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Well House Annual Plant Sale Saturday
Don’t miss the Well House Annual Plant Sale!
Slow Food West Michigan awards grant to OKT
Slow Food West Michigan has awarded OKT a you $500 grant to fund our heirloom greens and herbs project, which is part of our food growing project with students and households of Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Academy. The heirloom herbs to be grown include basil, sage, cilantro, rosemary and more. Students will also be planting a variety of vegetables and fruit plants. The produce will be used for healthy school-day snacks and shared with students’ households.
Blandford Farm is in the process of starting the herb plants for OKT. OKT will also provide seeds, window boxes and containers, soil and soil amendments, and a garden coach to oversee the project.
Oakdale Community Garden seeking garden stewards
Oakdale Gardens Park, corner of Evergreen St SE and Marshall Ave SE, near River City Scholars Charter Academy, reserves some beds as sharing gardens that anyone may harvest from. They are looking for one or more people who’d like to take charge of the herb bed and flower bed.
While both beds have a mix of perennials and self-seeding annuals, the new stewards would be free to redesign the plantings and add signage.
Priorities are to grow herbs that people can use for cooking, tea, or medicinally, and flowers that people can use for cut flowers or flower crafts. The stewards can work in the beds whenever their schedules permit Oakdale Gardens Park during, and may enjoy joining one of the posted weekly gathering times. For information, email info@oakdaleneighbors.org and joan@hhcreatives.com.
A whole lot of whole foods
Baxter Community Center Marketplace
Our Kitchen Table’s Collective Whole Foods Purchase Group added a new member about a year ago. Baxter Community Center began ordering whole foods for its pantry program in 2016, when OKT leveraged grant dollars to create the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market “Market Bucks” program. Run in partnership with the Urban Core Collective, most Market Bucks end up in the hands of income-challenged individuals seeking to access healthier foods for their families. These individuals, for the most part, have spent their Market Bucks on locally grown fruits and vending vegetables offered by neighborhood growers vending produce at the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market.
However, Baxter Community Center is also a Market Bucks recipient. They’ve been using them to purchase whole foods for their pantry patrons. Their last order included quick rolled oats, pinto and black turtle beans, black-eyed peas, organic pasta 
and yellow grits. These staple, whole food items not only offer excellent nutrition but also encourage patrons to cook healthier, affordable meals from scratch at home.
Thank you, Baxter Community Center, for being a vital part of OKT’s Collective Whole Foods Purchase Group!
If you are interested in purchasing Country Life Natural Foods bulk whole foods with OKT, email media@OKTjustice.org for information. Southeast Area Farmers’ Market patrons can also place orders at the market during the growing season, June through November. No fees! No mark-ups! EBT accepted. View the catalog here.
Eat healthier with bulk, whole foods!
Order by 5 p.m. Jan. 16. Pick-up at truck at Baxter Community Center week of Jan. 22.
OKT’s Collective Whole Foods Purchase Group offers OKT constituents and others opportunity to purchase bulk whole foods, e.g. dry beans, whole grain flours, nuts and seeds, pasta, rice, peanut butter, popcorn, vegetable oils, honey and more. Many organic and vegetarian items are availbale, too!
Items are ordered from Country Life Natural Foods, a supplier to Michigan food co-ops. View the entire PDF Catalog here. Place your order through the contact form on our website or via email.
If you want to pay with Bridge card/SNAP/EBT, please let us know when you order. By ordering together, we can meet minimum purchase requirements for free delivery. OKT does not mark up the price or charge a fee to your order.
Thank you market vendors, patrons and community partners!
The Southeast Area Farmers’ Market helped many, many southeast Grand Rapids households improve access to healthy, local fruits and vegetables this market season. Thank you everyone who made the market a success!
