Intervale Community Farm Cooperative Board of Directors Elections
Love Intervale Community Farm? Consider running for the ICF Cooperative Board!
The Intervale Community Farm Cooperative Board is the governing body of ICF, working with staff to set long term goals and direction while monitoring current activities. Thirty years of board members have given their time and talent to help make ICF the farm it is today. You could be a part of determining our future, all while receiving a free ICF share.
ICF Board member Mieko Ozeki shared her thoughts on the Board:
“A few years ago, my family and I joined the Intervale Community Farm summer CSA after moving to Burlington from Vergennes. We enjoy the fresh produce and add on items that support local businesses while connecting to the land, a couple miles from our house. Wholeheartedly, I am impressed with the impact of the ICF on the Greater Burlington community, making farm fresh food accessible to all while serving as stewards of Abenaki land. When the opportunity to join the ICF Cooperative Board came up, I gladly accepted the role to serve, to learn, and offer my skills / knowledge to ICF.
Joining the ICF Cooperative Board is a wonderful opportunity to get a full view on the farm operations and initiatives. The commitment is flexible and the Board welcomes diverse perspectives to further the mission of the ICF. Chat with a Board member to learn more about becoming an ICF Board member.”
The Board consists of 9 members, each serving 3 year terms, with 3 seats standing for election each year. Board members meet once a month, and should have an interest in supporting the objectives of the co-op. Any ICF Co-op Member in good standing may run for the board. Part of the ICF CSA share, but not an ICF Co-op member? Learn more or join here.
Meet the ICF Board and board candidates at the Intervale Community Farm Annual Meeting, Wednesday, November 3, 7:00-8:00pm, via Zoom. Details to follow!
These long term goals frame Board discussions:
Grow a wide variety of local, organic produce and provide related food products for members of ICF.
Cultivate a thriving farm ecosystem.
Foster a vibrant and interactive community of farmers and eaters.
Provide sustainable and fulfilling jobs for staff.
Benefit the wider community through partnerships, donations, and service.
Make ICF accessible to an economically-diverse membership.
Learn more about the work of the board here.
The two week board election period will run Wednesday, November 3 - Wednesday, November 17th, with terms beginning January 2022. ICF Co-op members in good standing will receive an electronic voting email on November 3rd.
Please email Farm Manager Andy Jones (or leave a message for Andy at 802-658-2919, ext 4), if you are interested in serving on the board. You may also contact one of ICF’s current board members for more information or to express your interest.
Plant Donation Program at ICF
Intervale Community Farm’s propagation greenhouse is tucked away on the east side of the farm, south of where the winter share gets distributed. The long greenhouse tables hold a shifting population of vegetable and flower seedlings, both to plant in the farm fields and to give away to people who need them.
The farm works with three main partners to distribute thousands of vegetable, herb, and flower seedlings every year. We do this both in large, planned plantings in the spring and also by donating extra seedlings from our regular weekly plantings.
The Vermont Community Garden Network has a long arm. Through VCGN, ICF vegetable starts found their way to affordable housing sites, New Farms for New Americans, the Co-op Victory Garden, the Community Teaching Garden, the Family Room Garden, and the Ethan Allen Residence. The Vermont Community Garden Network supports more than 200 gardening households and we are proud that about 1000 plants from ICF can help these great projects.
Huertas, organized through UVM, helps Latino/a farm workers in Northern Vermont and Addison County plant kitchen gardens with culturally appropriate food. Volunteers from Huertas communicate with these workers’ employers to help them find garden space and access to tools. Commercial and home growers get them the plants they want to grow. The Intervale Community Farm grew several hundred tomatoes and herbs for Huertas to distribute.
We started more than 6000 seedlings specifically for Feeding Chittenden’s spring plant give-away, delivering broccoli, melons, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and cabbages. In late May, farmer Aly drove our truck and trailer filled with plants from the ICF up North Avenue to Burlington High School, in two different trips! We also donate to their teaching garden, the Raised Bed Project, used for educating new gardeners; this produce goes to the food shelf to make meals or to give out during food distributions. Over the last 20 years, we’ve grown more than 100,000 seedlings for this effort: a lot of vegetables!
As we eat our ICF vegetables grown on the farm we can also imagine our plants in many other families’ gardens, putting food on their tables.
Sarah Howe contributed this description of our program. Find out more about Sarah here.
2021 Farm Staff
Rarely do you find our entire farm staff in one place at the same time (and in fact, Bella Palmieri is missing from this photo.) Our staff for this year:
Back row (left to right): Emma Gonzalez, Colin Swanson, Silas Branson, Kathie Sullivan, Maya Bower, Chris Spencer, Samantha DuPont
Middle kneeling (left to right): Will Pearl, Sarah Howe, Andy Jones
Front row kneeling (left to right): Meg Lyczak, Georgia McDougall, Aly Martelle
Meg and Georgia are the newest members of our staff.
We’re building a new staff page on our web site. To see more information about a member, see here. And check back for the missing profiles!
ICF Board: Welcome a New Member
Board member Andrea Solazzo had to step down from our board recently. We’re pleased to welcome Mieko Ozeki to the board to complete Andrea’s term.
Mieko (she/her) is the owner of Radiance Studios and cofounder of Vermont Womenpreneurs, an entrepreneur peer network of women business owners. In addition to the ICF board, she serves on the board of the Vermont Farmers Market Association and is a Commissioner on Governor Scott's Future of Agriculture Commission. She recently was the Market Director of the Burlington Farmers Market. Mieko and her husband Josh love being ICF members and introducing their daughter Naomi to where her food comes from.
Save the Dates: Summer Shares Will Be Starting in June
Soon our blackboard will be filled with information to welcome you to the farm.
Strawberry field
2021 Summer Shares will be starting Monday, June 7 and Thursday, June 10
We will update you on more specifics and our initial COVID-19 adaptations in the next week or so, as mandates continue to evolve and sunset.
Thank you for your patience!
There is still time to order your bread and cheese for the summer share. Go here for the order form.
Other housekeeping reminders are noted in a blog post here. Please check these items so you are assured of receiving all of our communications!
We can't wait to see you!
PYO flower field inside the corral
End of Winter Shares, Preparing for Summer
Planting tomatoes in the high tunnel.
May is a very busy time on the farm. Plants are big enough to be moved from the “prop house” (our heated greenhouse where seeds are started, tomatoes are grafted) to the “cold frame” for hardening off before going into the ground. Fields are being prepared, the full summer crew is on site, and we are sold out for summer shares.
Plants for the annual sale.
But we need to finish up the 2020-21 winter shares at the same time! You’ve noticed some harbingers of spring lately: parsley, cilantro, radishes have been treats to find at pick-up.
Our annual plant sale, where you can get annuals and herbs and tomato plants for your home garden, will be held during the last two winter pick-ups on May 13 and May 20. Read more here.
The winter survey was sent out so you can give us feedback for future planning. If you missed it, go here.
To make sure you get all electronic communications from us for the summer share, please do the following:
add kathie@intervalecommunityfarm.com to your email Contacts. Often, bulk email messages end up in Spam folders or the Gmail “Promotions” folder otherwise.
be sure to check your Spam and Promotions folders regularly.
we are likely starting pick-ups in early June. You’ll be getting various messages to confirm your pick-up day and time or to select a day and time.
Preparing for your summer share:
we’ll be updating our Covid Procedures close to our start date to take into account the latest advisories.
if you plan to order bread or cheese to accompany your veggies, please get these ordered here. Eggs are sold out right now, but we hope to have additional product later in the summer. Sign up to be on the waiting list.
add all the summer pick-up dates to your calendar using our widget found here.
become familiar with where we list the expected items for your week’s pick-up here.
Don’t forget the Farm Work Days we’ve scheduled throughout the spring and summer. Get all the details here.
Finally, we encourage you to become a member of the ICF Co-op and elect to be automatically signed up for summer and/or winter shares. With the increased demand for our shares, being a co-op member is one way to avoid missing out. Find membership information here.
Strawberries are uncovered from the winter slumber.
18th Annual ICF Plant Sale
We’re happy to announce the dates for our 18th Annual Plant Sale at the Final Winter Pick-ups, May 13th and May 20th, from 2:00-6:00 pm.
We’re going back to sales on site! Plants will be on our flatbed wagons, Aly will be processing your purchases, and we’ll be far enough away from the winter share pick-up area so crowds won’t be an issue.
You can write checks for the exact amount or charge to your account. We will have a small amount of cash to be able to make change for purchases.
We anticipate having the following plants for sale (but there may be some surprises, too):
Annuals
Marigold, Rudbeckia (black eyed Susan), Portulaca, Dahlia, Lobelia, Petunia, Snap dragons, Alyssum, Nasturtium, Cosmos, Morning glory, Zinnia
Herbs
Parsley, Thyme, Basil, Cilantro, Dill
Vegetables
Tomatoes
REMINDER
The 2020-21 Winter Share pick-ups will be finishing soon.
The last Group 1 pick-up will be May 13
The last Group 2 pick-up will be May 20
****Annual Plant Sale will be held on BOTH DATES.****
Member Work Days at ICF: Days in 2021 (REVISED INFO 6/14/21)
Last summer and fall we had several member work days at the farm, organized and supported by ICF Board members. The days were glorious and the work was enjoyable and productive, and we are excited that we’ve resumed these this summer!
ICF Board members Bonnie Acker and Mark Twery are again leading this effort. Workdays are a great way to meet other farm members and board members, and talk about Intervale Community Farm. City Market members can earn work hours. Everyone wins!
Depending on the day, we’ll be clearing trees and brush, gleaning vegetables for donations, weeding, and possibly helping with the crops planted for the Abenaki Land Link Project.
Where: meet at the ICF parking lot on the summer pick-up side
When: revised dates are below; rain dates are noted if feasible.
Saturday June 26 / rain date Sunday June 27
Saturday July 10 / rain date Sunday July 11
Saturday July 24 / rain date Sunday July 25
Saturday August 7 / rain date Sunday August 8
Saturday August 21 / rain date Sunday August 22
Saturday September 4 / rain date Sunday September 5
Time: 7:00 a.m. to noon. Come for any amount of time, all help will be appreciated!
Bring: A water bottle, your favorite work gloves, clippers, loppers, bow-saws. We’ll have extra gloves and tools available.
Wear: Durable work clothes, footwear, and sun-protection hats are very useful for this farm work.
RSVP and Questions: To sign-up or obtain more information, please contact ICF Board member/CSA member/Veggie lover Bonnie Acker Signing up helps us organize tasks and tools, announce a rain date, and inform you if there will be a limit on participants.
We hope you can join us for one or more of these days. We’re looking forward to seeing you and doing some enjoyable and useful work together.
Help Intervale Community Farm Go Solar!
ICF is planning to install solar panels on the rooftops of our farm buildings this summer. Generating our own electricity has been a goal of ICF for several years, and while it took a while to get here, we expect to have our system up and running by mid-July this summer. Rated at 46kw, the system will provide all of the electrical needs of ICF, with some additional capacity we expect to grow into. Excess power in the near term will be purchased and used by our farm neighbors. We are looking for Intervale Community Farm Cooperative members interested in earning a financial return while supporting ICF’s switch to solar power. If you are interested, please contact Farm Manager Andy Jones, andy@intervalecommunityfarm.com or 802 658 2919x4.
Grow Community Health and Sponsor an ICF Supported Share!
If you are looking for a direct way to lower barriers to food access in our community, please consider donating to the supported share program at Intervale Community Farm. Many Vermonters will be receiving stimulus checks in the coming weeks, and some of you might be in a financial position to share with community members in need. We depend on the support of members like you to help fund this program.
The ICF Supported Share program has provided lower-cost summer and winter shares to qualifying people for 25 years. In 2020, 42 summer share households and 27 winter share households received ICF CSA shares at a 33% discount. You can learn more about the program at intervalecommunityfarm.com/supported-shares.
ICF planned to enroll 42 supported shares this summer, but we would like to offer more. The ICF staff loves this program, and we have combined our forces to sponsor a supported share. We hope that you will join us if you are able to. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated and valued; a donation of $200 will completely fund a small, supported summer share. You may contribute by mailing or dropping off a check, or emailing ICF membership coordinator Kathie Sullivan.
Please note, contributions to Intervale Community Farm are not tax-deductible.
Summer Shares Are Almost Sold Out
Intervale Community Farm 2021 Summer Shares are going fast, so don’t miss out! Last year we were overwhelmed with requests for shares because people were avoiding large grocery stores and wanted local food. Demand for summer shares in 2021 is surpassing 2020.
We’ve learned from last year. While we want to keep a steady infusion of new members, we also value our returning members. To that end, we’ve done two things this year. First, we have encouraged current share members to become co-op member/owners. Co-op members in good standing may elect to be renewed automatically. About 180 co-op members were automatically renewed in January. To become a co-op member and be assured a spot, see more here.
Second, we limited the brand new 2021 members joining to 50 to start. While we’d like to sign up more brand new people, we are pretty sure we won’t have the space.
The Intervale Community Farm is in an enviable position in that we are a sought after CSA, we always have a waiting list, and we always have new members. However, if you are a returning member, it’s not a good idea to wait too long to renew your share! Usually we are completely sold out by May, but this year we are likely to be filled much earlier.
As noted in an earlier blog post, the greenhouse opened March 8 and seeds are being planted every day. The tables are filling up! And now our staff is returning so there are more people fanning out to do the spring tasks.
For all intents and purposes, summer is here!! Are you joining us?
Don’t forget! If you have already reserved your share, order your bread and cheese add-ons here.
Early Spring at the Farm: March Update
Editor’s Note: Aly Martelle opened the heated greenhouse on March 8 and seeding has begun. But with the warmer weather and sun, the winter greens will be exploding soon. Aly describes early spring work at the farm.
3/8/2021 Seeding the first Walla Walla onions of the season.
I always consider the beginning of our season when we open up the propagation house for seeding. We are committing to another season; to field prep, fertility, planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvest, wash/pack, CSA distribution and clean-up when we seed these first onion trays. So we have begun! We have seeded our first two varieties of onions, parsley, a few flowers, some things for the plant sale, and some for donation. And there is nothing like the sound of birds chirping in the morning, and longer sunny days to get us excited about starting this work! I am looking forward to welcoming back our crew, the heart and muscle of this operation, and spending more time outside of our winter buildings and tunnels.
3/12/21 Succession plantings of arugula and parsley growing quickly with lots of sun, heat, and water!
We are looking forward to increased spring harvest as the days lengthen and warm and we are able to water. After watching the plants slowly poke along all winter they really explode this time of year! If everything goes well we will harvest arugula, baby kale, and parsley in the upcoming months. Each week the number of plants in the propagation house increases as we add things to the list, and hopefully soon we will have a sea of green to gaze upon.
3/12/21 Second growth salanova and spinach beds sizing up.
Tractors are being serviced and maintained for upcoming field work. We are working hard to lay out plans for a successful season. Building projects are underway, to improve workspace and repair tunnels and growing spaces. We are maintaining our Covid protocols, but we have been so happy to hear some updates from members who have gotten their vaccines, which makes me hopeful for the day when we all get to see each other's faces! We are so happy for all of your support and can’t wait to see people walking around the Intervale this spring as things warm up, or skiing if we get another snow!
Vermont FoodBank and Culturally Responsive CSAs
Diggers’ Mirth summer share
Editor’s Note: Caroline Gilman is an Intern at the Vermont FoodBank and writes about a new program offering. Diggers’ Mirth participated in this program until November and then the Intervale Community Farm picked up the winter distribution.
Intervale Community Farm is excited to share about a partnership with the Vermont Foodbank providing culturally responsive CSA shares to New American and BIPOC families in Chittenden County. In response to the increase in food insecure households in these communities during the pandemic, UVM, The City of Burlington, Vermont Foodbank, Association of Africans Living in Vermont, The Family Room, Diggers’ Mirth Collective Farm and Intervale Community Farm worked together to meet the need of the community. Additionally, an extensive research study was done in collaboration with Dr. Pablo Bose from UVM to better understand specific food needs of the New American Community in Chittenden County.
ICF winter share
The culturally responsive CSA shares are designed to meet food preferences of families and are distributed directly to 55 families from the Janet S. Munt Family Room and AALV in the Old North End. CSA recipients receive a box containing ICF vegetables delivered directly to their home. Providing refugee families with culturally responsive food, especially during the pandemic, creates a greater sense of community and connectiveness. Additionally, because of COVID safety and protocol, food deliveries have supported families while in quarantine and increased their access to local vegetables.
What type of food is included in the shares? Anything from Asian eggplant, spinach, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, greens, kale, and watermelon were included in the shares. Somali families received specific collard varieties and Nepali families received bitter melon.
Aly Martelle loading winter shares for delivery.
The response from recipients so far has been positive, with initial findings indicating families reported an increase in access to culturally responsive foods, as well as an increase in overall vegetable intake. ICF will be continuing the home delivery CSA shares through March 2021. Depending on several factors, the Foodbank hopes to continue partnering with ICF and Diggers’ Mirth on home delivered shares. The Foodbank and community partners are continuously grateful for ICF’s support around this initiative and for the thousands of pounds of additional produce donated through gleaning programs.
2021 Summer Share Sign-up is Open
Though 2021 is fraught with uncertainty, you can rest assured that the staff at Intervale Community Farm are hard at work busily preparing for a productive, restorative, and extraordinary 2021 summer season. We heard from many CSA members that Intervale Community Farm was a particularly important place of refuge and joy in 2020, and we invite you to join us for another amazing summer at ICF. Despite our human uncertainties, the vegetables, flowers, and herbs are primed and ready to grow. Share in the determination of a seed and sign up now for your 2021 summer share.
To sign up for a 2021 summer share, visit our website here. You can find out more specific information about the offerings on our Summer Share page. As is our custom, those of you who pay-in-full by 2/19/2021 are eligible for a small discount based on share size. Please note your invoice will show the full price; please subtract the discount if you are paying in full.
In 2020, demand rose, and we unfortunately turned away many ICF CSA members who did not sign up in time. You can avoid this fate, and enjoy other benefits of being a co-op member-owner, by joining Intervale Community Farm Cooperative with a permanent membership. Co-op members who select the auto-renewal option are signed up first!
Please watch for emails and information from Intervale Community Farm, and add kathie@intervalecommunityfarm.com to your allowed email. We will let you know what is happening on the farm, keep you informed about our upcoming summer share and update our ever-evolving response to Covid-19.
At any time, please feel free to call us for more information at 802-658-2919, ext 1 or email us.
We are looking forward to our 32nd season as a CSA!
ICF 2020 Board Election Results and Annual Meeting Video
Those who missed out on our 11/10/2020 annual meeting can view the video of it on our website here. Watch the annual slideshow, hear about the work of the ICF Board, and listen as we answer member questions.
Intervale Community Farm is excited to welcome Emily Portman as our newest Intervale Community Farm Cooperative board member. Following our 2020 electoral period, Emily was elected to a 3-year term, beginning January 2021. Incumbent board members Bonnie Acker and Christopher McCandless were also re-elected. Emily says:
“Hello! My name is Emily Portman. I've lived here in Burlington for just over 6 years and have been an ICF CSA member for the last 5 years….My main hope in [serving on the] board is to be able to give back to this amazing community through member engagement, helping with events, and partnership development with other food and ag organizations. I've worked in many different roles within the food system and would love to contribute any perspective or knowledge that could be useful in furthering ICF's mission.
Additionally, this last year I've been working towards starting a breakfast and lunch cafe in the Old North End in the former Chubby Muffin. The cafe shares space with a few other food businesses and, more broadly, is housed within a cooperatively owned building. One major appeal in board participation for me is the opportunity to learn more about other coop organizational structures, share our experience, and understand potential ways to collaborate with other coops.”
ICF bids farewell with much appreciation to longtime board member Kara Buchanan. Intervale Community Farm has benefitted greatly from Kara’s hard work and good thinking over the years, and we will miss Kara’s contribution to the Board. We hope we will still seed Kara in the herb garden and flower gardens, and joining us for (we hope) ICF Pizza Nights.
Use Facebook to Communicate with the ICF Board
Hello to our wonderful membership from your ICF board!
Do you know what I missed most about this past growing season?
It wasn’t the food – the ICF staff did a phenomenal job as always of offering us the best produce Vermont has to offer.
It wasn’t the farm - I was so grateful to be able to drop down to the Intervale, pick in the PYO fields, and walk the neighboring trails.
It was YOU, our ICF community! While I tend to be a bit shy in crowds, I love coming out of my shell at ICF pickups. I already know that we have a shared love (the farm), shared interests (the food) and shared things to talk about (what’s today’s bouquet style, for one?).
But standing safely distanced, wearing masks, following rules, is not the easiest place to spark a conversation (and apologies to the person who I tried to introduce myself to thinking you were someone else… masks, am I right?)
Our 30th anniversary party was a perfect example of the wonderful community that ICF has cultivated (farm pun intended) :food, music, smiles, kids.
I have been working with our board members to strategize ways for us to foster connectedness. There is no replacing in-person on-farm connectedness, but we’re giving digital a try with a new Facebook group for friends and members of ICF!
Goals & Purpose
Foster conversations about shared interests, including recipes, preservation techniques, farm memories, and sustainable food system news in a private digital location.
Introduce ourselves to one another so that when we are back chatting away and lollygagging about at pickup, we might recognize each other! Meanwhile we can converse with more of our community in a private, digital setting.
To learn more about what it means to be a cooperative, how we can take part, and how we can all support each other and govern the farm according to our shared mission.
Tactics
Join the Intervale Community Farm Friends and Members Facebook group!
Let us know who you are!
Get social! What’s going on in your kitchen, upcoming events, on your mind?
Questions?
Is this the same kind of thing as the ICF Facebook page? No, this is a different page, although also on Facebook. There are three major differences. 1 - This page exists in order to promote community dialogue, sharing and understanding, while our business page exists to provide reminders, member information, and other logistical details. 2 - All posts inside of this group are private and cannot be seen or shared outside of the Facebook group. 3 - This page is managed by the ICF board as a volunteer effort purely to foster communication.
What if I’m not on Facebook? Being on Facebook is your personal choice and we acknowledge and respect that it’s not for everyone. If you are on Facebook, we hope you’ll join the group! If you want to join the group and need to sign up for Facebook, you can follow these steps.
More questions? Email ME personally or hop in the Facebook group and ask the community!
See you in there!
Diane Abruzzini, Board Member
Summer is a Wrap, Now On To Winter Shares and Our Annual Meeting
We have buttoned up the Summer 2020 Shares and with no break in the schedule, 2020-21 Winter Shares begin on November 5.
You should have received confirmation of your Winter Group and time bracket. We are able to maximize social distancing by spreading out your arrivals at the farm. Parking areas will be marked by traffic cones. If you have requested a fully bagged share, please look for a sign near the door for parking. Call 658-2919 and someone will bring your share out to your car.
Please remember the pick-ups for Winter Shares are on the opposite side of the road from the summer area. You can see a map here or follow the posted signs.
Our Covid-19 Procedures have been updated for the winter. Please be sure to review them before you arrive.
We will have a few loaves of Trent's Bread for sale on site. We'll charge your account or you can bring exact payment ($6.) We encourage you to pre-order your winter bread and cheese!! Eggs are sold out but there is a waiting list in case the hens go crazy. Go here to sign up for your supplements.
All dates for the winter share season may be found here. New this year, add the dates for your group to your Apple or Google calendar!
Finally, don’t forget to register for the 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting! The only thing missing from our usual meeting will be the pot luck dinner. You can still submit questions before November 6 and if you have photos from your time at the farm this summer, please send them along by November 9.
Winding Up Summer Shares and More
The week of October 19 is the next-to-last week of the 2020 summer pick-ups. Where have 21 weeks gone? We’ve had a very successful season despite not having much rain and in spite of having to make so many adjustments for the pandemic. We want to thank you all again for sticking with us and observing all the new procedures. Staff and members alike felt safe as a result of all the work.
The usual survey we conduct at the close of every season is now available here. Please fill this out by October 30 so we can examine the results and use them for our 2021 planning. We will not be having any paper copies available this year.
The last summer pick-ups are October 26 and October 29. We begin the every-other-week winter pick-ups without taking a break: Group 1 begins on November 5 and Group 2 begins on November 12.
We are both happy and sad to say we are sold out of winter shares. We had an overwhelming number of requests for shares, but it’s impossible for us to accommodate everyone. We’re grateful for the support even though it means many people are not able to participate this winter.
Thank you in advance for filling out our survey!
October at the Farm: Pumpkins and Running
Pumpkin Day. Saturday, October 3, 10:00-2:00.
Rain date Sunday, October 4.
10/3 NOTE: Pumpkin Day IS HAPPENING TODAY. Bring something plastic to sit on as the wooden wagon decks are wet!
Please join the ICF for our annual pumpkin patch picking. Meet at the pickup area and hop a tractor-drawn wagon for the 15-minute ride to our field of jack-o-lanterns, pie pumpkins, and decorative gourds. As you might expect, we will limit the number of unrelated people per wagon and require masks during the ride. With these adjustments we may not be able to fit everyone in on a ride, though we will do our best! Walking to the pumpkin patch is also a lovely stroll past our greenhouses and salad crops, and we will happily transport your pumpkins back to the pick-up area so you don’t have to carry them! If you don’t attend on 10/3, you may pick-up your pumpkins from the courtyard during our regular pick-up.
9th Annual Harvest Run for Sustainability, to benefit the Sustainability Academy
Week of October 12-18, 2020
The Harvest Run is happening! But it will look a little different this year.
You are invited to select one of the specially curated routes in the Intervale or around the Old North End (1 k, 3k, 5k, and 10k options available!) and walk or run this route anytime during the week of Monday, October 12th-Sunday, October 18th.
Registration for the 2020 Harvest Run for Sustainability is free this year but please consider a donation in lieu of registration fees. All funds will benefit the Sustainability Academy directly. Everyone who registers will get a packet of seeds, thanks to our friends at High Mowing Seeds.
Register for or donate to the Harvest Run here.
You are encouraged to post photos from your route (or descriptions of what you saw/heard/smelled along your route.) Simply tag it with #SAHarvestRun and/or post to our Facebook event page.
If you are exploring the farm and the fields of ICF, post your photos and thoughts to the ICF Facebook page!
Summer CSA Shares will be finishing on October 26 and October 29. Please mark your calendars!
Upcoming Events at ICF: Mark Your Calendars
Intervale Community Farm Board workday, Saturday, September 19, 8:00-2:00.
Come for all or part of the time.
Rain date Sunday, September 20.
We'll be cutting back invasive plants along the parking lot and weeding trees in the overgrown orchard. Both tasks will really help the Farm's living landscape!
Wear your mask, and if possible, bring your own work-gloves, clippers or pruners, and safety glasses. We will have some of these items available as well. Durable work clothes, shoes and hats are always a good idea to protect against bothersome plants such as nettles.
QUESTIONS & RSVP: Please contact Board members Bonnie Acker or Mark Twery
THANK YOU SO MUCH for joining in if you can! We are really looking forward to doing some useful work together. We’d love to hear from you!
Pumpkin Day. Saturday, October 3, 10:00-2:00.
Rain date Sunday, October 4.
Please join the ICF for our annual pumpkin patch picking. Meet at the pickup area and hop a tractor-drawn wagon for the 15-minute ride to our field of jack-o-lanterns, pie pumpkins, and decorative gourds. As you might expect, we will limit the number of unrelated people per wagon and require masks during the ride. With these adjustments we may not be able to fit everyone in on a ride, though we will do our best! Walking to the pumpkin patch is also a lovely stroll past our greenhouses and salad crops, and we will happily transport your pumpkins back to the pick-up area so you don’t have to carry them! If you don’t attend on 10/3, you may pick-up your pumpkins from the courtyard during our regular pick-up times.