Foundations aid High Desert Food & Farm Alliance

The High Desert Food & Farm Alliance received an early Christmas present this year.

The Echo Fund, The Clabough Foundation, and The Crevier Foundation generously contributed a total of $13,000 to the expansion of educational programs for disadvantaged families, assuring that HDFFA can provide Cooking Matters classes and Seed to Supper programs in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties.

Cooking Matters is a nationally recognized project that empowers families to be self-sufficient in the kitchen by teaching cooking skills focused on nutrient dense and healthy foods. Participants meet for two hours, once a week for six weeks, and are team-taught by a volunteer chef and nutrition educator. Lessons cover meal preparation, grocery shopping, food budgeting, and nutrition.

After the workshop, participants stated that, “It has change the way I look at my kitchen and has saved me more than $200 a month on food”, and “It gave me the motivation to try new things and think outside of the box a little more”.

Seed to Supper is an Oregon Food Bank sponsored project that teaches participants how to plan, plant, nurture, and harvest their own gardens through classroom learning and hands-on gardening. In 2014, two gardens were planted and harvested by residents at Shepherd’s House and St. Vincents de Paul. “The folks in our community need to know how to cook healthy. The garden has made our lives healthier by giving us the opportunity to grow our own vegetables” stated Chip Aims, a St. Vincent de Paul participant.

The foundation funds will support creative thinking and collaborative partnerships to help families use the fresh, locally grown donated food in their pantry baskets. All of HDFFA’s programs help community members help themselves, through learning how to grow their own food in gardens or containers on their back porch and learning how cook fresh food while maintaining the beneficial nutrients.

The mission of HDFFA is to support a community based food system in Central Oregon to increase access to fresh healthy food, support sustainable farm land use, and foster relationships among farmers and consumers. In addition to these educational programs they publish the annual Food & Farm Directory with an online searchable feature, provide workshops to discuss market development for farmers and ranchers, and connect people with their food. Join the Food Movement and become a Community Member of the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance.

For more information, contact the HDFFA at info@hdffa.org
Visit the website at www.hdffa.org