Participants: Ana Lara, Marianne Booth, Jo Ella Holman, Jen Tamborski, Andrew Black, Jeff Gilbert, Stewart Bridgman, Stephen Bartlett (facilitator), Andrew Kang Bartlett (notetaker)
Stephen gave a brief history of recent and ongoing work that CHPC has been involved with:
1) Hosting of Coalition of Immokalee Workers and support of there advocacy efforts with fast food corporations
2) CHPC Community Garden – Summer Gardening Camp is in its 6th year this summer with 4 weeks of camp. All weeks are full for June. One participant came up with a “Our Garden Camp is a Growing Thing” phrase for a possible t-shirt. The need for an descriptive wood sign for the garden was mentioned.
3) A few CHPC folk are members of the Community Farm Alliance (CFA).
• CFA has started a farmers market at Victory Park in west Louisville, which needs support and involvement of volunteers.
• One challenge for them is getting more youth involved.
• CFA advocacy efforts include pushing Metro to in-act a buy local policy. The platform also includes asking for a subsidies program ($100K) to provide incentives to some of the 67 corner stores in west Louisville to stock fresh, healthy foods. They are also pushing for Metro money to create a Community Kitchen.
• This spurred conversation about the merits of having one big Community Kitchen or many smaller kitchens spread around the city and taking advantage of the facilities in existing churches and other institutions. We wondered whether United Crescent Hill Ministries might be one such place. We also thought it would make sense to consider upgrading the CHPC kitchen if remodeling is done on our buildings to certification standards for community kitchen purposes. Talk of cooking and nutrition classes.
Then, we went around the circle and introduced ourselves and spoke briefly about our interest and involvement in these issues – why we came to this breakout group.
• Jo Ella was a CFA member in North Carolina years ago and has been hearing about what CFA is trying to do in the West end.
• Jen is moving to Florida and wants to keep working in support of Committee of Immokalee Workers
• Andrew Black will be the Associate Director of Religious Live at Eckerd College and plans to bring these issues to the college
• Jeff talked about the need to think about local activities also as mission
• Lowell said something funny
• Andrew Kang Bartlett is also a member of CFA and works on these issues at work, so likes the idea of working on them here in Louisville
• Stewart worked on the organic garden at Warren Wilson College and has agarden in backyard
• Ana wants to do volunteer work and is interested in local, fresh foods
• Marianne is a avid new gardener and was THRILLED with her first tomatoes and likes sharing gardening with her grandchildren
Other Louisville initiatives include the farmers’-owned local local foods distribution business called Grasshopper at 18th and Main Street; growing new farmers, transitioning mostly former tobacco farmers to become direct marking farmers; and more people growing their own food in community gardens and at home.
There seemed to be most energy around linking with churches in the west end and supporting the Victory Park Farmers Market, the community kitchen idea, and also checking out Stephen’s new curriculum on this stuff.
We decided to stay in touch on these issues via email and others are welcome to get in on that loop. It was suggested to put a summary of our activities in the church newsletter and on the web site along with opportunities for people to become involved. Stephen said he would write up something describing opportunities, and an email list was circulated. Stephen invited people to volunteer for the Gardening Camp that takes place for four week-long sessions in June.
-- Andrew Kang Bartlett
Stephen gave a brief history of recent and ongoing work that CHPC has been involved with:
1) Hosting of Coalition of Immokalee Workers and support of there advocacy efforts with fast food corporations
2) CHPC Community Garden – Summer Gardening Camp is in its 6th year this summer with 4 weeks of camp. All weeks are full for June. One participant came up with a “Our Garden Camp is a Growing Thing” phrase for a possible t-shirt. The need for an descriptive wood sign for the garden was mentioned.
3) A few CHPC folk are members of the Community Farm Alliance (CFA).
• CFA has started a farmers market at Victory Park in west Louisville, which needs support and involvement of volunteers.
• One challenge for them is getting more youth involved.
• CFA advocacy efforts include pushing Metro to in-act a buy local policy. The platform also includes asking for a subsidies program ($100K) to provide incentives to some of the 67 corner stores in west Louisville to stock fresh, healthy foods. They are also pushing for Metro money to create a Community Kitchen.
• This spurred conversation about the merits of having one big Community Kitchen or many smaller kitchens spread around the city and taking advantage of the facilities in existing churches and other institutions. We wondered whether United Crescent Hill Ministries might be one such place. We also thought it would make sense to consider upgrading the CHPC kitchen if remodeling is done on our buildings to certification standards for community kitchen purposes. Talk of cooking and nutrition classes.
Then, we went around the circle and introduced ourselves and spoke briefly about our interest and involvement in these issues – why we came to this breakout group.
• Jo Ella was a CFA member in North Carolina years ago and has been hearing about what CFA is trying to do in the West end.
• Jen is moving to Florida and wants to keep working in support of Committee of Immokalee Workers
• Andrew Black will be the Associate Director of Religious Live at Eckerd College and plans to bring these issues to the college
• Jeff talked about the need to think about local activities also as mission
• Lowell said something funny
• Andrew Kang Bartlett is also a member of CFA and works on these issues at work, so likes the idea of working on them here in Louisville
• Stewart worked on the organic garden at Warren Wilson College and has agarden in backyard
• Ana wants to do volunteer work and is interested in local, fresh foods
• Marianne is a avid new gardener and was THRILLED with her first tomatoes and likes sharing gardening with her grandchildren
Other Louisville initiatives include the farmers’-owned local local foods distribution business called Grasshopper at 18th and Main Street; growing new farmers, transitioning mostly former tobacco farmers to become direct marking farmers; and more people growing their own food in community gardens and at home.
There seemed to be most energy around linking with churches in the west end and supporting the Victory Park Farmers Market, the community kitchen idea, and also checking out Stephen’s new curriculum on this stuff.
We decided to stay in touch on these issues via email and others are welcome to get in on that loop. It was suggested to put a summary of our activities in the church newsletter and on the web site along with opportunities for people to become involved. Stephen said he would write up something describing opportunities, and an email list was circulated. Stephen invited people to volunteer for the Gardening Camp that takes place for four week-long sessions in June.
-- Andrew Kang Bartlett
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