Yesterday, I celebrated the first of three Thanksgiving dinners we will be feasting on this year. We shared a wonderful meal with our best college friends and all our kids. I am always blown away by how quickly a table full of food, that took two days to prepare by three women, can be consumed. This year my good friend Stephanie taught me how good green bean casserole and candied sweet potatoes can be when they are prepared with love from scratch. My contribution was completely centered on the produce that the Farm brought to market this weekend. I made brussels sprouts with bacon and pomegranate seeds, a green salad, and mmmmmmm apple pie. The holidays are upon us!
Mar Vista Elementary 5th graders plant Fava Beans
For LEFDP this means I am working hard on the end of year report to share with you next month, Peter is sewing cover crops and strawberries with our year round students and preparing to step up as our new Education Coordinator, Grace is wrapping up the fall tour season and planning her next steps as she prepares to move on from working with LEFDP, and you, I imagine, are buying gifts, preparing special family meals and hopefully. . . planning your end of year gifts.
This year LEFDP is partnering with the Monterey Peninsula Foundation on its Birdies for Charity program, which means LEFDP gets a 20% match on all of the funds we raise from November 1st, 2013 through February 28th, 2014. Between now and the end of the year LEFDP hopes to raise $5000 to teach 600 kids how to make and grow healthy food choices during our spring 2014 tour season. And it gets better; we are kicking off this fund drive with a matching contribution from our Board of Directors. This group of amazing folks have created $1500 in matching funds to get this drive underway.
Please consider making LEFDP programs available to as many local youth as possible by making a contribution today. Our board will double your contribution and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation will match it all 20%, so your dollars can go even further to make farm fresh, healthy snacks and learning available to our community!