Cultivating Communities Campaign celebrates the end of its third growing season
A community partner raises a hand as program coordinator Hamzeh Abuyounis speaks during the Cultivating Communities Campaign recognition event held for particpants and volunteers Friday. Photo by Geoff Patton, The Reporter.
WORCESTER - Community partners of the Cultivating Communities Campaign met for a recognition event Friday morning at Meadowood Senior Living in Worcester. The CCC is a three-year initiative led by the Health Promotion Council, in partnership with Penn State University Montgomery County Cooperative Extension, The Food Trust and the Montgomery County Health Department.
The CCC has more than 40 growers and food pantries that work together to deliver fresh produce to families in need. The gardening sites range from farms to small gardens at local schools and churches. Growers choose which fruits and vegetables they’d like to contribute.
The initiative was developed to address the needs of food pantries, said Hamzeh Abuyounis, CCC program coordinator. During the program’s first two growing seasons, more than 30,000 pounds of produce was donated to help local families, he said. This year’s numbers are not yet calculated, but he estimated that it will be close to 20,000 pounds.
Friday’s event began with a few words from Russell Johnson, the CEO and president of the North Penn Community Health Foundation, which is responsible for funding the campaign. Johnson explained that as the CCC ends its third growing season, more than $250,000 has been invested in the program. “That has been money well spent,” he said. “These kinds of simple community partnerships can make a significant impact.”
Next, guests participated in an activity inspired by The Food Network’s “Chopped,” a cooking competition that requires chefs to put together a dish using only the provided ingredients. Each table was given black beans, corn, diced pineapple, a cucumber, Greek yogurt, lettuce, salt, pepper and olive oil, and they had 10 minutes to come up with a way to include all of the ingredients. One group created a salad, while the other three put their own spin on lettuce wraps.
Abuyounis explained that the point of the activity was to have the community partners work together to create a finished product, similar to how they work together to grow fresh produce.
Although the CCC is reaching the end of its third and final year, the community partners will continue to work together. “The whole point is that it would become sustainable without outside funding,” Abuyounis said.
Health Promotion Council staff members are working to put together a toolkit that future partners can use to become a part of the community. The first section of the toolkit, which is about growing a volunteer base, was presented at Friday’s event. Other sections will include tips on training volunteers, how to preserve fresh produce and more. The toolkit will hopefully be used to expand the CCC efforts and to recreate the initiative in other communities.
The CCC community partners include the Keystone Opportunity Center, Frankenfield Farm Market, the Indian Valley Boys & Girls Club, Manna on Main Street, Bethlehem Baptist Church and Meadowood Senior Living, among others.
This story was updated to reflect changes suggested by the Health Promotion Council.
From Victoria Wolk. (2013, November 15). Cultivating Communities Campaign celebrates the end of its third growing season. The Reporter. Retrieved from: http://www.thereporteronline.com/general-news/20131115/cultivating-communities-campaign-celebrates-the-end-of-its-third-growing-season