| JUNE 1, 2015 -- For the fifth year in a row, Bethlehem Grange #121 and Oxford Grange #194 have donated seed potatoes and bean seeds to Nonewaug HS teacher Sarah LaRose’s local food production class to grow vegetables that will be donated to the Woodbury Food-bank. This morning (May 15th), Bethlehem members Albert “Skip” Maddox (Grange President) and Eloise Osuch, and Oxford members Robert and Maggie Buck (Grange President) met with instructor Sarah LaRose and her sophomore local food production class to present 120 lbs. of seed potatoes and 2 lbs. of bean seeds for planting.
With the demand on local food-banks increasing, the Connecticut State Grange entered into a state-wide program four years ago to encourage its local Grange chapters to spearhead the production of fresh vegetables to supplement the traditional food pantry offerings of canned and boxed foods. The Granges in Bethlehem and Oxford entered into a long-range partnership with the vo-ag instructors and their students in the Ellis Clark Regional Program to help improve the nutritional quality of the Woodbury Food-bank offerings. The Nonewaug HS agri-science program has a dedicated garden with a variety of vegetables in addition to that from the Grange donations. Last year, they donated about 2000 lbs. of produce to the community. |
