Real Food Challenge is Echoing Green!
We’ve got some exciting breaking news! Just last week, Anim Steel and David Schwartz of the Real Food Challenge were announced as 2010 Echoing Green Fellows. This prestigious two-year fellowship supports social entrepreneurs with innovative ideas to build sustainable social change organizations. The support will be instrumental in the next phase of the Challenge, which the pair co-founded while Anim was TFP’s Director of National Programs and David was a student at Brown University. This victory is even sweeter when you realize that David is an alumnus of The Food Project’s Local Youth Programs – a great example of our graduates going on to become visionary leaders in social change! You can learn more about the fellowship on the Real Food Challenge blog.

B-a-G Blog: Building Better Gardeners
Summer is upon us at last, and nobody knows this better than our community of dedicated Build-a-Gardeners! Ranging from first-timers to more seasoned growers, these folks are growing their own produce in the city using the raised bed gardens that our youth, staff and volunteers build. These beds keep lead out of the soil and veggies on our plates. This year, whenever staffers Kathleen and Kesiah can get their hands out of the dirt, they’re blogging tips and stories. Check out recent posts about the “three sisters” (squash, beans and corn), neighbors gardening together, and tomato maintenance!

TFP in Print and Video
The interest and enthusiasm for our work building a more just and sustainable food system with youth and adults continues to grow! Just last week the Boston Globe highlighted Boston Bounty Bucks and the Bay State Banner joined us in helping to get the word out about the initiative. Earlier this month, the Globe also quoted our North Shore Director, James Harrison, speaking about the crisis of teen jobs. Finally, Billy Costa and TV Diner from New England Cable News visited our Lincoln Farm and caught some volunteers in action.

Cultivating Change With a Click
With your help, we can make a big impact this summer:

• 1,600 low-income community members will grow and eat fresh food from backyard gardens.
• Teens will grow 300,000 servings of healthy produce for hunger relief organizations.
• 3,000 SNAP/Food Stamp users will get 50% off at Boston farmers’ markets.

Reminder:
Don’t forget to sign up for The Food Project’s Summer Institute, which runs from August 4-6 this year! This is your chance to immerse yourself in our innovate models and learn how our programs work.