants, weeding, cleaning up greenhouses and

harvesting beans on a bi-weekly basis.

Many of us are aware that farming is hard

work and a labour of love. This year the Har-

vest Rescue program witnessed it! In May, a

group of volunteers planted and weeded al-

most 300 squash starts in James Kirtzinger’s

greenhouse. When the time came to plant

them in the fields the rain came and our volun-

teer turnout was nil. As a result the squash

starts were given away because they would

not have been planted on time to mature be-

fore the first frost in the region. Perhaps this

‘reality’ contributed to the turnout of the same

dedicated volunteers, or perhaps it was the

comradery!

Nette Lack, of Mad Dog Farm is one of the few

farmers in the Nelson area that has chosen to

be completely dependent on farming for her

income. Before 2013, Nette and her husband

Jeremy operated a 10 acre family farm in

Thrums. Currently, as a widow and single

mother, she is farming 3 acres on her own. She

primarily sells plant starts and vegetables from

her farm and also keeps bees, which is no small

Connecting with Local Farms

Open Mondays & Wednesdays 9 am—1pm

Harvest Rescue: Phone: 250-551-8343 Email: harvestrescue@gmail.com

“Why not go on a limb? That is where

the fruit is! —Mark Twain

Jamaican Zucchini-

Powered Soup

This is a soup to use up your bounty of zucchini

with a taste that cannot be refused by the

pickiest of eaters!

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

4 cloves garlic minced, 2 Tbsp grated ginger

1 Tbsp sugar, 2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground turmeric, allspice & nutmeg

4 cups chopped zucchini

3 cups chopped potatoes

6 cups vegetable stock

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 cup chopped fresh spinach

Heat the oil in your large soup pot. Stir in the

onion, celery, garlic , ginger & sugar. Cook 5

minutes until onion is translucent.

Season with spices listed and mix in potatoes,

zukes & stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and

simmer until potatoes are tender.

Remove soup from heat, season with cayenne

and stir in spinach then blend with hand-

blender until smooth. Now gobble up!