Flooded Hudson Valley: Organizing Help Post Irene

(Photo Credit: Just Food)

Although I glibly posted about throwing a hurricane party last weekend, it was in most part because New York City did not experience much damage. I apologize to anyone who felt that my post was insensitive. It wasn't until after my post went up that the stories of total devastation and flooding came out about our upstate NY farmers.

My CSA farm, Windflower Farm, was spared most damage. And our deliveries should continue as normal. But other farms have see minor flooding, the loss of certain fields and some have been washed away entirely. One of the main problems of farming is that it has only a few big payouts per year, in harvesting. Given weather, seasonality and the sheer time needed to realize the harvest, it is impossible to recoup dramatic losses that occur late in the season. The mornings are already chilly here. The winds blowing into the region are cold. Summer is over, it is obvious. And though the growing season will continue for several more weeks, now we are coming upon the time for root vegetables and squashes and late season greens. The farmers who have flooded fields will have to wait until next year. This is where you come in!!

There are ways that you can help the devastated farms of the Northeast. I have listed several links below that will point you in the direction of folks accepting direct donations, organizing homegrown fundraisers and large scale NYC dining events whose proceeds benefit upstate growers. We are what we eat. And if us New Yorkers want to keep eating goods grown in our home state, then participating in these events should be of top priority.

From Scratch Club's Fundraiser for The Denison and Kilpatrick Family Farm and Fellow Blogger Amanda- Christina from the FSC was the blogger who inspired me to write this post in the first place. She has, in all her lack of time, organized a fundraiser/ auction for not just her beloved Kilpatrick Family Farm but for the Denison Farm and also for her friend and fellow blogger Amanda who lost her house in a fire that was caused by the flooding of Irene. Check out the FSC for more links on the storm damage, local coverage, ways to participate in the auction as well as just plain donate.

Just Food NYC's Hurricane Relief Page- Just Food NYC is a fabulous volunteer organization who helps folks organize and lead their own CSA's. I blogged about attending their CSA conference last March. Their suggestions for helping out with the Hurricane Relief is to donate a percentage of the profits of their upcoming Let Us Eat Local event to hurricane relief, as well as accepting donations directly.


GrowNYC & NYC Greenmarkets- The organization GrowNYC that organizes all of NYC's Greenmarkets is offering a beautiful poster designed by artist Claudia Pearson for each donation of $50 (there are two different designs, though I downloaded just one from the GrowNYC website above). 100% of the donations will go to Greenmarket Farms affected by Irene. They are also encouraging folks to eat locally in September. It is still the height of the season and there are still crops in the farmers markets. We can show our support by buying the goods that have made it to market. Visit the link provided for more information.

Dine Out Irene- On September 25th participating NYC restaurants will donate 10% of their proceeds to Just Food and GrowNYC. For a list of participating restaurants (and there are some good ones), click the link provided

Hudson Valley Food Network- Another interesting group, the Hudson Valley Food Network has tons of information on their website forum. Megan Murphy, the site's organizer is trying to pair eager volunteers with farm who needs helping hands. Look to their site if you can give sweat, but not cash.

And finally, in an attempt to help out those farmers who still have product to sell, I would like to propose a 100% local pot luck to be attended by you, the readers of The Table of Promise. If you would like to participate please email me at thetableofpromise(at)yahoo(dot)com before September 20th. The pot luck will be held on Saturday September 24th at 4pm, location to be determined. I haven't exactly told my husband yet-so if dates or times change, don't be upset with me. If you are interested, please email me, I will start the email chain of what to bring and where to go! I would love to break bread with my readers and if organizing a local dinner can help out our local farmers then let it be so!

This post is shared with Simple Lives Thursdays and Fresh Bites Fridays and Fight Back Fridays