Fresh Approach

☀️Was Richmond forecasted to be sunny this past Wednesday or was it our Mobile Farmers' Market that brought the extra sunshine?⁠
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With a warm summer breeze, shoppers excitedly clamored over all the beautiful flowers, strawberries, watermelons, and peaches our mobile farmers' truck brought them. 🍓🌺🍉⁠
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📣It was also our SECOND week at our new second stop in Richmond: Hacienda Heights! ⁠
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Moving forward, our Richmond Mobile Farmers' Market truck stops:⁠
🚛Richmond Public Library (325 Civic Center Plaza) from 10:00 - 11:30 AM⁠
🚛Hacienda Heights (Barrett Ave & 13th Street) from 12:00 - 1:00 PM⁠
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➡️If you want to stay in the loop with all of our Mobile Farmers' Market updates...

🍓Sign up for our newsletter: https://freshapproach.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=48464793c809cbf2d03745263&id=78241747b0
🍓Sign up for mobile text alerts: https://platform.mobile-text-alerts.com/subscribe/FreshApproach
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P.S. Don't forget: our Mobile Farmers' Markets offer a 50% DISCOUNT if you participate in any of the following programs: CalFresh/EBT, WIC, SSI, SSDI, Medi-Cal/Medicaid, or Unemployment!

🍓Jam & Preserve Making Workshop🍓⁠
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🫙Learn how to transform fresh fruit into delicious, homemade jam!⁠
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UC Master Food Preservers of San Mateo and San Francisco Counties will walk us through the process of selecting and preparing seasonal fruits; balancing sugar, acid, and pectin for the perfect set; and safe water-bath canning and sealing methods!⁠
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📅 Saturday, August 8⁠
📍 East Palo Alto Community Garden ⁠
⏰ 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM⁠
🎗️ RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jam-making-sweet-simple-preserves-elaboracion-de-mermeladas-tickets-1990697008340

💃🏽Along with a hearty meal from Blue Heron Catering and seasonally-inspired craft cocktails from Jettywave Distillery, feast & flourish will feature plenty of activities for everyone to enjoy!⁠
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📅Saturday, September 19th, 5:00 - 8:00 PM⁠
📍East Palo Alto Community Garden | 230 Demeter St, East Palo Alto⁠
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🎉A Festive Evening Filled with Food and Fun...⁠
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🌻Dance in the field under twinkling lights with live music⁠
🌻Walk through our community garden on a treasure hunt⁠
🌻Taste fresh stone fruit at our Mobile Farmers' Market⁠
🌻Plant some seeds or grab a paint brush for water coloring⁠
🌻Discover special items and experiences to bid on during our live auction⁠
🌻Experience our nutrition programming with a live cooking demonstration⁠
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✨️We can't wait to feast & flourish with you!✨️⁠
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➡️Learn more & buy tickets here: https://givebutter.com/c/feast_flourish
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P.S. We deeply appreciate our in-kind sponsors and donors, Edible Silicon Valley and Jettywave Distillery

🌿 What a morning at the East Palo Alto Community Garden! 🐛⁠
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🦗Big thanks to Rob Bennaton, Urban Ag, Food Systems & Environmental Education Consultant, for walking us through pest identification, garden diagnostics, and eco-friendly tools for keeping crops healthy. We learned to look closely before jumping to conclusions, why correct pest ID matters most, and how small choices like drip irrigation help both plants and water savings.⁠
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➡️One takeaway Rob shared with everyone:⁠
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“Nutritional deficiencies in plants can be an issue as well. Pests can sense when a plant isn't healthy, so plant nutrition matters as a preventive measure. For example, putting the right plant in the right place matters. Vegetable and fruit crops need full sun. If you put a rose in the shade, you'll almost automatically get black spot of rose (a plant disease).”⁠
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We're grateful for everyone who came out to get curious and get their hands dirty! 🌱

🎓🥦 Big things happen when college students and communities come together!⁠
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🌱Fresh Approach is proud to partner with to train their nationwide network of university volunteers through our Community Nutrition Education Training (CNET), covering nutrition basics, chronic disease prevention, trauma-informed approaches, culturally sensitive facilitation, and more.⁠
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This year, 300 KIN volunteers across 11 universities used CNET to bring hands-on nutrition education to kids in classrooms nationwide. 🌱⁠
💬 "CNET ensures that all KINstructors going into classrooms have the same baseline knowledge of nutrition and culturally sensitive education — regardless of their major or background." — Luiza Flynn, UC Berkeley Nutritional Sciences & Co-Director Alumni, Cal KIN Chapter⁠
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By joining the student-led KIN movement, you can bridge the gap in nutrition education while making a lasting impact on the younger generation. Through our partnership with Fresh Approach, KIN is with trauma- and culturally-informed training you won't find in a standard university lecture hall, deepening college students' understanding of food systems and health equity while delivering vital nutrition education to kids.⁠
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➡️Don't wait for your university's curriculum to catch up to your passion. Join a chapter or launch one on your campus today!⁠
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🔗Learn more here: https://www.kidsinnutrition.org/join-the-movement

🍽️🍷Are YOU feeling curious about the spread of food and drinks we’ll have at our garden dinner, feast & flourish?⁠
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📅Saturday, September 19th, 5:00 - 8:00 PM⁠
📍East Palo Alto Community Garden | 230 Demeter St, East Palo Alto⁠
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🌱A Garden Dinner Celebrating the Season…🌱⁠
Expect a hearty meal with decadent desserts from Blue Heron Catering, accompanied by seasonally-inspired craft cocktails from Jettywave Distillery, and local beer and wine!⁠
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🥗A certified green company with a commitment to supporting our local food shed, Blue Heron Catering, has been providing culinary creations and memorable events in the Bay Area for 30 years. They prioritize sourcing local ingredients and working with California farmers, creating deliciously seasonal flavors in all their food. ⁠
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🍸️Jettywave Distillery, located in the heart of Half Moon Bay’s historic Princeton Harbor, is a coastal haven for handcrafted, small-batch spirits and eco-conscious practices. Dedicated to supporting the local community and environment, they prioritize locally sourced ingredients and even grow fresh herbs and botanicals used in their spirits and cocktails. Jettywave feels a responsibility to their oceanside community to act responsibly when it comes to operating a business. They commit to reducing their impact by consciously making decisions to support and engage their local community. ⁠
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✨️We can't wait to gather with you!✨️⁠
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➡️Learn more & buy tickets here: https://givebutter.com/c/feast_flourish

Our newsletters provide you with all the nourishing Fresh Approach updates, including farmers’ market schedules, monthly gardening workshops, volunteer and team building opportunities, seasonal recipes, and stories of impact!⁠
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➡️Sign-up here: https://shorturl.at/elHa1

🍑🌽July is sweet, juicy, and in full bloom with all the summer finds! Expect nectarines, peaches, melons, corn, tomatoes, and peppers at your local farmers’ market.⁠
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💰Shop Fresh, Save More: our Fruit & Veggie Savings Programs helps make the fresh fruits and veggies at our markets more affordable for community members using government benefits!⁠
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📅 Mobile Farmers’ Markets closure: June 30 – July 4

🎉 WE DID IT!! 🎉💚🌱⁠
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As of yesterday, June 29th, Governor Newsom has officially signed California's budget, securing $15 million for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA), known primarily in California as Farms Together!⁠
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✨️This victory belongs to YOU!💚⁠
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For the past seven months, hundreds of farmers, food hubs, food banks, advocates, and community partners came together to fight for this program. Every phone call. Every email. Every meeting. Every farm tour. Every trip to Sacramento. It all mattered! ⁠
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✨️Together, we proved what's possible when we invest in local food systems, California farmers, and our communities✨️⁠
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This investment will keep Farms Together operating for approximately another year, helping California-grown food continue reaching families in need while supporting the farmers and food hubs that make it all possible. 🌾⁠
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Today, we're celebrating this incredible win and the power of collective action. Yet, we keep building. Our work now turns toward securing long-term, sustainable funding for LFPA, or until the federal Farm Bill can fully support the program, whichever comes first.⁠
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🚜 What's next? ⁠
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We're just beginning the implementation process, so thank you in advance for your patience as we work to roll this funding out. We'll be sharing updates as they become available!⁠
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✨️To everyone who called, emailed, met with legislators, shared your story, and believed in this work: THANK YOU. This victory is yours, and it's proof that when we work together, we can shape the future of California's food system.✨️⁠
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💚Today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we keep growing. 💚🌾