Dear Friends,

With just two weeks and $3,783 left in our $50,000 Matching Gift Challenge, we need you. 

Our community is up against the odds. We have the eighth highest food costs in the nation, the ninth greatest wealth inequality, and wages have actually dropped in the last 10 years when adjusted for inflation.

For every picnic at the lake or family dinner full of laughs and love, there is a local person coming home from work to an empty house and an empty plate. There’s a mother passionate about nutrition, feeding her children Top Ramen because it’s the only affordable option. There’s a person who will be paying off their ER visit for four years instead of the healthy food they need to heal from a heart attack. It’s a luxury in Blaine County to put good food first.

And these aren’t uncommon experiences. While The Hunger Coalition serves 20% of our community each year, there’s evidence that 38% of local people are considered food insecure or one crisis away from it. That’s 1 in every 3 locals.

How do we make sure these 8,000 some people can fulfill their most basic human need?

With you. If you can help us raise $3,783 more, you will unlock a $50,000 matching gift and we can invest $100,000 in the cause.This will open doors and farm gates, grocery aisles, and cooking classrooms. This will help unite us around something we all share, we all love, and should all be able to celebrate: good food.

If you have already made a donation, thank you for helping us get this close to our goal. Please consider forwarding this along to spread the word!

In Gratitude,
Jeanne Liston, executive director
*photo by Jay Graham

Click here to read the full August Newsletter!

COUNTDOWN TO $50,000

Your gift is an act of courage. Hope in the face of hardship isn’t for the faint of heart. By making a donation to The Hunger Coalition, you’re staring down injustice and standing strong on behalf of your neighbor. 

Will you give the gift of good food? Your donation says you recognize the heartache and hardship unique to our valley, but trust that together, we can make it better. With a $50,000 matching gift, your donation will be doubled through August 31!

FROM THE FIELD

Volunteer for Veggies not only increases access to farm-fresh produce, but introduces our community to new fare they may not try otherwise. This summer, all sorts of strange and delicious veggies are being harvested from our farm and garden. We’ve got fennel, we’ve got kohlrabi, we’ve got rutabagas (in the ground). Let us know if you’ve tried any of these bold new flavors and your favorite way to prepare them. You canscore a share of your very own at Volunteer for Veggies from now through October.
BLOOM YOUTH PROJECT

Bloom Youth Project (BYP) interns were amused and inspired by everything food-justice maverick, Mark Brand dished up during his visit for Sun Valley Institute‘s Youth Forum last month. Mark and teens from all over the country visited Bloom Community Farm for tours by the BYP team. 

The grand finale to the day was a scratch-made feast from local food at The Sage School. Thank you Mark for sharing your vision for a better world and a new spin on carrot tops. Check out Mark’s bold approach to food-security here.

Below, Bloom Youth, Majo looks triumphantly at the new living room she built for Bloom Farm. We’re proud of you, Majo – thanks for this cool space!