Rotary Club Members Bring a Green Thumb to Fight Hunger

by Mike Grayeb

The HFS is a Connecticut-based private, nonprofit organization established in 1978 that focuses on enabling people in the state to have access to high quality, nutritious, and affordable food.

"Having our own greenhouse has been our dream since the beginning," said Elizabeth Wheeler, Director of Agricultural Programs at Hartford Food System. "The South Windsor Rotary Club has made that dream a reality, and this greenhouse represents a significant milestone in our continued efforts to make healthy, locally grown food available to all Hartford residents."

Al Rodrigue, president of the South Windsor Rotary Club, explained why the club got involved with the greenhouse project. "Connecticut is the richest state in the country, and yet it also has some of the poorest cities," said Rodrigue. "As this greenhouse helps Hartford Food System to continue its great work, we hope it will also serve as a reminder that each of us can make a difference in this important cause. No one should be hungry."

The CSA project serves more than 1,000 low-income Hartford residents who are able to purchase organic produce from the project at an affordable cost. The project also serves people from 30 towns in the greater Hartford area by introducing hundreds of children and their parents to how their food is grown and by training a new generation of farmers.

Photo by Laura Brown

Photo by Laura Brown

The 26' x 12' x 48' greenhouse arrives on the 10-year anniversary of the CSA project. The Rotary Club of South Windsor, pooling funds raised locally with additional funds from The Rotary Foundation, donated nearly $4,000 to the project, and its members donated their time and talents to build the greenhouse. Members of the youth staff of the CSA project also helped with the construction.

The greenhouse helps the CSA project in many ways:

- Frees the CSA project from dependence on purchased seedlings, thereby enabling a more efficient operation,

- Allows the CSA project to grow specific varieties of produce desired by its members,

- Helps the CSA project to produce more food for its members, and

- Provides an excellent setting for teaching activities with its membership and youth employment program.

Hartford Food System implements programs and advances policies that promote a sustainable and equitable food system, disseminates information that enables Connecticut residents to make informed food choices, and supports responsible food policies at all levels of government.

The South Windsor Rotary Club has donated time and resources to many worthy causes including the construction of a park pavilion, ballfield lights for Little League fields, and the provision of thousands of dollars in scholarship assistance for students. For more information on or to make a donation to HFS, visit www.hartfordfood.org.

For more information on Rotary International, visit www.rotary.org.

This Spring members of Second Baptist Church in Suffield, Connecticut, began a project to examine the root causes of hunger and poverty through a six-week course called Hunger No More. The program was adapted from a curriculum provided by Bread for the World and modified to encompass a number of meaningful issues affecting communities in and around Connecticut.

One outcome of this project was the church Outreach Board's decision to purchase several shares at Holcomb Farm CSA. The local Suffield Emergency Aid enlists qualifying families to share in the harvest and bring nutritious food to their tables.

Individual members of the church also bought family shares, and the church is formulating a three-point plan to provide ongoing assistance to organizations leading the fight to end hunger.

Second Baptist is also a sponsor of the Satinwood band's Legendary Songs Series which contributes to the Hartford Food System and WHY.