Red Shed
379. That’s how many servings of salad Red Shed Produce has delivered to Room One and Cove clients this season, and there’s more to be harvested. The bounty is apparent as each week the refrigerator at Room One and the bags at the Cove overflow with freshly picked and washed garden delights. Green beans, carrots, summer squash, strawberries, cucumbers, onions, and sungold cherry tomatoes are regular fare for those seeking fresh food weekly in the valley. And with credit to the staff, the distribution of vegetables through the Room One office has doubled this season due to their diligence in seeing that everyone who could benefit from this program walks away with free produce.
A few weeks ago, at the request of Kristen Klein, a family practitioner at Methow Valley Family Practice, Red Shed began supplying vegetables for patients in need of healthy food. The premise, “good food is good medicine” is in action. Many thanks to Dr. Jensen’s clinic for providing another outlet for Red Shed Produce.
The garden has had many visitors lately. Students from the Independent Learning Center (aka The Alternative School) came to help with the harvest for the Cove last week, then delivered the produce and worked with Cove volunteers to bag individual servings. Community School students came out to harvest the storage onions, just hours before the rain began. Anyone coming to the Red Shed garden is encouraged to eat their fill of fresh food straight from the earth: payment for their hard work. It is encouraging to see these young people really take me up on it, stuffing handfuls of cherry tomatoes or strawberries into their mouths!
After the frost and the harvesting of storage carrots and beets, leeks, winter squash and potatoes, we will begin to put the garden beds to rest. Taking up irrigation and planting cover crop seed will complete our fall tasks in late October. Once the food is safely stored in the Methow Valley Inn’s donated cellar space, cooking classes focusing on fall foods will begin. The Alternative School students will resume this important step in healthy eating by making soups, casseroles, and enjoying hot lunches together. Room One clients will have the opportunity to can applesauce and learn more about stored and preserved foods.
As funding allows, we will purchase even more storage foods, including apples and pears, to put in the MV Inn’s cellar. The intention is to lengthen the distribution season of fresh food to families in need. May we all nourish ourselves with a warming bowl of squash soup in our hands and delight in a steaming potato casserole on the table as autumn’s chill arrives. Eat well, be well
