We also give food to the volunteers as part of the reward for giving their time.
We are getting calls from charitable groups like St Vincent DePaul Food Ministry and others that are asking us to provide healthy and natural food and vegetables so they can give it to the many hungry and needy people they serve.
We would like to accommodate them and others, including Yavapai County and Paulden Food Banks, Solid Rock Food Pantry in downtown Prescott, the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Chino Valley and individual families in need in the Quad Cities area.
The problem? Even though we have close to 1,500 gardening students, volunteers and supporters, we have a shortage of reliable and steady helpers that will ensure we can utilize all the garden space and growing potential @ B Organic Farm.
Specifically, we need a crew of 10-12 people willing to give three to five hours per week to help tend our half-acre outdoor garden, so we can grow an abundance of food and provide it to those in need.
We also give food to the volunteers as part of the reward for giving their time.
We urgently ask you to consider making a commitment to be part of our team, tending to the garden and making sure we can grow, manage and pick the food to give away. We have set times on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (we will move to 8 a.m. when it gets too hot).
I am personally committing to lead a group and we need several others who will be reliable volunteers. To become a part of our G.O.D. Squad (Gardeners Of Destiny), please email us your interest and available times to prescottfoodforest@gmail.com.
Time is of the essence, as we can only plant what we know we can handle. If you are unable to get on your hands and knees, there are plenty of opportunities to assist with food distribution, management of the crews and even getting the word out to recruit others to help us fulfill our mission. God Bless you for considering helping us reach our goals.
We also have a summer apprentice program for students that we will pay $15 an hour to learn and work in the garden. Email us for more information.
We Rocked the Garden Open
On Tuesday, April 29, the Make 100 Healthy Foundation hosted its Annual Charity Golf event at The Club at Prescott Lakes. It was a total success, and a great time was had by all. Live music by the band Truly Reckless created an atmosphere of fun and excitement. We had world-famous Bagpiper Michael McClanathan open the event with an amazing performance of America the Beautiful and the Star-Spangled Banner.
On the fourth hole, we had the golf team and Latin Club from Trinity Christian School entice golfers to pay $20 each to support the Latin Club’s Mission to Italy. We raised almost $2,200 and presented a check to them. What a blessing!
Northern Arizona Homesteading Conference
We also hosted the Northern Arizona Homesteading Conference on Saturday May 10 and had between 700-800 people enjoy all the vendors, experts and presenters who shared their insights on all this homesteading.
A big thank you to all who participated, including an amazing crew of volunteers and especially Stephane Leon, the educational director of the Prescott Food Forest, for leading this effort! The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and plans are underway to set the date for next year’s Homesteading Conference.
Finally, I want to acknowledge Ann Smeltzer, our gardening grandma goddess, as the recipient of this year’s Arline’s Angel Award, named after my mom, Arline. She has been a steadfast leader and volunteer @ B Organic Farm since its inception and leads our Wednesday volunteer group.
Kudos and congratulations, Ann! The honor is well deserved.
Visit us at prescottfoodforest.com.
Let’s keep growing! QCBN
By John Murphy
John Murphy is the founder of the nonprofit Make 100 Healthy Foundation, which supports the Prescott Food Forest, was the Chair for The Prescott Commission for Well Being, and is a Realtor in the Prescott area. To contact John directly, please email him atjohn.teammurphy@gmail.com or call 928-899-1341.
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