Rebecca Fennel, Development Assistant here. I’ve been in the office for just four weeks, and I already feel like I’m a big part of the team. With the 6th Annual Strawberry Fete coming up in just a week and many other fundraising tasks on my to-do list, things are moving fast. It’s an exciting first job to have!
Before I joined BAG, I was a student at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. In my last year as an Environmental Studies major, I developed a keen interest in food rescue. My senior year, I did field research and wrote a thesis paper about food waste; through the process, I learned that food recovery was a sound way to mitigate the environmental and economic consequences of food waste while simultaneously combatting hunger. Naturally, my spring semester job search led me to Boston Area Gleaners, who occupies an interesting niche in the realm of food rescue. Prior to senior year, I had various food-related experiences, including an internship at a food bank (Food Gatherers), a summer as an urban gardens educator (Groundwork Somerville), work as a farmers market assistant (Siena Farms) and a gig as a prep cook (Sofra Bakery & Café). All of these positions stemmed from my love of cooking and a curiosity about the food system in which I was a part. In these next few years, I hope to continue to grow my knowledge and passion about food. I’m so happy to be back in the Boston area, where I grew up, and to grow with the Gleaners. I am confident that this position will provide me with just as many assets as I am giving back to the organization.
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A Strawberry Success! Thank you to all who attended our Strawberry Fete Fundraiser last Thursday night at Gore Place in Waltham. We had almost 50 attendees and raised over $1,300. We enjoyed glorious weather, a beautiful tour of the gardens, delicious strawberry shortcake, and wonderful music. What more could you want from an early summer evening? Thank you again to Dick's Market Garden for the perfect strawberries, Gore Place for the venue and the Shenanigans for the music. In the video below, BAG founder Oakes Plimpton discusses how BAG got its roots. Check out our Facebook page for more pictures of our Strawberry Fete event!
Thank you to all those who made generous contributions to BAG during the 2012 Feinstein Challenge! As part of the Feinstein Challenge, the Feinstein Foundation granted Boston Area Gleaners a proportional amount of funds based on the total we were able to raise during March and April 2012. This year, we raised $8,173.82 – over twice the 2011 amount. As a result of these funds, we will continue to build our capacity to glean and deliver more available produce by hiring a gleaning coordinator this summer. Your contribution will help significantly toward that end. As we look ahead to the remainder of 2012, we continue to hear from our partner pantries that need is increasing. Here on the cusp of the 2012 gleaning season, we are gearing up to meet this need by preparing to glean more farms and serve more pantries. Last year, we were able to deliver 43,916 pounds of fresh produce to our recipients at less than a dollar a pound. For every dollar that you contributed, we can continue to deliver at least one pound of produce this season. Please continue to visit our website for updated information about future gleaning opportunities and upcoming events, such as our annual Strawberry Fete Fundraiser on June 14th. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter (bostonareaglean). We hope that you will also consider joining us for a gleaning expedition during the 2012 growing season! On behalf of our staff, interns, volunteers, Board of Directors, and those who benefit from our work, thank you again for your support! Help the Gleaners Earn Matching Funds!
The Boston Area Gleaners is participating in the 2012 Feinstein Challenge. Last year we were able to raise almost $4000 and received over $260 from the Feinstein Foundation in return. This is the fifteenth annual giveaway and the fifth year that BAG has participated. This year you can help our efforts to cover the costs of Oakes' pro bono labor as we seek to hire a new Gleaning Coordinator. Click here to donate through Paypal. Thank you for your contribution! Every year BAG sends out an annual appeal to our volunteers and supporters, as a reminder to send in a donation before the close of tax season. This year's appeal boasts higher poundage in our gleaning from last year, as well as updates on our season this year. We are currently enjoying a bounty of root crops that will make these totals even more impressive as our season closes.
The appeal can be found here. BAG receives a substantial amount of funding through various grants we apply for throughout the year. This time, we were fortunate enough to have someone else write a grant for us. We would like to thank Toni Peters for thinking of us when her company offered a $600 grant for community spirit. This grant money will be used to pay a stipend for our two fall interns, Natalie and Chris who have been hard at work this season. Toni was nice enough to come out and visit Oakes and Chris while they were on a gleaning trip at Dick's Market Garden in Lunenburg. |
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