A Garden plan Urban farming in downtown Napa teaches independent life skills A few years ago at the Napa Farmers Market, I happened across Marie Bianco at the booth of the Napa Farm Bureau Agriculture in the Classroom. Marie serves as an Agricultural Consultant and advisor at Napa Valley College (NVC) Small Business Development Center (SBDC). As our conversation unfolded we touched upon agricultural training opportunities, and the lack of them, for youth and adults with disabilities in Napa. Both Marie and I agreed there is a definite need for this kind of training and diversification in Napa, an Agricultural Preserve. Soon after Marie and I collaborated, we began work on the Winter Garden Project. Our main objective was to engage adults with disabilities about food production in a supportive learning environment. For a season we worked together to coordinate supplies (thank you, Home Depot, Van Winden’s, Wild Boar Farms and valuable volunteers) while establishing a crowd funding campaign and pursuing grant opportunities. When the growing season ended, the Winter Garden Project came to a close. No awards won, no funds received. Struggling to gather volunteers in the beginning was replaced by a sea of disappointment at the end – the results of having experienced the splendor and tastes of this productive garden. Fortunately within a year collaboration had begun between two nonprofits in Napa to create an urban farm. Moving Forward Towards Independence (MFTI), a residential program that empowers adults with disabilities to live independently, and WineBev Services, a social enterprise of United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay (UCP of NB). Dr. Larry and Rita Susnow, parents of a Moving Forward resident who is employed through WineBev Services, agreed to rent their vacant 7,000-squarefoot lot on Randolph Street to the above organizations for $1 a month. The farming project, which we are dubbing “Farm-Ability,” will teach adults with disabilities about food production through a hands-on agricultural training program. Farm-Ability seeks to teach social skills, money handling, nutrition/portion control, and culinary techniques, and will feature a farmers market stand and an onsite produce stand on Randolph Street for produce sales and outreach. None of this would be possible without the participation and generous support of the Susnows and the Napa community. Landscape designer and painter Larry Greenwood has been instrumental in setting up relationships within the community. Sandy Herrick, owner of Cottage Gardens Nursery, is providing all of the certified organic plant starts; Central Valley Building Supply the wood and soil for our raised beds; Napa Recycling and Waste Services our compost; Rob Hansen and the City of Napa the wood chips; Horizon the irrigation supplies; and Volvo Rents the equipment rentals. I am additionally appreciative of local friends who have come forth to volunteer their time and talents. If you would like to find out more about Farm-Ability, please contact Kristin Miller, Director of Community Relations at MFTI, kristinm@moving-forward.org (707) 251-1125. S E P T E M B E R / O C TO B E R 2 0 1 4 55 by Kristin Michele Miler Photos by ART & CLARITY
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