We know that you hate to see

nutritious food go to waste. And we

know that you are saddened by the

fact that many of our neighbors here

in the Upper Valley struggle to

provide good food for their families.

That‟s why so many of you have

stepped up to help Willing Hands.

Whether you volunteer to work in

the Willing Hands Farm Project as a

gardener or a gleaner, or volunteer to

drive the delivery route on Sundays,

or help with our cooking classes, or

make a cash donation, or donate

surplus from your grocery store,

bakery, farm, dairy, or orchard, or

work at one of our recipient organiza-

tions to help us distribute food to

those who need it most – you are an

essential member of the Willing

Hands community. By our estimation

there are more than a thousand of us.

The other day, waiting at the

dentist‟s office, I was chatting about

WILLING HANDS DELIVE RS. . .

A Few Highlights:

More than 60 individuals volunteered 800 hours to sow, tend, and harvest crops in the Willing Hands Garden. The fruits of their labor yielded over 7,200 lbs. of

farm-fresh organic produce for immediate delivery to our neighbors in need.

Willing Hands has entered a whole new domain! Please visit our recently

revised website at our new web address: www.willinghands.org While you’re

there, why not check our Facebook page and become our “friend”.

Sunday driver volunteer Corky Scott told us, ”I had a great dialog with Zoey,

the little girl who always wants a peach, if we have one. Well it turns out she also LOVES broccoli! She asked if I had any broccoli...looked at a box that we

had not put out yet and spotted some... it was a heart-warming experience, as

always...”

keep ing wholesome food from going to wast e

and de l ivering i t to our neighbors in need

WILLING HANDS

Linda Boyce and her granddaughter Zoey

after making selections from a Willing Hands delivery

FALL 2011

our work when the hygienist came

into the room and said that she loved

Willing Hands – that a while back her

family was going through tough times

and was grateful to receive our fresh

fruits and vegetables. The dentist

overheard our conversation, went to

his desk and wrote out a check to

Willing Hands!

Last winter, a young man had been

laid off and was struggling to make

ends meet. He turned to The Haven

for assistance and was amazed by the

quality and quantity of fresh produce

available at their food shelf. Willing

Hands delivers about 1250 pounds to

The Haven every week. Turns out,

that young man was one of the help-

ers at our gleanings this fall. He said

he appreciated the opportunity to be

able to give back.

Giving back. Isn‟t that what makes

the world go „round?

Willing Hands - a thousand of us

giving back 360 days of the year.

The Numbers:

Bowls handmade by

volunteers for the

Giving Bowls Project

Heads of Lettuce

harvested from the

Willing Hands organic

vegetable garden

700

1,058

Pounds of apples

gleaned by 30

volunteers in 75

minutes

1,580

WILLING HANDS’ BOUNT IFUL GLEANING

WILLING HANDS’ BOUNT IFUL GARDEN

The following is an excerpt from an

email that Willing Hands board

member and garden coordinator,

Andrea Colgan, sent to our garden

volunteers at the end of the summer:

“We dug the rest of the potatoes and

carrots Tuesday which marks the

end of our regular-scheduled work

sessions. There is a row of winter

squash plus a few melons, green

peppers, and fall lettuce left, but

otherwise everything else has been

harvested. It is looking a little

forlorn compared to that weed-free

masterpiece of a garden that we had

in July.

What an amazing summer! We grew

more, learned more, laughed more

than ever before. How about those

artichokes??? Thank you to all for

your hard work, good cheer,

knowledge sharing, and general

willingness to be a Willing Hand.

Special thanks goes to our Master of

the Garden, Supreme Intern, and

All-Around Good Guy, Tom

McQuade, who led us through heat

and hurricanes to produce such a

bountiful crop… we logged around

800 hours of volunteer labor. I could-

n't be more proud of the work we

did…”

With just 2 work sessions per week,

Master Gardeners and beginner

gardeners, young and old, joined us at

our bi-weekly work sessions to seed,

weed, and harvest our organic garden

in East Thetford. Working thirty-five

300‟ rows, with the supervision of

experts from Cedar Circle Farm, we

ultimately harvested tons of farm-

fresh organic vegetables for our

recipients.

To quote Andrea again, “How hard

is it to grow 6,000 pounds of organic

produce? Actually, it is easy if you

have 60 pairs of willing hands!”

Willing Hands / United Way

“Day of Caring“ apple gleaning

at Whitman Brook Orchard

These volunteers “Care”

rain or shine!

Willing Hands volunteers and

Cedar Circle Farm interns Tom

McQuade and Ronel Lefranc.

Ronel is a student from Haiti,

studying sustainable agronomy.

Local growers invite Willing Hands into their orchards and fields to glean surplus crops. In 2010, volunteers gleaned 22,000 pounds of local crops. We‟re still at it this year! Special thanks to Edgewater Farm, Riverview Farm, and Whitman Brook Orchard for making available literally tons of prime quality, fresh produce to our eager, cheerful and hard-working gleaners!

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

Willing Hands is grateful to the Marion Cross School

for the proceeds from their hunger awareness project,

“Giving Bowls”. Students, staff, parents and potters

made hundreds of cheerfully glazed clay bowls that

participants filled with donations of soup from local

restaurants. Bread was baked by students with the help

of King Arthur Flours‟ Life Skills program. Event leader

and art teacher, Tracy Smith cites John Lennon‟s lyrics,

“Imagine no possessions / I wonder if you can / No need

for greed or hunger / A brotherhood of man / Imagine all

the people / Sharing all the world…”

The VA Hospital has won two national awards for the

“Farmer‟s Market” that they have created for veterans in

their diabetes clinic with produce from Willing Hands.

As part of their “Dream Team” project, Dartmouth

undergrads are teaming up with medical students and

Willing Hands to share their enthusiasm for cooking

nutritious meals with the kids at Northwoods family

housing in White River Junction.

Two of our food donors sustained major storm damage

this summer. Hurricane Flats Farm has always given

generously to Willing Hands when we have stopped by

their booth on Saturdays at the close of the Norwich

Farmers‟ Market. La Panciata bakery has provided us

with bread twice every week, which adds up to literally

tons every year. We are most grateful for their

generosity and wish them well in their recovery.

Yes, I want to help Willing Hands reduce hunger in the Upper Valley. Enclosed is my contribution of: __$30 to cover the cost of delivering just over 100 pounds of nutritious food

__$100 to cover the cost of delivering 8 big boxes brimming with nutritious food __$290 to cover the cost of delivering 1,000 pounds: an entire day of deliveries!

P.O. Box 172 Lebanon, NH 03766

802-698-0265

Name___________________________________________

Address_________________________________________

City _______________________State ____ Zip_________

I’m interested in volunteering to help Willing Hands with:

___ The Farm Project ___ Nutrition Education ___ Sunday Driving ___ Committee Work

Please contact me at this phone number: _________________ or this email address: _________________________

105

The Giving Bowls

Got Eggs? West Lebanon Feed and Supply

and their customers have donated

approximately 25,000 farm-fresh eggs to

Willing Hands through their ingenious

program, “Share The Harvest” !!!

Willing Hands is proud to be part of the

“Farm 2 Plate Network” - a statewide

collaboration working to increase

economic development in Vermont‟s

farm and food sector, and working to

improve access to healthy foods for all

Vermonters.

COLLABORATIONS ARE K EY TO OUR SUCCESS Willing Hands Extends Special Thanks To Our Recipient Organizations

(every week, year ’round, making sure that the food we deliver goes to the folks who need it most)

In New Hampshire: Child & Family Services Claremont Manor Apartments Claremont Soup Kitchen Cornish Food Pantry Earl Bourdon Center First Baptist Church of Lebanon Good Folks Pantry Green Mtn Childcare Centers Hannah House Headrest HIV/HCV Resource Center Lebanon Towers Listen Community Services Maple Manor Mascoma Senior Center Next Step Open Hands Mission Orford Senior Center Pathways Roger‟s House Romano Circle family housing Southwest Community Services Stepping Stones Students Fighting Hunger United Methodist Church of Enfield Upper Valley Hostel Upper Valley Senior Center

BEHIND THE SCENES: Board of Directors:

Jack Lyons - President

Peter Carter - Vice President

Terry Lyons - Secretary

Mark Lindberg - Treasurer

Will Allen

Andrea Colgan

Carolyn Frye

Susan Gault

Tom Ketteridge

Amy Miller

Jay Van Arman

Executive Director:

Heather Bagley

Drivers:

Chuck Egner

Christy Parker

Jim McCracken

Mark Pennell (Substitute: Chico Eastridge)

Contact: Us: info@WillingHands.Org

802-698-0265

Fall Gleanings

Wellspring Community Dinner & Foodshelf West Central Behavioral Health WIC - Women‟s Health Resource Center

In Vermont: Bugbee Senior Center Fairlee Food District Family Place Graystone Village Hillcrest Manor Hollow Drive family housing Journey Church Foodshelf Junction Teen Center Northwoods family housing Norwich Senior Housing Olde Windsor Village Overlook Housing Praise Chapel Foodshelf Red Door Community Meal Royalton Senior Center Saint Francis of Assisi Foodshelf Sharon Foodshelf Thetford Foodshelf Turning Point Club UU Church of Hartland Foodshelf Upper Valley Haven VA Medical Center Village Apartments West Fairlee Foodshelf

I have heard from parents as well as the child care programs themselves that the produce they have

been receiving through you has substantially improved the menus served to young children. One

parent said, “Every time I walk through the kitchen I see a huge bowl of something beautiful and

colorful like yellow, red, and green peppers or different kinds of apples. It's so wonderful!” M.Ianello Pre-K Consultant, UV Healthy Eating Active Living

www.willinghands.org