Soup, Potato Boxes, & Flu Shots To-Go
Potato boxes allow gardeners to grow more potatoes in less area. By stacking frames and adding soil, growers force the potato plant to stretch upward, and potatoes fill in the vertical space. They are also ideal for sprouting Squirrel Project teenagers!
Bison chili highlighted Garden City Harvest grown squash, onions, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, and black beans. They only ingredient we bought was chili powder!
On a grey Saturday in November, clients of All Nations Health Center received flu shots through their car windows as Squirrel Project teens loaded planter boxes into back seats, and ladled hot soup into to-go containers. A collaboration that started last winter as a conversation between Youth Harvest Project alumni and All Nations Health Center staff, this drive-thru distribution event allowed folks to pick up a potato box or herb box, as well as a choice between bison chili, pork pozole, and a lentil vegetable stew, all highlighting locally grown produce!
All Nations Health Center provided the construction plans, recipes, ground bison, and lumber (with some additional support from Lowe’s) for five Squirrel Project teens to learn and practice construction and culinary skills. Then they share those skills with the community. In three weeks of after school and weekend programming, youth measured wood, practiced safe use of power tools, and worked together to construct 15 potato boxes and 15 herb boxes. They also built knife skills, read recipes, converted recipe quantities, bought groceries on a budget, and took the lead in cooking a total of 150 servings of three different soups!
Teens built the potato boxes together, practicing collaboration and communication skills, and developing their own systems for working more efficiently. Pictured here outside the Community Barn at River Road Farmstead.
Squirrel Project is an extension of Youth Harvest Project, which hires teens for the spring, summer, and fall seasons where they learn job and life skills on farms, at teen-run markets, and the Missoula Food Bank. Teens that show success through the growing season are invited to stay on for an extra month to learn new skills and expand their connections in the Missoula community, while continuing personal development work, and staying true to Garden City Harvest’s mission to promote local food security.
In addition to preparing for the All Nation’s drive-thru distribution, teens completed a Food Handler’s Certification, explored culinary creativity with a breakfast workshop led by Christine Littig, and cooked and served sides highlighting Garden City Harvest produce for Hope Rescue Mission’s Annual Holiday Meal. One teen described their time with Squirrel Project sharing "I never used to try things unless I knew I could do it, but now I've been successful in things I didn't know I could do, and it's given me confidence to try new things."
Thank you to All Nations Health Center, Hope Rescue Mission, Lowe’s, The Missoula Food Bank, Blake Bentley, Christine Littig, The Good Food Store, and Willard Alternative High School for your support and collaboration!
Teens measure and cut wood for the potato boxes outside the shedquarters of River Road Farmstead.