2005 Testimonials

These are statements written by adopted families about their experience of participating in the Local Foods Connection programs. All statements are anonymous on this web page; see back issues of newsletters for original publication.

1. My family and I had a very positive experience participating with Local Foods Connection. We looked forward to our box every week to see what vegetables we would be eating for that week. There were always favorites in the box and also new ones we had never seen before. My children bravely tried the new ones and some they liked and some they didn't. All in all we certainly enjoyed the box. We had great service from Simone to pick up our box from the farmer's market for us. We could tell a lot of effort went into filling the box every week. One of our favorite and easy dinners this summer was to take a sheet of tin foil, but a hamburger pattie on it and then pile all kinds of veggies around it; whatever was in the box. Then we would wrap and seal it in the foil and bake it in the oven for an hour. M-m-m. We all say a big thank-you to everyone who provided this for us!

   -EG

2. I have been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables for a while. It seems that sometimes I go for a while without eating any. Now, though, I always have vegetables in the house and can make a salad whenever I want, sometimes eating three in a row!

   Thank you Local Foods Connection!

3. The Shelter House provides emergency housing shelter to the homeless in the Iowa City area. The partnership between Shelter House and Local Foods Connection is new this year and we have had an amazing experience. Laura Dowd, president of Local Foods Connection, has worked very hard to cater to our ever-changing and sometimes difficult needs. For example, meal preparation at the Shelter House must be fast and easy since we serve so many people. We require an individualized share box, one that includes larger quantities of fewer varieties of vegetables. Local Foods Connection did such a great job of negotiating a special CSA share with the farmer, and the box of food we received was so impressive, that I was inspired to tell another agency about the program. I began sharing a portion of vegetables with the Domestic Violence Intervention Program Shelter in Iowa City. When Laura Dowd found out, she offered to increase the size of our share so that both agencies would have a healthy portion each week. Due to these efforts, clients of both shelters are able to enjoy fresh and organic vegetables that they normally would not be able to afford.

   One concern we shared with Laura was how to identify and prepare each unique vegetable. Thankfully, Local Foods Connection supplies an educational fact sheet with each share of vegetables. James, the cook, and I have learned from the fact sheet that in order to clean cabbage properly, we need to soak it in salt water first. Many of the children at Shelter House couldn't resist their curiosity to venture into the kitchen to learn about the vegetables as well. Who knew there were so many kinds of squash? Luckily, the fact sheet assured us that indeed the red, green, yellow and striped objects in the box were all varieties of squash. Shelter House and Local Foods Connection worked together to find a dedicated volunteer committed to helping James in the kitchen prepare recipes which include vegetables. Shelter House looks forward to continuing the partnership with Local Foods Connection in the future. We at Shelter House are grateful to work with Local Foods Connection to provide more balanced, healthy foods to our clients who depend on us for part of their daily diet.