the garden will also benefit the local food bank and the Potlatch program to supplement family meals with low-cost, nutritious, fresh produce. The garden project will also include an educational meeting area where local children and adults, alike, will learn how to grow, how to use what is grown, and all the benefits that come from gardening.
Grant Union High School John Day, Oregon Northwest FCS Regional Vice President, Beau Reynolds, applied for the Rural Community Grant in 2012 on behalf of Grant Union High School. Reynolds, a 1999 graduate of the school, was well aware of the destruction of the 2011 floods and wanted to help his alma mater. “The excessive rains and spring run-off of May 2011 caused severe flooding in the Canyon City/John Day area,” says Beau. “Grant Union High School was in the middle of all the flooding and ended up having their track and field area, old gymnasium and metal shops under a foot of standing water, causing extensive damage to all of them. Through insurance proceeds the school district was able to repair the damage incurred to the gymnasium and buildings, however were short of funding to replace the track facility.” Grant School District #3 Superintendent Mark Witty says, “The track community and Grant SD #3 are very appreciative of the financial grant from Northwest FCS. The monies will be utilized to support the goal of completing the eight lane track. The completed track will be an asset for our students and community for years to come by supporting our student athletes, community fitness and adding business to our county when we sponsor a track meet.”
Big Timber Community Food Bank Big Timber, Montana “We are so excited to be replacing many of our quite elderly second-hand refrigerators and freezers, thanks to your very generous grant,” says Christine Tochihara from the Big Timber Community Food Bank. “Funds were matched with donations
from community partners and many local donors. An obvious advantage of these appliances is that we no longer need to monitor temperatures daily and wait for a breakdown to decide whether to repair or replace. Less obvious are the savings in electricity with the energy efficient models available now, the convenience to our many volunteers who man the food bank helping clients, stocking shelves and restocking our perishables, and the ability to reliably keep perishable food at optimum temperature until it is distributed.”
Chelan Douglas Land Trust, The Saddle Rock Restoration Project Chelan, Washington “Financial support from Northwest Farm Credit Services is being used to help make the much-loved and heavily used trails at Saddle Rock safer for all trail users,” says Sharon Lunz, Communications and Development Director for the Chelan Douglas Land Trust. “We will be repairing some trails, and re-routing others to a more sustainable route. We will begin restoring native vegetation and educate volunteers. Saddle Rock is a community treasure, and we are thrilled to be able to start making improvements to the neglected trails. Thank you for your support!”
Rural Community Grant Deadlines: October 1 and February 1 For more information visit northwestfcs.com/ruralgrants or contact Jennifer Rohrer at jennifer.rohrer@northwestfcs.com or 800-743-2125 ext. 5303.
yields Winter 2014
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