April Newsletter

We hope that April is showering you with all things wonderful! The weather is getting warmer but be sure to hold off on early planting until temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees. Planting too early can stunt root growth and leave your seedlings vulnerable to disease. Here’s a handy cool-season planting guide from Penn State to help you plan your crop selection and set yourself up for success.

In the month of March we received $5,110 worth of donations and in turn, donated $7,843 worth of goods and food, creating an incredible total of 1,609 ready-to-eat meals delivered to our local food pantries and resource centers. Thanks to all of our volunteers and donors, we have continued to increase our overall meal production time after time. 

VegRehoboth 

Promoting healthy, sustainable, and compassionate living.

Our local non-profit friends at VegRehoboth ask us all to consider what is best for our health, what is best for our planet, and what is best for our fellow animals in our daily food decisions. 

“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”  –Einstein

With many resources on their website, educational events, and community support, there is no better time to consider a vegetarian forward diet than during the refresh of Spring with VegRehoboth.

They are happy to announce they are now accepting sponsor donations and vendor applications for their Planet Delaware event, part of the Planet Series Tour. This is going to be a fantastic event with educational speakers, music, film screening, vendors, art, animals, and so much more! September 13-15, 2024.

Visit their website above for more details.

PlainChicken’s BEST Carrot Cake

This recipe uses carrot baby food as a surprise ingredient to create a deliciously creamy and moist carrot cake with real cream cheese frosting. An easy time saver for parents, teens learning to cook, or anyone who doesn’t love the idea of peeling and shredding the carrots fresh. They can be made in advance and frozen, baked into cupcakes, and customized with toppings. Easter was last weekend but it’s never too late to enjoy a slice of carrot cake! 

How Community Gardens
Help Us Fight Hunger

As many of you know from our previous newsletters, last year we were awarded a grant from the Delaware Community Foundation which allowed us to build a raised bed garden for the Milton Food Pantry and their clients. This is going to provide the Milton Food pantry with a great source of fresh produce first and everything else will be shared among our Circle of Giving partners and help supplement our meal deliveries as well. Community gardens are an essential part of what we do and we are so thankful for this opportunity. 

We receive pounds of dry goods and canned food from pantries and donors but the majority of our fresh vegetables and produce come directly from the ground in our local community. Not only does this help supplement everyone’s produce sources, it completely cuts out the dependance on a grocery store stop, cuts down on our emissions, cuts down on refrigeration, and all the little steps in between that expand our carbon footprint. Fresh vegetables taste better, they contain more nutrients, and the fresher the better. And community gardens have the power to connect as well as nourish.

The Food is Free Project is a worldwide movement of people growing and sharing food freely. Their founder imagined what his neighborhood would look like with garden beds in every front yard, hosting potluck dinners to share growing strategies, documenting their mistakes and sharing the bounty when it was successful. Over the next 3 months, they created a new normal where 19 of the 30 houses on their block in Austin, TX boasted a front yard community garden. Their website offers a detailed project guide for you and your neighbors to follow to create a community garden of your own and they are currently expanding to include project guides for unused public spaces to make gardening and food accessible to everyone. 

If you are looking for connection to your community and don’t mind getting your hands dirty, the Teach A Person to Fish Society is always in need of volunteer gardeners. We maintain several community garden plots in Sussex County and we are always looking for an opportunity to work with new partners. If you happen to have your own gardens at home, we hope you’ll consider planting an extra seedling or two and donate your gardens’ excess produce to our meal delivery kitchen, simply reply to this email and we will be in touch with you. Volunteers of all ages and experience are welcome to learn all about what gardening can teach us about growing your community. 

“A garden is a public service and having one a public duty. It is a man’s contribution to the community.” – Richardson Wright