Sprout

Good Food Project Garden Newsletter

February 2014 

Local Food Summit

 Good Food Project will participate as a partner in the second annual Foodapalooza

Nationally Recognized Presenters and Workshop Leaders

Food-Related Activities - Local Food Lunches - Skill-Building Workshops

Local Food Summit - 8:30 AM - 12:00 Noon

Keynote Presentation: The Indian Spring Band of Farmers

Skill-Building Workshops

Local Restaurants Featuring Locally-produced Food Items - Noon -1:30 PM

Afternoon Local Food and Farm Activities - 1:30-5:00 PM

Good Food Project:

Morning Workshop: Building a Container Garden

Afternoon: Garden tours and project opportunities

For more Information

 call: 318.441.3424 or email jdean@cenla.org

GFP: 318.445.2773

Recipe of the Month

Family Friendly Pizza Snacks

Ingredients:

4 Whole Grain English muffins sliced

1/2 Cup (no salt) tomato sauce or low sodium bottled marinara sauce

1/4 Cup diced bell peppers, red and yellow peppers

1/2 Chopped spinach

1/4 Cup sliced green onions

 1/4 Cup black olives

1 Teaspoon Italian seasoning or

4-5 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 Cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese and/or 1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Spoon sauce onto English muffins

Sprinkle with Italian seasoning or basil and parmesan cheese

Add peppers, spinach, black olives

Top with mozzarella cheese

Place pizzas on a toaster oven pan lined with foil, broil pizzas until cheese is melted

For conventional oven: preheat to 375 degrees - heat for 12-15 minutes

Tip: Assemble and chop ingredients ahead of time, place in sealed containers in the fridge so family can create snacks anytime.

Get Creative - use any of your family's favorite veggies to make it even more family friendly!

In February plant:                

• Beets
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Chinese Cabbage
• Sweet Corn
• Kohlrabi
• Mustard Greens
• Irish Potatoes
• Shallots
• Spinach
• (Start these seeds indoors: bell pepper, hot pepper, eggplant and tomato)                                         

Garden News

 Volunteer Ken Boudreaux and staff member, Warren Eggerson, spent a Saturday morning building 12 cypress raised garden beds for our off-site school and community gardens. Thanks guys, we appreciate your time and talent!

Workday Wednesday

January was a particularly odd month for Central Louisiana gardeners, with three unusual snow events. If you are still too cold too to think about your own home garden, how about joining us in the demonstration garden? Volunteers are needed and would be most appreciated to help with seed starting and the maintenance and harvesting of our cool weather crops .  

Each Wednesday from 8:30am-11:30 am all adults and children are invited to come out for a fun day of learning and giving back  to the community. Let's grow together! Learn more.

If Wednesday's aren't good for you, call us to set up another volunteer day! 318-445-2773

Garden Quote

"In seed-time learn, in harvest teach, in winter, enjoy" William Blake

Volunteer of the Month

Alex Wise

Alexandria native, Alex Wise, age 13, has become a dedicated Good Food Project volunteer in the last three months.  Alex's mother, Heather, has taxied him to work in the garden each week, weather and wellness permitting. Because he has come to love gardening so much, Heather says he gets upset if he has another commitment and has to miss a Workday Wednesday . Alex says his time at the Good Food Project demonstration garden has inspired him to start on gardening projects at home. One of his goals is to start his own lasagna style vegetable garden after he finishes making his yard pretty. His first role-model for gardening was his grandfather, who Alex says he has been helping since he was six or seven years old. Alex further indicated that he's been sharing the information and experiences he's had at GFP with his whole family. One of Alex's favorite chores in the garden is to fill a wheel barrow full of mulch and then spread it around the walking paths between beds. "It keeps me busy and I can see the end result," he says. Alex believes the biology he's learning in the garden will one day benefit him in his goal to be a marine biologist. We've been pleased to have this young man, whose polite, intrepid spirit and "can-do" attitude has endeared him to the adult staff and volunteers who work alongside him each week. Thank you Alex!

Stay Connected