Dorothy Feltner, VISTA, reporting in with a final catch up post!

Grant season is coming in hot for Lotts Creek Community School. I wrote one yesterday for our school garden and food pantry. I have a few other grants to write just for the school garden site. I’m planning to turn the school garden site into an awesome educational/demonstration site as well as a source of sustainable revenue for our organization. My eventual goal is to sell some food from the site to our school cafeteria, as well as continuing to support the food pantry. I’m in the process of figuring out what the regulations are for that. If it’s not possible, I intend to sell at events and farmer’s markets. This will allow volunteers to learn about all facets of production and sale. Another option is to develop this program specifically for environmental education and allow kids to get their hands dirty with a green business model. I’m starting out small for now with physical and social expansion. I will develop the bigger picture a bit more at Brushy Fork Institute in Berea, KY next week through the Social Entrepreneurship track. I will also be assisting with our organizations other key grants in the next few weeks. This Americorps position and Grow Appalachia are giving me so many great experiences. “You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself.” -Buddha