Thank you to the participants of the Community Food
and Garden Network!
We had a wonderful meeting on June 2nd at Focuscorp.
Focuscorp helped to set CGFN on a great track by
hosting the event and sharing their program with
everyone.
Minutes
We started with introductions and some great food
donated by Kentucky Fried Chicken.
*Susan Boltd told us about her project using Italian
Heirloom varieties in her Seed to Supper Program.
*Kathy DeKeyseth shared her stories of getting
donations at the Saturday Farmers Market for the
garden club at the Romnes live-in facility.
*Deb Allen and Catherine Tissot of Focuscorp gave us a
tour of their garden.
The garden consists of 4 ground plots, 2 bench
planters, 1 table planter and 1 large flower box. It
was very nice to see their garden with the budding
greens of spring and to hear about the work that they
have been doing. (A table planter is set up like a
table, a gardener is able to pull up a wheelchair or
chair and garden from a sitting position. The bench
planter has a bench with 2 planters and either side.)
Deb and Catherine told us that they put in the table
and bench planters about 4 years ago with the help of
their Art Therapist. At that time they also put in 1
ground plot. With renewed interest from employees
they expanded their garden this year and have plans
for continued expansion. They also have a grand idea
for transforming an old bus that is no longer in use
into a greenhouse. The bus could be connected to the
building by a window and will have a lift to help
gardeners in wheelchairs into the greenhouse. Good
for you Focuscorp for your creativity and imagination!

*We discussed the definition and mission of the
Community Food and Garden Network and the need to have
a concrete definition for explanation purposes or for
donation requests. Catherine printed up a short
explanation of CFGN and its mission. It reads:

CFGN is currently coordinated by volunteer students
through the Community Action Coalition and includes
representatives from Madison area food pantries,
community gardens, school programs, companies
providing services to the elderly and people with
disabilities, individuals with interest in gardening
and others. CFGN is attempting to connect people and
organizations with similar goals and ideals, in order
to assist one another to maximize effectiveness and
build a sense of community.

*We were just about to start program updates when Rick
Brooks walked in with the T-shirts! They came out
very well in two colors of green, one really really
bright and the other a olive green. We decided to
sell them for at least $10 with checks made out to
Rick Brooks. ($10.55 with tax included)

Stephanie Zabler from Braeburn Courts volunteered to
host the July meeting at their facility and JoAnn Ripp
from Central Wisconsin Center would like to host for
the month of September.

CGFN is really proving that it is an essential network
and the participants are doing an outstanding job of
taking ownership!

*Focuscorp shared some of their tomatoes and
cauliflower that were donated by K&A Greenhouses.
Rick Brooks also had seed donated by a woman, but I
didn't catch her name. Thank you for sharing!!

Attendees:
Ashleigh Ross growedibleflowers@... Community
Action Coalition
Susan Boltd kboldt@... Seed to Supper
Patricia Thorngate
Theresa Schroeder tmschroede_@...
Sandy Miller smiller@... Wisconsin Youth Co.
Joy Simmons
Kathey DeKeyseth 225-6739 Romnes House
Leslie Lang 663-8390 ext.430
Ben Dorw 251-6429
JoAnn Ripp 301-9332 rippjle@... Central
Wisconsin Center
Deb Allen 277-9140 Focuscorp
David Ballmann 255-6125 dave@...
Wisconsin Council for the Blind
Catherine Tissot focuscorp1@... Focuscorp
Theresa Chard Focuscorp
Ginger Ganson United Cerebral Palsy
Rick Brooks 265-4077 rbrooks@... UW-Mdsn,
Health Promotion Project
Stephanie Zabler Braeburn Court

* I apologize for any misspellings or for gaps in the
agency list.


=====
J. Ashleigh Ross
Americorps VISTA
CAC Garden Program
Madison, WI
(608) 246-4730 ext.238
growedibleflowers@...

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