The Art of Learning Together While Apart

It’s been a different kind of school year — before Covid most classes began when students looked at the teacher. During Covid, learning had to become more personal. Fortunately that individual approach is especially effective and needed when half the students are in class six feet apart and the other half are maybe miles apart with distance-learning from home.

In Gary Coyan's Chimacum classes, students are taking a more personalized approach. They are encouraged to look around and see what they want to learn and create. He sees himself more of a facilitator/collaborator than instructor, basing his approach on the Foxfire Heritage practices. He officially teaches art class, but also teaches gardening, cooking, and even the business of food in the same way a master artist in a studio would, through hands-on learning.

Like artists, students are in control of the creative/learning process—they can choose which topics inspire them, what “media” they want to work in, what tools that media requires, and then dig in. Sometimes they need to learn a new technique, or be inspired by historical work, but when finished they own the total experience and the result is theirs to enjoy, sell, or share.

At-home Students

At-home students raise the participation bar. To help them focus on a topic (for example gardening), Gary calls each student to find out what "media" they have around them to work with -- the family veggie garden, flowers, grass lawns… sometimes Gary will arrive at their home with a container, some dirt, and seeds for them to start the growing, tending, and picking of plants. Eventually they will get to eat their art.

In-School Students

This week Gary's in-school students are firing up the pizza oven that arrived last year just as Covid hit and schools closed. The spring outdoor classes are perfect for spaced-apart learning. Students will make the perfect personal pizza and all the culinary science that goes with each step. As the gardens start growing, plants that the students had a hand in germinating may end up as toppings.

Outdoor Pizza 101

Full-emersion pizza making begins by knowing your local flour producer. Students learn about the different kinds of flours and which tastes the best to them--Finnriver Spelt flour won. Next they spend a class learning proper dough making techniques, and how the gases created during an overnight rest in the refrigerator provide that distinct pizza crust flavor and stretch. (Thank you Alton Brown for the tips.) The toppings are also a lesson in food handling and culinary knife use. Once in the outdoor kitchen, the dough balls are hand stretched into personal sized pizzas and students can choose which toppings they want on their creation before sending them into the flames. Gary estimates they can cook three mini-pizzas at a time in under 8 minutes.

Whether it's home-grown and cooked or school-grown and baked, it's all learning-by-doing, taking pride in the art of accomplishment, and being able to share the knowledge.

5549 Pounds of Apple Sauce in One Season

Most purchased apple sauce begins in orchards many states away. Our schools' apple sauce starts in the backyards and orchards of Port Townsend and Chimacum where generous homeowners donate their trees for picking, volunteers spend 4-6 hours a week harvesting, and then apples are transformed into sauce under the watchful eye of school staff and more volunteers.

In 2020 while many programs had to be cut  back due to Covid 19, the Quimper Community Harvest volunteers collected their biggest backyard orchard take since its start in 2008 — 18,254 pounds of fruit (apples, pears, Asian pears, and plums). Over 2000 pounds of that came from the Blue Heron Middle School Orchard. 

Much of the fresh fruit went to the local Food Banks, Churches, Senior centers, and the Port Townsend and Chimacum schools; but the distribution centers had safety issues with Covid 19 and couldn’t give away the amount of fruit they normally would. Also, closed schools meant not having a breakfast/lunch program for fresh fruit distribution the schools needed a way to convert the bounty of apples into future food. 

That’s when Jim Moore, a longtime QCH volunteer, located a machine in Italy that worked well for high production tomato sauce, the Fabio Leonardi. Would it work for apples? “Fabio” was purchased for the QCH to test and find out. Below is a tally of the first year’s numbers and an overview of how it was accomplished.

Apples to Sauce: By the Numbers

One day at the Blue Heron Middle School Kitchens, it took 7 people working 5.5 hours to turn 1789 pounds of fresh apples into 1320 pounds of sauce. The QCH Gleaners held 4, 1-day saucing sessions to achieve the below stats.

Total for year 

6947 pounds of fresh apples = 5449 pounds of sauce 

Or… 1270 pounds of fresh apples = 1000 pounds of sauce

Or… 1000 pounds of fresh apples = 785 pounds of sauce

What we learned:

1. Fabio is able to produce (from cooked apples) 12 pounds of sauce in 30 seconds.

2. 1 crate of apples = 5 gallon bucket of chipped up apples

3. 5 (5 gallon buckets of chipped up apples) fill one cooking kettle

4. Hand sliced apple chunks take 2 hours to cook. Pre-chipped apples (via the chipper) take far less time.

5. Once at 210 degrees, the kettle is capped and heated for 8 minutes to pasteurize.

Examples:  

150 pounds of chips in 40 gallon kettle for 35 minutes to reach 200 degrees.

230 pounds of chips in 60 gallon kettle for 45 minutes to reach 200 degrees.

Distribution:

The finished sauce went into 5 gallon, food grade containers and then into the Blue Heron Middle School Freezers where they stay until used by PTS Food Director, Stacey Larsen or Chimacum's Food Director, Margaret Garrett. The sauce is served fresh or part of pancakes, muffins and other baked treats.

Where to buy:

Fabio Leonardi apple sauce maker 

https://www.fabioleonardiusa.com

Food Grade Apple Chipping machine

https://pleasanthillgrain.com/electric-apple-grinder-fruit-crusher?

LINKS:

Quimper Community Harvest

https://l2020.org/local-food/community-harvest/

Blue Heron Middle School Orchard 

https://sites.google.com/site/blueheronschoolorchard/

What’s Up in the Quilcene School Garden

Erin Yeakel, Quilcene Garden Coordinator

Neither Covid, nor cold, nor darkness of February can keep Erin Yeakel, from getting a fast start on school gardens found here. This is her fifth year with the Quilcene School Garden classes which focus more on learning than production. It’s a paid position which covers 20 hours a week during the school year and 4 hours a week during the summer to keep the gardens thriving. For Erin it’s an extension of her former work with the Organic Seed Alliance where she taught seed saving classes.

This year the lessons come with “distance learning” and “distanced learning” as students must be masked and spread apart in the beds and across less days than before. As of this writing, they are back three to four days a week. “The first class is always a reminder about tools and rules,” says Erin, “how to use them, keep them clean, and good garden etiquette.”

Normally during during the school year she conducts short classes for each grade. In Quilcene’s small system that means 10-14 kids per grade which translates into six classes for K-5. By using a state approved gardening course work, she keeps the instruction age appropriate and fresh for repeat students growing along with the garden. Think of it as one-room school house conditions, except with more sun. You can follow along by “liking” their Facebook page which showcases yearly activities.

Erin employs the No-Dig method of gardening to keep kids engaged and not complaining about working. No-Dig mean never tilling the garden dirt once the bed is constructed, instead the soil’s structure is renewed by adding a topping of compost to the surface each year. Kids learn about how soil is a living, layered system and not just something that holds roots in place.

Tasting the perennial and planted bounty is a big part of their weekly lesson plans. For example, Erin says that the students love the lemony and unexpected flavor of Sorrel compared to other green, leafy plants. In fall she normally would have an apple pressing party using apples harvested on the property. Hopefully by fall of 2021, that tradition will continue.

Even under these unexpected conditions and in late winter, some plants such as kale and mustards still thrive. If this were a normal school year, these greens would be used in the soup and salad bar in the school cafeteria where the older students prepare breakfast and lunch under the guidance of Culinary Arts Instructor.

That’s the great thing about a garden, it keeps growing regardless of what is happening around it. There is a lesson in that as well.

Meat Loaf and Community Resilience

This January, Chimacum schools received 100 lbs of ground beef from Westbrook Angus.  School Food Director, Margaret Garrett said it will be turned into Meat Loaf and served with some of the 1900 pounds of fruits and vegetables she also received from other sources. How the community came together to make that happen, however,  is the bigger story…

The Problem

In March of 2020, the Covid-19 shut down kept us away from jobs which also shut down the economic cycle for our farmers just as animals and produce were growing for the summer season. Not only was the buying power of customers seriously dented by lack of income, so were the distribution points such as Farmers Markets,  restaurants, schools, and local food banks. Other essential distribution points--hospitals and small stores--could still take food, but at such a reduced rate that it wouldn't be enough to keep the farms thriving. 

This is when living in a small town area where everyone knows everyone's business, is an asset. People from key organizations felt the ramifications of one missed farm cycle not only this year, but for years to come if those farms closed. Something had to be done quickly that not only provided food for those in immediate need, but also kept farms operating at the same time.

Developing the Plan

The North Olympic Peninsula Resource Conservation and Development Council https://www.noprcd.org (NODC for short), WSU Small Farms Program, North Olympic Land Trust, and Jefferson Land Trust met to develop a program to purchase food from farmers and donate the food to food banks, meal programs, and schools. The program was called the Olympic Peninsula Farmers Fund (OPFF) of which the NODC would act as the administrator.  It gave out pre-paid, long term contracts of $1,500 to $12,500  to farmers to provide food for food banks and schools over the next 1-5 years. 

Where did the money come from?

Over $50,000 was initially raised from supporters of the NODC, Jefferson Land Trust, the North Olympic Land Trust, Port Townsend Food Co-op, and the Jefferson Community Foundation .

How did farmers get selected?

The OPFF program sent out fliers, newspaper articles, and word of mouth to let farmers know of the opportunity. Farmers then applied for the funding and amounts were determined by need and distribution.

Chuck and Julie Boggs of Westbrook Angus applied and received a fixed amount which they are putting towards a bigger freezer for their meat and maybe a new baler.  They fullfilled their contract by sending 100 pounds of beef to the Chimacum schools as well as 400 more pounds to be distributed among the Jefferson County Tri-County Food Bank, Sequim Food Bank, Forks Food Bank, and Tribal Pantries.  Getting the meat to these locations was another problem solved by piggy-backing the shipments with OlyCap trucks already destined for those Food Banks. 

 The OPFF program worked so well in the spring for distributing produce, meat, cheese, eggs, and honey, that it was extended again in fall generating an additional $70,000 in grants from a $15,000 grant from the Benjamin N. Phillips Memorial Fund of the Seattle Foundation, more than $12,000 in individual donations, and support from federal CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds allocated through Jefferson and Clallam Counties. 

 Economic Resilience 

 Now that the contracts are in place, the OP Farmers Fund offering has been suspended although still managed by the NODC. Meanwhile, the success OPFF and the way the program was established has been captured by Pewtrusts as an example of economic solutions during these stressful times.

Our thanks go to the organizations and the individuals who made this thoughtful and effective solution for food security and resilience happen. 

Staple Items for Little Free Pantries!

A SOLUTION TO IMMEDIATE AND LOCAL NEEDS

The Little Free Pantries are for neighbors helping neighbors. In our neighborhoods, they can be a resource for families and individuals of any age who are not easily able to meet everyday food and personal needs, especially during this pandemic. Little Free Pantries are for those who have a need for food or a desire to give.  Organizations of all types are invited to adopt care of these pantries for a month at a time.  You can start by holding a food drive and then organizing your members to stock and tidy on a daily basis for one month. 

To sign up for a month, please reach out to our pantry coordinator.

Staple Items Recommended for Little Free Pantry

·      Canned tuna, chicken, beef stews, salmon

·      Canned bean soups

·      Granola bars

·      Shelf-stable milks (dairy and non-dairy)

·      Canned vegetables

·      Vegetable soup

·      Canned tomato products

·      Spaghetti sauce

·      Baby-food vegetables and fruits

·      V-8 juice

·      Canned fruits

·      Raisins and other dried fruits

·      Applesauce

·      Fruit leather

·      Small soaps and shampoos

·      Feminine hygiene products – tampons and pads

·      Hand sanitizing wipes of small squeeze bottles 

THANK YOU to The Irondale Church & The Chimacum Grange for Hosting these pantries & to the East Jefferson County Rotary for all their help with food donations!! 

Visit littlefreepantry.org to learn more about the movement. 

(Please be sure to sanitize your hands and wear gloves and masks if possible when entering the pantry.)

East Jefferson Schools Celebrate Taste Washington Day

This year Chimacum & Port Townsend Schools celebrated Taste Washington Day during the week of October 5th. During this special week kids all around the State sat down to school lunches, or opened grab & go lunch bags, filled with foods from local farms. Taste Washington is a program of WSDA to recognize, appreciate, and celebrate the connections happening between kids, families, and their community food systems.

Port Townsend students had local spinach in their pasta salad, as well as a local green salad.  All veggies came from Red Dog Farm.  They also served gleaned apples from Jefferson County and milk from Washington dairies.

Chimacum served breakfast parfaits made with local blueberries from SpringRain Farm, roasted root vegetables from Red Dog, pumpkin bars made with SpringRain eggs and wheat grown and milled by Finnriver, and milk from Washington dairies.

While Taste Washington Day is a special event celebrated by schools across the State, our Food Service Superheroes have been working hard to make sure local students eat fresh, nutritious, locally grown food in their meals every week!

New LFP arrives at the Chimacum Grange

Since our first successful installation of a Little Free Pantry at the Irondale Church this summer, the Community Wellness Project has been eager to grow the LFP program in East Jefferson County.

The Chimacum Grange board, led by Dr. Diane Johnson, came forward as a host for the second pantry, a visible and accessible site.  John Erickson of Port Townsend volunteered to build the unit. 

“The Little Free Pantry movement is a simple offering we saw modeled at the Dove House in Port Townsend,” says CWP Board Member Abby Jorgensen. “It activates neighbors to support neighbors, as one solution to immediate and local need. Especially this year, with all of the added insecurity, we decided to pursue construction and installation of several pantries in other parts of the community. Food is moving through the pantries on a daily basis.”

Rick Smith of the Rotary Club of East Jefferson County has been holding a food drive at his Edward Jones office in Port Ludlow and organizing Rotary support for pantry stocking since August.  CWP members and individual supporters like Sandra Boughner have also adopted pantries for a month at a time. 

The Port Townsend Food Co-op is currently discussing positioning of a third pantry to be installed on store property soon. 

Curious about hosting a Little Free Pantry at your business or home? Want to adopt one of the three pantries for a month? (This involves tidying and stocking on a daily basis.) We can help! Please reach out to us at this email address: pantry(at)jccwp.org.  All organizations, businesses, and individuals are welcome to participate. Local residents are encouraged to drop donations of healthy, packaged foods to any of the pantries at any time.  Take what you need, give what you can. Sanitize and wear a mask to keep the pantries safe for all users.

World Food Program Awarded Nobel Prize for Work During Pandemic

From the New York Times, Oct 9

By Megan Specia

The World Food Program was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to combat a surge in global hunger amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has swept around the world with devastating impact.

The Nobel committee said that work by the organization, a United Nations agency, to address hunger had laid the foundations for peace in nations ravaged by war.

“In the face of the pandemic, the World Food Program has demonstrated an impressive ability to intensify its efforts,” Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said as she announced the prize in Oslo. “The combination of violent conflict and the pandemic has led to a dramatic rise in the number of people living on the brink of starvation,” she added.

Read the full article.

School Gardens in Summer!

We’ve been fortunate to be able to continue work in the school gardens, even though haven’t been in classrooms and gardens since mid-March. Our Garden Coordinator, Corey Chin, has been busy adding new beds to the Chimacum Elementary School garden. The space is large enough to hold the large greenhouse, an orchard, a tea garden, a pizza garden, a sensory garden, native plants, a willow tunnel, many veggie beds and a pleasant gathering circle. Several educational projects are in the works: worm bins/compost, mushroom logs, and water catchment; additionally we will add ADA accessible raised beds. We are currently working with school administration to plan for some outdoor classrooms so that students will be able to stay socially distanced when they return to school.

The Chimacum Creek Primary School garden has been planted, harvested (!), and now replanted. Corey is making weekly donations to the Food Bank through the Food Bank Farm & Gardens, and is now planting fall crops (root veggies, purple sprouting broccoli, etc.)

We are also assisting Margaret Garrett, the CSD Food Services Director, with weeding and spiffing up some High School Garden beds so she can harvest fruits (strawberries and blueberries) to freeze, and to plant some goodies to use in her creative kitchen offerings.