SPIN Kids Set a New 2011 Daily Picking Record --- 66.2 lbs!



L to R:  Laura, Tess, Syndey, Eva and Sophia (Click image to enlarge)

Click image to see enlarge collage...

Today the Stillwater SPIN kids joined us in the garden. We had a smaller class today since they did not have a bus to take to the garden.  I shared with the kids the phone call I received from the food shelf yesterday looking for more food. Valley Outreach Food Shelf had distributed over 4,000 lbs of food on Thursday to families in need, and they were in need of more.  They had received a donation of $900 yesterday afternoon for food, but need more donations to meet the ever growing need.  We were hoping we would have around 60 lbs of fresh produce to donate to them today.

This group, Laura, Tess, Eva, Sydney and Sophia, along with their teachers, Kristen and Tammy work picking produce. The raspberry bushes were so full of Japanese Beetles that we had to skip picking until we can shoo them away this afternoon. Who needs beetle bites? – Not us! The seven raspberries they did harvest made a quick trip to the water for a rinse and then into kid tummies!

The produce picked today included cucumbers, beans, green peppers, banana peppers, lettuce, pea pods, summer squash, and zucchini. The kids had fun with some of the English cucumbers that closely resembled giant smiles… you can see in the photos they were quick to use it for a photo op!

When the picking was done, we headed over to the compost bin. A few weeks ago the ALC High School led a lesson plan on composting. It was fun for the students to be able to see the status of the decomposing waste and how it is turning back into soil. Tess made a comparison between the decomposing compost and animals, humans and other things returning to the soil. What a wonderfully curious and thoughtful group!

Everyone took turns weighing the produce and guessing how much we had picked in total. The guesses ranged between 45 to 60 lbs…. Drum roll please……

This group set the new 2011 daily record by picking 66.2 lbs of produce! Valley Outreach Food Shelf will be very happy when this group stops by to donate their hard work.

Thank you again SPIN kids Laura, Tess, Eva, Sydney, Sophia and their leaders, Kristen and Tammy. We look forward to seeing a full red and white bus pull up to the garden this next Friday with even more kids!

Some interesting numbers to share with everyone: Last year, by this time, we had harvested 53.9 lbs of produce. This year we are already at 386.3 lbs! I think we are on track to make our goal of 3,000 lbs this year!!