November 2020

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"Let's squash injustice." Martin's Farmstand. Potsdam, NY. Image courtesy of the Farm-to-Table Initiative led by Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County.

Help us Celebrate our Community Food Heroes!

GardenShare needs YOUR help! Beginning today, 11/6, through 12/6 we're seeking video submissions to recognize and honor our community's Food Heroes. So many individuals have stepped up to do the challenging work of making sure people continue to have access to food throughout these uncertain times and we want to hear all about them! Heroes could be any individual, group or organization whose efforts have supported or strengthened the food system in St. Lawrence County through 2020. This might be someone who... taught a friend how to make preserves organized food distribution programs kept the community informed about food resources taught students about local food volunteered at a farmers market or food pantry raised money for a local food charity, farming!

GardenShare Outreach & Education Committee members Jen McAvoy and Cathy Carr helping us spread the word about the Community Food Heroes event.

The videos can be as simple or creative as you’d like - the possibilities are endless! Videos can be sent right from your phone to our Facebook and Instagram pages, emailed to sonja@gardenshare.org, or uploaded directly to our submission form. Honor as many people as you’d like but please make one video for each hero. Go to GardenShare.org/heroes to find more information on how you can tell the world about your Community Food Hero(es). Videos will be shared as part of a social media celebration of Community Food Heroes from January 18-22, 2021. Carrot hero (left) designed and drawn by our Community Based Learning intern, Hannah Lumbra!

Our Fall Fund Appeal has Launched It’s that time of year again! GardenShare is calling on our very own Community Food Heroes, whose support is vital to the work we do. Many of you will be seeing a letter from us arrive in the mail in the next day or so. If you haven’t received a letter, and would like to support GardenShare’s work by making a gift, click here! We appreciate the incredible contributions made by our community, thank you to all who will continue to help GardenShare Promoting a local food system that ensures food security for all St. Lawrence County residents.

Cultivating Gratitude through Giving

From now through November 25, Nature’s Storehouse will be asking folks at the checkout counter if they would like to donate a dollar to support our Bonus Bucks program.  To celebrate the fifth year of this fundraiser, the first $500 raised will be matched by a generous donation from Towle Chiropractic Health Center!  “This is an opportunity to feel and express gratitude for all that is bountiful in your life.

Pinning a note of gratitude to the wall at Nature's Storehouse, 2018. Credit: Bridget LaPage

Take a moment to feel gratitude for the good food in your cart, and at the same time make a small contribution toward food security for a less-fortunate St. Lawrence County neighbor. Thank you for all that you are and all that you do to make our community an amazing place to live!” - The Staff at Nature’s Storehouse

Another Way to Give Back It's hard to believe it but we're nearing the end of 2020. And with that we're heading into the peak of online shopping season. If you’re shopping on Amazon, consider using our Amazon Smiles link. Just click the link and shop as usual on Amazon. Your shopping experience will be the same but for every purchase you make, Amazon will donate to GardenShare.

Thank You for Supporting Your Farmers Markets With the change of the clocks we mark the end of another successful farmers market season in St. Lawrence County. This season was truly one for the books. We weren’t even sure there was going to be a market season this year due to safety precautions but it turned out to be a great one. We saw a record number of credit, debit, and SNAP transactions and the Market Managers welcomed many new vendors making it a wonderful representation of the support this community has for each other and our food producers.  

Bittersweet Farm, Kent Family Growers, and Zufall Farm at the Canton Farmers Market.

GardenShare is happy to be able to offer a variety of programs that help make shopping locally at the markets easy and accessible. If you enjoyed using SNAP and the Double Up program this season, consider filling out this survey about your experience. The more feedback we get, the better!  If you’re looking for ways to keep accessing local food or food assistance programs, check out our online Local Food Guide. It’s a great place to start your search.  Thank you again for your dedication to local food. We’ll be back with our card readers next season!