Volunteer Newsletter, December 10, 2004

 

VILLAGE HARVEST FOR THE HOLIDAYS:

Still working on that holiday gift list for those you love?  Consider, locally-grown, hand-made Village Harvest preserves.  Through out the year we select a small bit of what is harvested and preserve it to be enjoyed out of season.  This fruit is tree-ripened and ready to eat and won't make it through distribution or fruit that's best processed before being consumed.  Village Harvest preserves are made by Village Harvest volunteers from our recipes which are crafted to bring out the freshest flavors of the fruit.  VH preserves and other items that celebrate our agricultural history or are environmentally friendly may be found at:

Available Flavors:  $5.00/7 oz & $3.00/4.3 oz jars

  • Apricot Jam (low sugar):  This year's apricot's were the best in many years.  Our apricots come from non-irrigated orchards so the flavor is very intense.
  • French Plum Jam (low sugar):  These are the same plums (prunes) that made Santa Clara Valley famous.
  • Green Gage Plum Jam (Asian) & Green Gage Plum Jam (European):  These are the "gauge" by which plums are judged.  There has been a run on these preserves all year.  There is a limited quantity of especially the European version.
  • Pineapple Guava Jam (low sugar):  This year's version is more pineapple-y than guava-y.
  • Seville Orange Marmalade:   This is a traditional British marmalade made from organically grown Seville oranges.
  • Santa Rosa Plum Jam:   Our Santa Rosa Plums are grown on the historic site of an old plum orchard.  Santa Rosa Plums were bred by Luther Burbank to grow in Santa Clara Valley so our plums are "native". 
  • Shiro Plum Jam (low sugar):  Shiro is "white" in Japanese and a very good description for this creamy white plum. 
  • Wild Plum Jam:  We were fortunate to have an entire orchard of wild plums offered to Village Harvest.  12 different varieties!  We chose the best to make our preserves.  If you're wild about wild plums... ask for the special purple version.
  • Wild Yellow Plum Jam (low sugar):  These are the sweetest little plums due to their low-acid nature.  If an apricot were a plum, this would be it.

This year, we went "plum crazy" and preserved 7 different types of plums!  For those who love to taste different flavors, we created a 6 plum sampler.  Presented in a beautiful gift box, it's the perfect gift for someone who loves fruit.  $22.50/6 pack of 4.3 oz jars.

We also make gift baskets and 2 pack gift boxes to order.

 

Premium Preserves:  These are our hand-crafted, award-winning preserves that represent a labor of love to make.  Many people reminisce about their grandmothers making these preserves but don't make them anymore because it's just too much work.  $7.00/7.4 oz jars 

  • Kumquat Marmalade:  Kumquats are a small 1" citrus prized for it's sweet rind.  Simply scrumptious! 
  • Pomegranate Jelly:  A beautiful jewel for the holidays
  • Seville Orange Marmalade w/Ginger:  For those who crave intense flavors.  Here are two together.

Fruit Vinegars:  We've also expanded our line of fruit vinegars.  Unfortunately, as we've been taste testing them, they have been selling out so we only have a few flavors remaining and even then only a very limited quantity.  Vinegars are great as salad dressings with a bit of oil, salt and pepper, but taste them and you'll be inspired with other uses.  $6.00/10.7 oz bottle

  • Black Mission Fig Vinegar:  This vinegar was featured in the San Jose Mercury News in their Food section feature on figs earlier this year.
  • Pomegranate Vinegar:  Due to popular demand, we've brought this vinegar back. 

Proceeds from all purchases help fund Village Harvest programs. 

 

HELP AND ITEMS NEEDED:       

Thank you so much for responding to our previous call for help.  We were so filled with joy over the response and so many offers to help that we'll be publishing a short list of our most urgent needs in each newsletter.  Contact joni@villageharvest.org if you can help with any of the following needs. 

Items Needed:

Storage Space:    Want:  10'x10'  Need:  5'x10' minimum enclosed storage.
To equip new teams we need more harvesting equipment.  We have some funds for the equipment but don't have the space to store it in when it comes in.

Volunteers Needed:

Equipment Manager    5 hours up front / 2 hours every couple of months
We are receiving a large shipment of equipment that needs to be inventoried and distributed to the various locations and teams that Village Harvest supports.  Equipment needs to be labeled then distributed to teams in Menlo Park, Mountain View, Saratoga, Campbell and San Jose.  On an ongoing basis, additional and replacement equipment needs to be ordered, maintained and switched according to the seasons.  It's not a big job and can be done according to your schedule, but it's a very important one. 

Advising Tax Accountant:    few hours a year
If you have or know of someone with experience in non-profit tax law and practical accounting methods, we have occasional questions that we'd like to get qualified advice on.  Our business managers are pretty financially savvy but non-profit tax law or accounting can be confusing at times.

Weekday Harvesters:    3/4 day a week (preferably Tuesdays)
The VH team that operates out of the Second Harvest Food Bank team has consistently been the most productive team.  It's a terrific group that makes a tremendous difference and the Food Bank has started to count on this team.  We'd love for a few more folks to join in especially when we get into the busy citrus season starting in January.

If you're looking for a good home for other gardening, preserving or packaging items, feel free to contact us about those as well.  Other high priority items can be found at ttp://www.villageharvest.org/wishlist.htm. 
 

VILLAGE HARVEST TO DATE:        77,471 lbs!

November was a big month full of persimmons.  We were able to identify agencies this year that were interested in educating their clients and taking on the challenge of distributing persimmons.  We harvested 3x what we've done in years past and every persimmon was appreciated.  If you still have persimmons, see the recipe section on our web-site for easy, delicious, and healthy persimmon recipes.  You'll find our persimmon recipes that suit low-income families well.  Few additional ingredients, no added sugar, and methods that preserve the nutrition of the fruit.
 

UPCOMING VILLAGE HARVEST EVENTS:

  • Please RSVP for the dates that you're available to help. 
  • Click on the links for a map to the location.
  • In the schedule above, "SHFB" in the schedule below is Second Harvest Food Bank, 750 Curtner Avenue, San Jose.
  • The CIWP team has expanded and is continuing to go out every Tuesday and Thursday.
  • Menlo Park team goes out as convenient for their schedules.  Contact joni@villageharvest.org to join in.
Date / Day Time Event Meeting Place Notes
December 10, Friday 11:30am - 2:30pm Preserving from the Garden - Afghan Food Preservation Project MG Office, 1553 Berger Drive, Bldg. 1, Room 180 Bring a lunch item to share and any recent preserves & recipes.
Contact joni@villageharvest.org if your interested in this event.
December 12, Sunday   Community Fruit Harvesting, Mountain View   No Sunday harvest.  Date was moved to Dec 5th to accommodate schedules.
December 14, Tuesday 8:30 am - 3:00 pm Community Fruit Harvesting, Willow Glen, Lemons & Tangerines Meet 8:30 am, SHFB Volunteer Room.  You must RSVP for this event and be registered as a SHFB volunteer
December 26, Sunday   Community Fruit Harvesting, Mountain View   No Sunday harvest.  Happy Holidays!
January 9, Sunday   Community Fruit Harvesting, Mountain View   No Sunday harvest.  Orange season starting late.
January 11, Tuesday 8:30 am - 3:00 pm Community Fruit Harvesting, Willow Glen, Oranges & Lemons Meet 8:30 am, SHFB Volunteer Room.  You must RSVP for this event and be registered as a SHFB volunteer
January 20, Thursday 10:00 am - 11:00 am KKUP Old Time Garden Show 91.5 FM Village Harvest "On the Air", announcing the beginning of the citrus season -- our busiest time of the year.
January 21, Friday 11:30 am - 2:30 pm Preserving from the Garden Interest Group - 2004 Preserving from the Garden Awards   Contact joni@villageharvest.org if you're interested in this event
January 23, Sunday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Community Fruit Harvesting, Mountain View Meet 9:00 am, Mt. View CSA Contact karen@villageharvest.org if you'd like to join in.
January 25, Tuesday 8:30 am - 3:00 pm Community Fruit Harvesting, Willow Glen, Oranges & Lemons Meet 8:30 am, SHFB Volunteer Room.  You must RSVP for this event and be registered as a SHFB volunteer
January 29, Saturday 8:30 am - 12:30 pm Harvesting for the Hungry w/ Valley of Heart's Delight Meet 8:30 am, 222 High Street, Palo Alto Oranges and Lemons.
February  19, Saturday 8:30 am - 3:30 pm Grow Your Own Conference, sponsored by Valley of Heart's Delight Sunnyvale Community Center, 550 E. Remington Drive, Sunnyvale. Save the date!
February, 24, Thursday 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm Epitaph for a Peach - closing party History San José, 1650 Senter Rd, San Jose. Save the date!
Remember that the best tasting, tree ripened fruit goes home with the volunteers, as it will be too ripe to go through distribution at the Second Harvest Food Bank. Perfect for people who like to make preserves. All dates subject to change based upon ripening and weather.

Instructions for harvesting volunteers:

  • Dress in layers with long sleeves and comfortable shoes... Long sleeves are to protect your arms from branches.
  • Bring gloves and hand pruners. 
  • Be prepared to drive or carpool... If you have a large car or truck, it's always appreciated  
  • Feel free to bring a bag/box to take home fruit for yourself. Tree ripened fruit from Santa Clara Valley... it doesn't get any better than this!
  • See our Volunteer FAQ's for more information, especially regarding children.

 

Cheers,
Joni Diserens
Village Harvest
 joni@villageharvest.org
 www.villageharvest.org
(650) 740-7725

 

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