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Farmer’s Friend – Funding local food access.
The Farmer’s Friend program was born out or crisis. The Springs Hall, partnering with local farms, gleaned and distributed over 4000 pounds of local produce to those most in need in partnership with Food For All.
The opportunity to support this effort is here. Please consider a donation so that our farmers can be supported for their admirable work in supporting our amazing Sonoma Valley!
All donations will go to LOCAL farms to provide the best quality produce to households in need.
Checks can be sent to: PO Box 1897 Boyes Hot Springs, CA 95416
Sonoma Overnight Support feeding the Valley!
Sonoma Overnight Support (SOS) has been operating an essential food distribution kitchen at the Springs Hall since July. The current health and economic crisis has exacerbated difficulties for the homeless population in addition to the struggles facing many at this time. Providing hot meals Monday through Friday out of the Hall’s Rotary Kitchen, this action has allowed the Hall building to remain in community service.
To support SOS and this amazing program, please go to their website at: http://www.sonomaovernightsupport.org
Food For All / Comida Para Todos!
The Springs Hall has been working with the amazing local support service Food For All / Comida Para Todos, to coordinate collection and distribution with local farms for excess local, organic produce. Tomatoes were gleaned from Oak Hill Farm, which also gave another generous donation of lemon cucumbers, jalapenos, and apples. Paul’s Produce added a huge amount of peppers, little gem lettuces, and more. The Sonoma Garden Park contributed great heirloom apples. Flowery school garden provided cherry tomatoes, tomatillos and more.
The end result was 110 packages of local organic produce to be added to the large bags of essential that the amazing volunteers for Food For All put together. This includes staple items – beans, flour, masa – as well as household and safety essentials – soap, bleach, sanitizer, facemasks, hygenic items diapers and more.
If you are interested in supporting this effort or helping with the gleaning and produce distribution the Hall is organizing for this project, contact us at sonomaspringshall@gmail.com
If you would like to volunteer or support with Food For All contact: sfrfund@gmail.com
Find out more at https://sonomaspringsrelieffund.org/
A Local Food Cooperative in Sonoma Valley?
Thanks to the Sun for running these columns.
This is the #11th and has a very interesting subject close to our interests – food cooperatives!
Recent happenings at the Hall
Hi all
Food Distribution at the Hall
The Hall is being used as a pick up location for Council on Aging meals, with food for all age groups, suggested donations are modest and allow for the delivery of prepared meals and other pantry staples. Pickup is at the Springs Hall Wednesdays and Fridays 10:30am – 12:30pm. The following menus have more information:
Local Food During a Crisis
The following is a brief addendum to a recent column written for the Sonoma Sun newspaper on this very subject. (see previous column here https://sonomasun.com/2020/03/22/sonoma-farm-scene-the-winter-market/) .
As we have seen, food becomes extremely important when society is disrupted, with empty store shelves and supply chain overloads and safety concerns impacting food availability. Local food, grown and produced here in our Valley, becomes that much more important for our local resiliency during crisis. In addition, many farms rely on restaurant business as an outlet, one which has been reduced to extremely low levels. The following is an evolving list of the availability of locally grown and produced food during this crisis.
- The Friday morning farmers’ market at Depot Park continues weekly, with new safety standards and rules in place, be prepared for longer waits for some vendors.
- Ross Canard is offering CSA vegetable boxes from his infamous Sonoma farm, please contact ross@vom.com
- Oak Hill Farm is now open Saturdays at the Red Barn store, 15101 Hwy 12 in Glen Ellen. They are also found weekly at the Friday morning market at Depot Park. more info on their facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/OakHillFarm1/
- Pauls Produce has been extremely popular on Fridays, and has offered an express box pickup, with a set selection available.
- Paul is also working with FEED Sonoma, which has a local box pickup in order to shift from restaurant supply to getting local food to our community, see: https://shop.feedsonoma.com/Products
- Mike the Bejkr continues to sell local bread at Fridays market.
- Fridays market also has produce from Ortiz family, Hector, avocados and other items from Rhodes farm, Sprouts from sweetwater, mushrooms from Bohemian farm, baked good from Baker and Cook, citrus and other fruit from Gertz farm and more, support these producers that feed us!
- Green String Farm store is open just over the Hill in Petaluma, more info at: https://www.greenstringfarm.com/
- Flatbed farm in Glen Ellen has been open Saturdays 10:am – 2:pm, find out more: http://www.flatbedfarm.com/
- The starting date for the popular Tuesday Night Market on the Plaza is still in question, word is they are working on ways to start sooner rather than later.
