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MAY 4, 2011 -- Sunny skies shone at the Community Farm of Simsbury April 14, when staff and guests celebrated the opening of a new Community Learning Center and thanked the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for the grant that made it possible.
Community Farm of Simsbury, a non-profit that began in late 2009, is on town-owned land at 73 Wolcott Road, the site of the former Town Farm Dairy that closed in 2008. Fruits, vegetables, grain and flowers are grown organically on more than 38 tillable acres. The produce is donated to local charities in the Farmington Valley and Hartford, and hands-on educational programs are offered.
A $128,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving paid for conversion of the former milk processing plant into a center for agricultural education programs. The 1,260-square-foot renovated building will allow classes to be held year-round, education being one of the farm’s missions.
The Community Learning Center also has a kitchen which will offer a culinary arts program, preparing the produce grown on the farm.
The celebration included lunch catered by Simsbury restaurant Metro Bis’ executive chef Chris Prosperi, who took a turn cooking in the new kitchen and using its commercial equipment.
Servers were students in the UConn-Travelers Edge program who are developing a business plan for the farm.
“This is a partnership for both us and the farm,” said James Wu-Ea of Danbury, a junior at the University of Connecticut. “The educational goals for children really resonate, and this is a great learning experience for us.”
Tim Goodwin, executive director of Community Farm of Simsbury, gave tours of the property to invited guests, including the donors and community partners he credited for making the farm’s first year a success.
“About 4,400 pounds of produce were donated,” he said. “And we’re hoping for 10,000 pounds this year.”
After lunch, Goodwin offered thanks.
“So many people supported us over the last year and a half,” he said.
For starters, Goodwin credited The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury for its partnership with the farm, which included providing the initial seed money. A Connecticut Agricultural Viability Grant was also received early on to get the farm up and running.
Other organizations, including Gifts of Love, as well as philanthropic individuals, have also given donations, he said.
Goodwin also thanked the town of Simsbury for its guidance and support, as well as farm staff and volunteers for developing programs and writing grants.
The farm’s other paid employee, gardener Anne Patrie, has been joined by a third, Dana Price, program assistant. All others are volunteers, including teens from Ethel Walker and other private schools. The farm has also developed an incubator farmer program that leases an acre to adults considering farming as a career, to develop their skills in food production.
“Thanks to a Simsbury Bank grant we worked with every first grade class in Simsbury,” Goodwin said.
The farm has a partnership with Simsbury and Hartford public schools, and more than 500 students were served last year between field trips, summer camps, and in-school programs.
In Hartford, Goodwin worked with the Montessori Magnet School at Annie Fisher. There, vegetables are planted in raised beds, and the students also take trips to the Simsbury farm.
“I would also like to be in more schools teaching kids about certified organic produce,” he said. “The more organic food we can get into their hands means less $1 menu items they eat.”
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving stepped up in a big way as the project gained funding, Goodwin said.
A plaque honoring the foundation’s support, was placed on a wall in the center. Sara Sneed, senior program officer for the foundation, said she feels privileged that the foundation has been so honored.
“The programs that have been developed in a very short period of time and the scope of the work that is represented here today is just amazing,” she said.
Sneed said that the grant was given in part due to encouragement from the Hartford Public Schools.
Noting that there are other school systems, including Simsbury’s, that enjoy classes offered by the farm, Sneed mentioned the difficulty of working across the urban and suburban school districts.
“The differences are what make the program so great,” she said. “Community Farm of Simsbury really has the promise of changing lives and opens new vistas while building a community.”
The April 14 event ended with another cause for celebration. Representatives of Citizens Bank announced that CFS has been recognized as a Champion in Action, which comes with a $25,000 grant from the Citizens Bank Foundation.
Champion in Action is a partnership between the bank and News 8 launched in 2002 to provide financial support and public awareness to nonprofit organizations that work to champion change in communities. Non-profit from a range of social service topics in Connecticut are recognized four times a year.
“Citizens Bank is proud to support the Community Farm of Simsbury and its work of educating kids on the value and importance of eating healthy foods,” said Ned Handy, president of Citizens Bank in Connecticut and Rhode Island.
He said that CFS can use the grant in any way, and the award comes with volunteer support from the bank and News 8 WTNH/MyTV, media coverage including public service announcements, and public relations support through visibility at Citizens Bank branch ATMs and on citizensbank.com.
“We’ve never done this kind of announcement in such an incredible setting,” Handy added.
“We’re so thrilled to have all our partners here who support our work,” CFS Board member Bill Duesing said following the celebration.
“This is a great day for Simsbury,” Deputy First Selectman John Hampton said on behalf of the town. “We’re so proud of the Community Farm of Simsbury and the progress made in such a short period of time, and we thank all the donors.” |
