HH Blog

What's new at Hidden Harvest?
This blog is designed to be a frequently updated journal chronicling what's new, what's changing, who stopped by to visit and what's growing and being picked, who is being served, new things we are dreaming at Hidden Harvest.

 January, 2010

How CAN it be 2010??? Time flies when you are having fun feeding people healthy food, doesn't it?

2010 is shaping up to be a year in which common sense policy changes are being championed once again by many of our state legislators. Several ideas are around simplifying the food stamp program (which many of us have pushed for a long time) and we also see the introduction of the idea of the soda tax---a penny per teaspoon of sugar or sweetener, to pay for the consequences of junk food on our health. For a review of Hunger Legislation in Sacramento click here.

 

October, 2009

Our "senior produce markets" - a farmer's market style array of produce offered free to low income senior citizens - has been one of the most popular projects ever undertaken at Hidden Harvest. These markets were created in direct response to the February 2009 UCLA public health survey which found that fully 50% of all seniors 65 and over living in Riverside County could not afford to pay for their basic needs and adequately feed themselves as well. Click here for more info.

October finds HH adding three more senior markets to our existing five - each market is twice a month. Dates and locations are listed below. For more information about senior markets, please contact Sandra at (760)398-8183 or e-mail her at Sandra@hiddenharvest.org.

Some photos from our senior market at the Vista Serena Apartments in Palm Springs:

June, 2008 -

May, 2008 - Senator Barbara Boxer and some of her staff visited Hidden Harvest for a tour of our facility and to present us with the Senate's "Health Care Champions" award. It was fantastic to have our own U.S. Senator on the premises and to show her a display of over 20 different locally grown crops. Coachella Mayor Eduardo Garcia and his son, "Little Mayor" were also on hand to present Senator Boxer with a commendation from the City of Coachella. And to show that it was a bipartisan affair, Riverside County Supervisor Roy Wilson and his aide, Leticia DeLara were on hand as well.

April, 2008 - Well, who would have expected to find People Magazine in the fields with Hidden Harvest? People reporter Maureen Harrington came to the banks of the Salton Sea, along with People photographer Robert Gallagher (wondering aloud who was going to do "hair and makeup", to profile Hidden Harvest for the May 4, 2008 edition of the magazine.

These photos show our fearless crew continuing to pick and box cauliflower at Prime Time's Natalie Ranch as photographer Gallagher looks for just the right vantage point atop the Hidden Harvest truck. That's HH warehouse manager Franciso Linares behind the wheel.

December, 2007

For the sixth year running,

October, 2007
As you may have read elsewhere on this website (yes, I know, in about ten places) I was awarded a Minerva Award by First Lady Maria Shriver. What an honor - and a great opportunity to tell more people about the work Hidden Harvest does. A front page story in The Desert Sun was a highlight. Thanks to The Desert Sun's Nicole Brambila and photographer Marilyn Chung.

The Palm Springs Life November issue will profile Hidden Harvest! Thanks to writer Sharon Apfelbaum and photographer Mark Davidson!

Community Garden Facelift!! Hidden Harvest's community garden at our Coachella facility is completely revamped. HH Facilities Manager Francisco Linares, with help from fellow HH staffer Alejandro Garcia-Gonzales, has installed a new irrigation system from A-Z. Previous gardeners will find the 250 planting boxes (more to come!) moved to the south side of our warehouse where water and electricity for timers are more accessible. New seed is available too!

Our new staff nutrition coordinator Bridgette Becker is also an organic gardening expert. Drop by and get some tips from - or give some to - Bridgette.

Bridgette organized a composting workshop to be conducted at our facility in Coachella on Saturday November 3rd. The compost experts are provided by Riverside County Extension. Even if you don't have a garden, composting green kitchen waste is a good idea for feeding trees and patio plants. Learn how to "let it rot" (or read the great book of the same name) with us. It's worth the trip just to see our WORMS!!

New on the Hidden Harvest equipment lot - a donation from local grower Blas Rivera of an International 24 foot flatbed truck This flatbed can be put in the field, allowing our crew to work much faster and not to have to carry heavy boxes of produce the length of the field back to our truck. THANK YOU BLAS!

Good Books about Good Food (and other things)
- Hidden Harvest staff suggestions...

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods by Gary Paul Nabhan

Melissa's Great Book of Produce: Everything You Need to Know about Fresh Fruits and Vegetables by Cathy Thomas and Nick Koon

The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden by William Alexander

It's a Long Road to a Tomato: Tales of an Organic Farmer Who Quit the Big City for the (Not So) Simple Life by Keith Stewart (Author), Flavia Bacarella (Illustrator)

Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime by Kenneth Helphand

The United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution

All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew

Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting (Third Edition) (Storey's Down-to-Earth Guides) by Stu Campbell

Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, And Fair by Carlo Petrini and Alice Waters

Slow Food Revolution: A New Culture for Eating and Living by Carlo Petrini and Gigi Padovani

Play With Your Food by Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann

Hidden Harvest begins nutrition education curriculum in local schools.

Hidden Harvest is not only the source of fresh and healthy produce for low income people in the Coachella Valley, we have become the leader in nutrition education as well. It is not enough to just give produce away. Our commitment is to demonstrate to our clients some of the healthiest and most economical ways to prepare it as well as educate them about the health benefits of eating fresh, locally grown foods.

In the spring of 2007, Hidden Harvest began teaching a six-lesson nutrition education curriculum in the Desert Sands School District. This curriculum was written by University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) and is designed for 4-6 year olds. It is entitled "Happy Healthy Me…Moving, Munching and Reading through My Pyramid".

We are indebted to UCCE for the use of their curriculum. By the end of 2007, all Headstart and state pre-school students in DSUSD will have received the complete six-lesson training - over XXX children.

Beginning in January 2008, Hidden Harvest staff and volunteers will present the "Happy Healthy Me" curriculum in the Coachella Unified School District.

Classes are taught by Hidden Harvest Nutrition Coordinator Bridgette Becker and Hidden Harvest Food Distribution Manager Alma Bautista.

Please contact Bridgette if you have questions about the curriculum or to volunteer:
Bridgette@hiddenharvest.org or (760) 398-8183.