|
|
| Back to the Table of Contents |
Supporting local
farmers, workers and businesses…
Healthy Community Harvest
|
by Suzanne Fisher
|
Healthy Community Harvest,
a line of gourmet treats produced by the not-for-profit organization
agency Hunger Action Network in New York, is currently supplying Honest
Weight with tomato bruschetta, roasted pepper bruschetta, blackberry
merlot jam and raspberry chardonnay jam. These items, found in our
cheese and gourmet foods section, are worth trying for their flavors
alone, but there is more to them than meets the palate.
Vincent Ross, director of Healthy Community Harvest, says that they
have three main goals: to purchase as much of their ingredients locally
as possible, to provide paid job training for people without access to
other opportunities, and to produce products for use in emergency
feeding programs. While this may seem like a lot of issues to tackle at
once, Vincent is already on his way to doing just that. He’s
temporarily producing the four products mentioned above at SUNY
Cobleskill, while setting up shop in the Hamilton Hill neighborhood of
Schenectady.
Healthy Community Harvest makes a point of purchasing ingredients from
local farmers when available. Currently, Stoneledge Farm in Cairo, and
Patroon Land Farm in Voorheesville, are two of their main sources for
produce during the growing season, but Vincent also purchases from
smaller farmers as well. Most of the farms use organic and sustainable
methods, although they are not necessarily certified. In the summer,
Healthy Community Harvest is cooking up bruschettas and jams in small
batches four or five days a week to take advantage of the fresh produce
that is available. In the winter, when they buy ingredients from large
food suppliers, they are in production just one or two days a week.
Even when they purchase from these suppliers, they are using produce
grown in the United States, and of the best quality available, because
they are committed to buying locally and having high standards.
The facility in Schenectady is being furbished for production later
this year. Vincent plans to train local Supporting local farmers,
workers and businesses… individuals in the food business so that they
will eventually be able to find jobs in restaurants and other food
production companies. Vincent plans to pay all of his trainees a
livable wage during training, and to help place them in others jobs as
they become competent. The beauty of this plan is that it addresses
hunger at the root of the problem, which is the inaccessibility of job
training for those who need it most. Furthermore, by situating his
company in the neighborhood he has chosen, he helps to improve it while
being accessible to the people he wants to help.
Vincent has plans to increase the number of products to include more
items for sale and larger containers of items to be used in food
pantries and soup kitchens. He has jars of tomato sauce waiting for
labels (from a local printer) before they can go on the shelves, and he
is planning to offer a no-sugar concord grape jelly, a few varieties of
salsa, and some savory sauces based on tomatoes and fruit for sale in
the near future. Honest Weight sells almost half of his inventory, but
the Healthy Community Harvest brand products are also available at
several small stores and co-ops in our area. For more information and
news about this wonderful organization, you can check them out online
at www.healthycommunityharvest.com. Here you will also find simple
recipes, although Gustav and crew are ready with delicious suggestions
of their own for pairings with cheeses. Keep your eyes open for new
products from this local company and know that with every savory bite,
you are helping to support a network of farmers, workers, and business
people who are doing it the right way.
|
| Back to the Table of Contents |
|
|
|
