Worm Review

Here's a picture from our Vermiculture Workshop last Saturday--Kari Blouin, Shelley Czupinski and Gina Czupinski drill holes in a bin to give the worms air and keep the right level of moisture in the mix. We had lots of fun discussing the secret lives of worms and then making our own bins. If you couldn't make it but are interested, check out our previous entry about vermiculture to get some ideas and resources!

Keep your eyes peeled for other news and announcements on our Growing Hope blog, and we'll keep the blog buzzing with our upcoming events and interesting articles.

Family Fun at the Corner Brewery

We Knew It!

Today an article in the New York Times health section confirmed what we thought was just common sense: a new study shows that "vouchers that permit low-income women to shop at a local farmers’ market increase fruit and vegetable consumption in poor families". As the study mentions, increased fruit and vegetable intake can have a powerful effect on the chronic illnesses that affect a largely low-income population.

At the Downtown Ypsilanti Farmer's Market, which Growing Hope manages, Food Stamp participants can use their EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) card to buy fresh fruits and vegetables! Additionally, the market participates in Project Fresh and Project Senior Fresh. We hope you'll come on down and see us at the market starting in May!

Vermiculture Adventures

Vermiculture (growing worms) is an exciting way to improve the soil in your garden while recycling your food wastes. Worm composting bins (known as vermicomposting) are easily adaptable to different sizes of households and types of maintenance. There are several different kinds, from high-tech systems you can order from a catalogue to those you can make yourself at home. In either case, if you treat your worms well and feed them delicious food scraps, they will reward you with their castings. Worm castings are a very concentrated source of nutrients that can increase the productivity of your soil. Once you have a thriving community of happy and full worms, they can process half their weight in food each day . This is not the case with a regular backyard compost pile, which can only incorporate a small amount of kitchen waste before it gets soggy and smelly.

One of our favorite books on vermiculture is "Worms eat My Garbage" by the late, great Michigander Mary Appelhof. Check it out of the library, or swing by the Growing Hope offices to say hello to our worms and read our copy.
We also hope you'll join us for our Worm Bin Workshop on January 26 (a Saturday) from 10:30am to 1pm; it's the first of our ongoing Saturday Classes that will be held throughout the winter and spring.

Yam Fries

Winter is a time to eat yummy root vegetables, and one of my favorite ways to prepare them is to roast them in the oven--simply put them in, set a timer, and take it easy until they're done. An especially great food to make that way is yam fries, or sweet potato fries (What we call yams in the United States are interchangeable with sweet potatoes as they are cooked the same ways).
Vegetables and fruits with bright colors are often packed with nutrients, and sweet potatoes are no exception. You can read about their nutritional information and health benefits on Wikipedia. A yam fries recipe to start from is at The Post-Punk Kitchen website; this cooking site is vegan, but the recipe can be a part of any healthy diet.

Experiment to see how you like them best: cut like potato chips or like french fries, baked or sauteed, and which herbs and spices make your taste buds happy. I made them recently with a delicious dipping sauce of yogurt, a dollop of mayonnaise, and chili powder. Sweet potato & yam fries are a tasty, healthy way to eat fresh veggies in the middle of our Michigan winter.