Community Food Collaborative (CFC) Timeline
2017
May 1 – CFC is born with 2,800 square feet of space.
October 16 – Sturbridge Rotary officially granted Sturbridge and Southbridge Rotary Clubs to form the Rotary Community Corps (RCC).
November 4 – First workdays – weeding & getting garden ready for Spring planting.
November 10 – Had a table at Tantasqua Craft Fair with posters promoting the CFC garden and seeking volunteers.
2018 (Head Gardener – Connie Pion)
March – The snow keeps coming…
March – Sturbridge & Southbridge Rotary Clubs donated $1,100 each as seed money.
March – A general recruitment poster was made and distributed in Southbridge, Sturbridge, in Chamber newsletter and on social media.
April 8 – Tantasqua Carpentry Students built and installed 22 planting boxes measuring
5’ x 10’. Three boxes are taller to help those with back or bending issues.
April 11 – Spring Kickoff and Open House Party – to attract volunteers.
April 14 – Tantasqua Carpentry students delivered and installed remaining planting boxes.
April 21 – Boys & Girls Lacrosse teams filled the boxes with loam.
April 28 – Cold crops were planted.
May 20 – Water for the garden coming from the Sturbridge Town Hall is installed by Babe’s Lawn Care.
May 20 – Launched Phase I of Fundraising and thanked all the In-Kind Donors. (Raised $4,250 in 2018).
May 26 – Work Day – Installed wood chips in the aisles of the garden.
June 12 – First crop of lettuce harvested and delivered to the Pantry. The crop continued to be plentiful.
June 13 – Girls Scouts learn about gardening from Head Gardener, Connie.
June 23 – Work day at the garden to spread wood chips.
June 23 – Started re-siding the small shed.
June 23 – Set up volunteers to adopt and weed a garden box for the season.
July 11 – Display case installed on side of small shed.
July 15 – Spread mulch on front bank.
September – First Dirt Bulletin written by Joe.
September 6 – Community Food Collaborative sign put up at the garden.
September 10 – Held Press Conference at the garden.
September 14 – Volunteers from United Way’s ‘Day of Caring’ mulched the bank in front of the garden.
October – Second Dirt Bulletin written by Joe.
October 27 – Fall Cleanup Day at the garden.
November 1 – Dig up potatoes and cleanup of garden. Total donated to the Saint John Paul II Food Pantry in 2018 is 1,524 pounds.
November 6 – Decision made by Board to expand the garden by 3,000 sf. Display posters created showing the expansion.
December – Approvals received from the Town of Sturbridge and the Federated Church to expand the garden.
December – Rotary District Grant of $3,500 received.
2019 (Head Gardener – Roberta Watson)
January 14 – Roberta Watson (JP II Co-Director) joined CFC Board as head gardner.
January 14 – Sturbridge and Southbridge Rotary Clubs donated $1,500 each.
January 16 – Heavy machinery arrived and the CFC garden expanded by 3,000 sf for a total of 5,800 square feet with 37 growing boxes.
February – The Dirt Bulletin will be written monthly by Pauline.
February – Launched Phase II Fundraising (Raised $5,050 in 2019).
March 27 – Carpentry students from Tantasqua delivered some of the 16 planting boxes we requested. These boxes measured 5’ x 8’.
March 27 – Held Kickoff & Thank You Reception announcing Season 2 Expansion.
Chef Adam Popp, a committee member, prepared the food in a garden theme with students from the Culinary Dept.
April 1 – Carpentry students from Tantasqua delivered and installe remainder of boxes.
April 25 – The new 12’ x 8’ shed we requested Tantasqua to build for us was delivered to parking lot near garden. The grade of the land was not conducive to unloading it in its proper position.
April 27 – First work day in 2019.
April 29 – Lacrosse girls’ team from Tantasqua filled all the boxes with loam for planting.
May – Items for the new irrigation system in the expanded garden area only were approved and have been purchased.
May – Rotary District Grant of $3,500 received.
May 15 – Roberta started planting the garden.
May 24 – The shed was moved to its proper location in the garden area sitting on a crushed stone base.
May 30 – The Chamber read The Dirt Bulletin where we ‘wished’ for a picnic table and donated two that were given to them by Sturbridge Rotary in 2007. Joe and Jim
picked them up.
June – Sturbridge DPW is delivering wood chips to us now for free.
June 1 – Work day from 8-10 AM held for volunteers to weed and spread woodchips.
June 4 – Connie, our former head gardener, brought a “guest team” from Housing Management Resources to help plant and to make vegetable signs for us. They also donated lots of small hand shovels and diggers and men’s and ladies work gloves.
June – Many community members and volunteers have donated plants and used tools.
June 10 – Adopting growing boxes was eliminated. Instead, regular work shifts started
on M, W, F from 5-6:30pm and Sunday from 10:30 to noon. Committee members are asked to work two shifts each week.
June 15 – A volunteer and two helpers painted most of the new shed.
June – We’ve had issues with a rabbit, bees in the shed, and a hungry woodchuck. The bees and woodchuck were removed by Dave’s Pest Control as in-kind contribution.
June 30 – A new vegetable washing station was set up in the garden.
July 1 – New officers were approved for the 2019-2020 year which starts July 1st.
July 10 – The new irrigation system in the expanded garden continues to be installed and tweaked. Total cost was $2,120.
July 31 – Pauline is tracking numbers of volunteers working during our regular work shifts and also those of committee members.
August 7 – A “guest team” from the Defense Civilian Emerging Leaders Program (CDELP) being trained at the DOD volunteered at the garden as a community
service gesture. The group was from Georgia.
August 11 – CFC had a display booth at the Farmer’s Market on Sturbridge Common.
August 23 – The CFC filed a Grant with The Last Green Valley requesting $6,000 to install an irrigation system in the other half of the garden and for a metal fence.
August 26 – Another “guest team” from the Defense Civilian Emerging Leaders Program (CDELP) receiving training at the DOD volunteered at the garden as a
community service gesture. This group was from Oklahoma.
September 13 – A team from UW ‘Day of Caring’ worked spreading wood chips on the front bank and dug out around the CFC sign so the Southbridge Garden Club can plant it for us to make the entrance to the garden more attractive.
September 20 – Pauline was notified that The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor approved the $6,000 grant in the Community Enrichment Grant
Program. The CFC has one year to complete its projects at which time funds will be paid on a reimbursement basis and matched 1:1 by cash or in-kind contributions.
October 5 – The sculpture class in the Art Department of TRHS designed and created a scarecrow sponsored by the CFC to enter into the competition on the front lawn of the Publick House. Several members of the committee helped teacher Annalisa Sciullo put
it together for display and voting.
October 18 – A Volunteer Appreciation and Season Review Celebration was held at TRHS from 5-7 pm. Committee member Chef Adam Popp and students prepared light refreshments. Nineteen people attending including seven committee members and 12
volunteers.
Statistics showed 485 regular and guest volunteers worked total of 1,114 hours in 2019.
October 20 – The CFC scarecrow competing at the Publick House won in the group category.
October 23 – A “guest team” of five workers from Dell worked at the garden spreading mulch. One committee member supervised and helped.
October 23 – Last harvest day in 2019. Total grown and donated in 2019 is 3,107 pounds.
October 26 – A “Final Work Day” was held with 5 volunteers and 6 committee members
working. The Southbridge Garden Club also planted around the CFC sign.
November 7 – A ‘Pizza Party Thank You’ was held for sculpture students in the Art Dept. at TRHS who designed and built a scarecrow sponsored by the CFC.
2020 (Head Gardener – Roberta Watson)
January 8 – The committee approved Steadfast Fence, a local company, to install the new fence at the garden. A $2,000 deposit was also approved.
January 15 – We launched our 2020 Fundraising Campaign and raised $6,725.
March 2 – Fence installation was completed and $3,800 paid toward the balance due.
March 15 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) hit the United States and we went into shut-down which lasted 12 weeks, then slowly phased into a modified normal for the remainder of the year.
March 24 – Final payment on fencing of $1,400 was paid. Total fencing cost $7,200.
April 28 – Two 400-gallon water tanks were ordered costing $1,110.16 including shipping. Projected delivery of 3-4 weeks.
May 20 – Tanks arrived.
May 16 – First ‘Work Day’ of the season. Limited to only 10 people to be in compliance with MA “social distancing” guidelines due to the virus. All MUST WEAR face masks whether working or visiting the garden.
May 22 – Started planting the garden, finished June 2.
June 3 – Installation of the irrigation system started in the original half of the garden.
June 15 – TRHS Girls lacrosse team came to weed. Only 12-15 people at a time allowed at the garden. Face masks are required.
June 20 – Irrigation installation to each growing box was completed.
June 22 – First regular work shift started for the season. Same days and times as last year. Face masks are required as well as social distancing.
June 24 – Tanks and all piping connected and system turned on. Minor tweaking took place. Total cost of irrigation for 2nd half of the garden was $1,778.93. All labor to install was donated by an engineer. All paperwork was submitted to receive the
matching grant funds.
June 24 – A 5”x7” promotional post card was designed by Joe and a graphic designer and printed. The card will be distributed at events, Farmer’s Markets we attend, and local wineries.
July 8 – President Joe Coan was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow acknowledgement from the Sturbridge Rotary Club for pursuing and creating the CFC garden.
July 19 – The work time on Sundays was changed from 10:30 to noon to 9–10 AM to accommodate working in cooler temperatures earlier in the morning.
July 27 – The $6,000 check from The Last Green Valley for the Grant was received and deposited.
July 29 – Joe is working on a video of the garden to be sent to volunteers, donors, sponsors, TRHS reps, Town Hall selectmen, etc. in place of the Open House we
had been mentioning to everyone. Based on the MA Guidelines for group gatherings, the Open House could not be more than 50 people which is the maximum limit. The video came out fuzzy. He’ll try it again next year.
July 29 – We were contacted by the Affinity Group Charitable committee at Dexter to submit a funding request for 2021 which Joe did. The request was for funding for the Water Project. The Group is offering a 2 for 1 challenge match up to $5,000. We are evaluating this offer to see if we should pursue based upon our current bank balance and the cost of the water project.
July 31 – Artwork depicting veggies was installed on the old shed giving the shed a much-needed facelift. The artwork was designed and painted by local students,
Eve and Alice Van Winkler as a gift to the CFC.
August 9 – A rototiller attachment for the CFC’s weed whacker was purchased to turn over the dirt in 27 raised boxes twice a year.
September 13 – Eliminated Friday night work session for remainder of the season.
October 4 – Last harvest day in 2020. Total grown and donated in 2020 is 2,543 pounds.
October 14 – Annual election of officers. A new secretary and new treasurer were elected. One new member joined us and one left the group. The member who joined the committee will also serve as a second head gardener.
October 23 – The Affinity Group Charitable committee was notified that we have decided the 2021 work project is a dedicated connection to the town water supply – now known as the “Water Project”.
October 24 – Final Work Day cleanup had 22 people working = 16 volunteers and 6 Committee members.
October 29 – Total Volunteer Hours for 2020 season are 673 hours in the garden.
2021 (Head Gardener – Roberta Watson)
January 1 – We launched the CFC Tee Shirt Design Contest and extended the deadline to February 17. Prize for the contest is a $75 gift card to a local restaurant, local business or school store. We had four entries. The winner wished to remain anonymous and donated the prize to us. We subsequently gave two runner-up prizes of $25 each.
February 1 – We launched our 2021 Fundraising Campaign and raised $5,987. Our fundraising for 2021 was challenging. Four of our previous donors did not respond with three of them being large donors.
April 1 – Four new plant boxes 3’ x 10’ were made and delivered by TRHS to put along the back fence for growing plants vertically.
April 6 – We were awarded $137 raised through the Stop & Shop “Bloomin’ 4 Good” Program.
April 24 – First ‘Work Day’ of the season.
May 20 – Started planting the garden and finished June 5th. Experienced gardeners helped plant for two days. Sweet potatoes were planted this year for the first
time.
June 23 – First regular work shift started for the season. Work days reduced to Wednesday and Friday 5-6:30 PM and Sunday 9-10:30 AM. Another day may
be added at harvest time. Face masks are no longer required per MA guidelines.
July 18 – We had a booth at the Farmer’s Market but the weather was not ideal.
August 18 – We held a Garden Party from 5-7 pm to thank our volunteers, donors, sponsors and all those who helped us during the year. Around 35 people
attended including the CFC committee members.
September 22 – Regular work days ended. Cleanup in the beds that had finished producing took place during regular work days to help reduce time needed during
the final cleanup day.
September 26 – A sweet potato harvest day was held from 10:30 to noon for this late crop and yielded a large harvest. This year we did not weigh the produce but
opted to report on the number of people served in 2021 which totaled 1,123 which included 267 seniors. We were also able to deliver fresh produce forfive disbursement sessions to Food Share in Southbridge.
October 16 – The final cleanup for the season was held from 9 to noon with 10 volunteers and committee members.
October 16 – The Affinity Group Charitable committee had submitted a challenge Grant to us in 2020 for the “Water Project”. The town of Sturbridge DPW had
volunteered to provide a dedicated connection to the town water supply for us however, their project list for the town didn’t leave time to accomplish our project. Therefore, we were not able to secure any funds from the challenge grant. We have been notified that the challenge grant will be carried forward to 2022.
October 16 – Total Volunteer Hours for the 2021 season in the garden are 804.
2022 (Head Gardener – Roberta Watson)
February 9 – We launched our 2022 Fundraising campaign and raised $8,275.
May 7 – “5th Annual Spring Workday” with 30 volunteers and committee members.
May 9 – Gardener Roberta and 2 volunteers started planting (Amy & Shirley) and finished on June 8 with planting sweet potato slips.
June 7 – First regular work shift started for the 2022 season. Work days were changed to Tuesday and Thursday 5 – 6:30 PM and Sunday 10-noon. The weekdays were adjusted to better align with the Food Pantry schedule.
June 15 – We were awarded $75 raised through the Stop & Shop “Bloomin’ 4 Good’ Program.
June 17 – Day of Caring was 8 to noon with 5 women from UMass Harrington spreading wood chips inside the garden and front bank. They also moved compost to inside the garden on the tarp.
June 24 – Due to excessive temperatures, Sunday morning work shift was changed to 9-11 AM.
August 13 – Roberta resigned as Head Gardener and from the CFC Board. She will still work 1 or 2 weekly shifts.
October 4 – Due to high work demands, the Town was not able to connect a direct water line to the garden in the timeframe we preferred so we hired Soper
Construction to dig the trench from the Town Hall to a spigot on the other side of the Town Hall driveway. They installed the connection and refinished the road
surface. Total cost was $3,500. Unfortunately, we have not been able to test the water pressure because the growing season is over and several leaks in the
piping to the garden occurred during the season that have not been fixed properly. This issue will be taken care of during the enhancement to the irrigation system taking place between now and the Spring season.
October 7 – The Southbridge Garden Club gave a Workshop for CFC volunteers on planting garlic. We had 7 Board members and 2 volunteers attend plus the 2
presenters from the Southbridge Garden Club = 11 people. We hope to host additional workshops in 2023, as appropriate.
October 9 – The last regular work day at the garden for the 2022 season.
October 12 – Dexter approved a $1,500 donation from their Affinity Group Charitable Foundation.
October 19 – A Volunteer Appreciation Pizza Party was discussed but has not come to fruition yet.
October 23 – Cleanup Day for the 2022 season had 13 volunteers and Board members. Besides the regular cleanup, we dismantled some of the irrigation hoses which will be replaced with a more efficient kind.
November 6 – We received the Dexter check for $1,500 which was processed through The Federated Church. This check is included in the total amount collected in
2022.
November 8 – Results of the produce grown during the 2022 season and donated to the St. John Paul II Food Pantry in Southbridge were measured by total people served at 1,528 which includes 331 Seniors and 588 Households. We were also able to make 14 regular deliveries of fresh produce to Food Share in Southbridge for ~60-75 households.
November through December – Plan and order supplies to revise/enhance the irrigation system for 2023.
November 8 – Total Volunteer Hours for the 2022 season in the garden are 866.
2023 (Head Gardener – Suzanne Werner)
January 27 – We launched our 2023 Fundraising campaign and raised $11,441.
March 12 – We purchased the domains for CFCgarden.com and CFCgarden.org. CFC website was deleted when original agreement expired. Original domains were purchased by Christian Lamparth and website built by his employee, Dan Bergman.
March 30 –The Committee held a clean-up session of old hoses, trash and wood left behind by former gardeners from the Federated church. We disposed
of these items at the town landfill. Old metal items were put in a pile at the garden and removed later by the Sturbridge DPW.
April – We started working on upgrading the irrigation system to increase water flow to the raised beds. A new pump and inverter have been ordered and 3 leaks have been repaired in the existing water line through the woods to the garden. David VanWinkler will install the system. Wood was also ordered from Bruce Smith to replace 10 existing raised beds that have rotted. We will continue to replace rotted beds until they are all replaced. We ordered accoya wood ($4,595.74) which has a 20-year guarantee not to rot. The wood was delivered by Bruce to Tantasqua Regional High School where the carpentry students will build them for us. The corners will be held together by corten steel
brackets (also called weathering steel) ($540.00) purchased and made by Southbridge Sheet Metal. Total cost for 10 new raised beds was $5,135.74.
May – Early planting was started by our new head gardener, Suzanne Werner, with help from Amy and Shirley. Suzanne has earned the credentials of Master Gardener and is a member of the Southbridge Garden Club.
May 13 – Annual Spring Workday from 9am to noon was held with 17 volunteers participating (versus 30 last year). The 10 new beds were installed. We need to
dispose of the wood from the rotted beds. All 41 beds were weeded and soil tilled. Additional soil was added to the beds and wood chips were spread in the aisles
and walkways.
May 20 – CFC had a booth at the Southbridge Garden Club’s Annual Plant Sale on Sturbridge Common. At the booth, we had 3 more volunteers sign up to work at
the garden.
May/June – Students from the AP Chemistry class at TRHS worked several days helping to layout irrigation piping. After several re-orders, the total irrigation
piping used was 1,650 linear feet. The four remaining beds against the back wall also received irrigation thus completing the entire garden.
June 1 – Our regular work shifts started. Only one volunteer showed up to work with Suzanne. Work shifts will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays 5-6:30 pm and Sunday mornings 9-10:30 am.
June 5 – A check for $5K from Dexter Affinity Group Charitable Committee was processed through the Federated Church.
June 11 – A photographer from Rotary International (RI) in Chicago came to the garden to take action photos of volunteers working. It is the intent of RI to use these
photos to promote the great work we are doing through the Rotary Community Corps in the hopes of encouraging other Rotary Clubs to form volunteer projects under the Rotary Community Corps umbrella.
June 13 – Shaw’s Supermarket ran a grocery bag promotion to benefit the CFC garden. Shaw’s now joins Stop & Shop (they run a promotion on flowers for the CFC). While their respective donations are not sizeable, the publicity for us is helpful.
June 16 – We are currently seeking a web design company to create our new website. Once it’s created, we will maintain it ourselves. Projected costs are considerably more than we are prepared to pay.
July 20 – Rabbits invaded the garden this year for the first time. One entire bed of string beans was nearly eaten in one night. We ultimately had to put up chicken
wire around several beds to protect the plants.
July/August – Since April we continued to work on the irrigation system. To accommodate the great increase in irrigation piping, we needed to add 3 additional batteries to run the new pump. It has been a rainy summer with not enough sunlight to run the pumps so we needed to buy 2 additional larger solar panels to collect and generate additional power. Everything appears to be working okay now. Total cost for the upgraded and expanded irrigation system is
$2,301.71.
August – It’s been a rainy season so we’ve had to cancel several work shifts.
September 20 – Ethan Parker has agreed to build the CFC new website.
September 24 – Thursday evening work shift was eliminated for remainder of year with the time of the Tuesday work shift reduced to 4-5 PM. Sunday hours remain the same from 9-10:30 AM.
October 19 – Joe was invited to give a presentation on the garden at the Southbridge Library. Unfortunately, only one person attended.
October – A scout approached Joe to build a gazebo-type structure as an Eagle Project to be erected outside the gate at the garden. Joe has created a preliminary design. Construction will take place in the Spring of 2024.
October 28 – We held our annual cleanup with 18 volunteers participating. We removed and rolled up the drip irrigation, removed all weeds and dead plants from the beds and made one trip to the landfill with most of the rotted wood removed from the six beds that were replaced. We need to make an additional trip with the remainder of the wood.
November 5 – Suzanne held another Workshop on how to plant garlic which was attended by 8 people.
December 4 – Results of the produce grown during the 2023 season and donated to the St. John Paul II Food Pantry in Southbridge were measured by 737 Households with almost half that number being Seniors. We were also able to make 5 deliveries of fresh produce to Food Share in Southbridge.
December 12 – An informal gathering was held at Teddy-G’s to discuss the past gardening season and to relax. It was attended by 5 members.
December 8 – Total Volunteer Hours for the 2023 season in the garden are 740.
2024 (Head Gardener – Suzanne Werner)
February 2 – We launched our 2024 Fundraising campaign and raised $7,383.
February 24 – Robinson Tree service cut two trees at the garden that were blocking the sun. They also ground up the trees and spread the wood chips on the top and front bank at the garden. They donated their services for this work.
March – Green Meadows Cannabis in Southbridge offered us 1,200 bags of organic Bioall potting soil in 25-pound bags. Joe took one load of 62 bags in his truck for the garden.
April – Two of the raised beds near the fence were resized to make planting, weeding and cleaning easier to reach. The “L” shaped beds were split into one 5’x10’
bed and an adjacent 5’x5’ bed with a 3’ walkway between. May 10 – 12 new raised boxes made by the Tantasqua Carpentry students were delivered. We used accoya wood again which has a 20-year guarantee not to rot. The corners will be held together by corten steel brackets made by Southbridge Sheet Metal. Total cost for the 12 new raised beds was $5,250.
May – Unfortunately the scout who had approached Joe in the fall to build a gazebo- type structure as an Eagle Project at the garden must have changed his mind. The Project never came to fruition.
May 11 – Spring clean-up was held from 9 to noon with 27 volunteers who installed the new boxes, spread soil and bark mulch in the aisles and walkways. Lots of students from TRHS volunteer throughout the summer at the garden. Included in the volunteers this day were four members of the newly formed Rotaract Club at TRHS.
May 12 – Terri donated 3 growing beds which were built on tall legs and installed along the front fence of the garden. Total raised growing beds is now at 45.
May – Upon much discussion among ourselves and with volunteers over volunteer hours, we decided to make a change from after work hours to morning hours. New volunteer hours will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-11:30 AM and Sundays from 9-10:30 AM.
May 27 – Planting the garden started with Suzanne and several helpers. When planting was finished, a total of 2,224 plants were in the ground.
June 9 – The 2024 First Work Day was scheduled but was rained out.
June 23 – Irrigation was finally finished and fully operational. It’s time-consuming each year because we rotate crops and the irrigation system consists of over one thousand linear feet of dripline in the beds which needs to be arranged to accommodate the new crops in providing enough water for them to grow
effectively.
June 29 – The new Sturbridge Gardener’s Club included our garden in their first annual tour of gardens. Many participants were not aware of our garden.
July 11 – We had extreme heat for several days. We shortened or cancelled work shifts and gave extra water to the garden plants.
July 9 – We had our first harvest of the year – garlic scapes!
July 22 – We hired Babes Landscaping to make a 10’ wide path around the garden, put down heavy weed fabric over the dirt and then spread a 4” layer of crushed stone on top of the fabric. Cost was $3,400. We are hopeful this will protect us for a long time from the growth encroaching into the garden.
July – We have been having critters and insects biting our tomatoes and all preventive measures including spreading dog hair at the base of each plant have not been that successful. We have lost several grocery bags full of damaged produce.
August 6 – We had a pleasant surprise when 11 young people showed up to volunteer.
August 8 – We have been harvesting crops plentiful enough to share not only with St. John Paul II Pantry but also St. John’s and the Bridge Fridge. Once Food Share
has completed its move to a different location and re-opened, we may not have enough crops to share with all of the pantries.
September 12 – A Committee Meeting was held at the garden to discuss a number of items including an ongoing rodent issue. One of our regular volunteers (Mitchell) attended the meeting.
September 23 – Ethan Parker agreed to build the CFC new website but Joe didn’t get time to spend with him so nothing has been done.
October 17 – A Committee Meeting was held to discuss improvement plans for the garden in 2025. Joe announced that Roberta Watson is returning in January,
2025 as head gardener. Roberta attended the meeting. Suzanne worked very hard and did a very good job with all the plants. Moving forward, she will no longer be a member of the garden committee.
October 26 – On a beautiful day, we held our annual cleanup from 9 to noon with 23 Volunteers participating including several members of the new Rotary Interact
Club at Tantasqua. Most volunteers were done by 11 AM. All drip lines were coiled and tied, fencing was rolled up and tied and the sheds were cleaned and
organized for next year. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day. A large pile of wood debris from the rotted beds needs to be brought to the landfill.
November 9 – Results of the produce grown during the 2024 season and donated to the St. John Paul II Food Pantry in Southbridge were measured by 694 Households which includes Seniors. First harvest this year was in July. St. John’s, the Bridge Fridge, and Food Share, all located in Southbridge, also received a
Weekly delivery.
November 9 – Total Volunteer Hours for the 2024 season in the garden are 495 hours. Committee members spent 161 hours of their own time volunteering for the garden.
November 22 – Old wooden growing boxes and miscellaneous wood was removed by TeamClean Dumpsters for $150.
2025 (Head Gardener – Roberta Watson)
January 17 – We lost a great volunteer and friend, Cindrea (Cindy) Macaruso, only 66 years old who passed away unexpectedly.
February 1 – We launched our 2025 Fundraising campaign and raised $6,984 (a/o 7-8-2025).
March 2 – Maryann Cunniff of Sturbridge passed away in January. Maryann loved gardening so her family gave several donations received to the CFC as a way of
honoring her.
April 4 – We started planting and transplanting items from the garden – chives, radishes, swiss chard, rhubarb.
May 10 – Spring Cleanup was scheduled at 9:00 AM.
May 12 – First harvest for JPII is chives.
May 14 – Spring Cleanup rescheduled to May 14 from 4-7 pm.
May 19 – Rhubarb is ready.
May 21 – Nor’Easter predicted. We bought cloches to protect young plants and covered others.
May 24 – First work schedule for Sunday May 25 from 9-10:30AM. We replaced 7 more growing boxes with new ones.
May 28 – Planting day with Roberta, Lydia Mason, Sue Ruggario, Terri.
June 2 – Scallions harvested and sent to JPII.
June 8 – Volunteer hours start: Sunday 9-10:30am; Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 – 11
AM. The final new beds were placed, filled with soil and planted.
June 10 – Work canceled – rain.
June 15 – No Volunteer hours – Father’s Day!
June 21 – ‘Heat wave’ coming. We prepared to protect the plants.
June 23 – Work session canceled due to heat warnings.
June 24 – Plants thriving in the heat with lots of watering.
June 26 – We have a bunny “nesting” in the garden. We found and blocked her entryway at the rear garden gate.
July 8 – More mulching and weeding. We posted lots of advertising for students to earn volunteer hours. Tomatillos have appeared; picked squashes.
Rabbit is back!!! GGGRRRRR