Fun and success at the Harvest Dinner and Auction
The fall season is always busy when your vocation is farming, and doubly-so when money needs to be raised to support a cause as important as making the food you grow available to seniors and people facing food insecurity. For the Friends of Holcomb Farm, it has been a great fall. Let us share the good news and invite you to join us in the important work we do.
For the first time since the pandemic, we held a fundraising harvest dinner and auction, this year hosted at Healing Meals Community Project in Simsbury. More than 100 friends enjoyed a beautiful autumn sunset and feasted on a delicious farm-to-table repast, courtesy of “the two Joes”—Farmer Joe O’Grady of Holcomb Farm, and Chef Joe Bucholz of Healing Meals. Then, thanks to generous contributions from many area people and businesses, a number of special items and experiences were auctioned. When it was over, we had raised almost $18,000 to help fund the Fresh Access program.
One highlight of the evening was when Friends of Holcomb Farm Board President Jenny Emery honored dedicated volunteer Jack Lareau, recognizing his years of service to the farm. As she presented Lareau with a framed map of the Holcomb Farm trails, Emery said, “In considering Jack’s 12 years of service on our board, I now know where the term, ‘jack of all trades,’ comes from. He’s a workhorse, and a gem, and we thank him.”
Another highlight was hearing from John Sponauer, the vice president of marketing, communications and philanthropic giving at Wheeler, our largest Fresh Access partner. Building on themes of love and hope, Sponauer shared very real stories of how the food Wheeler receives through Fresh Access makes a difference in their clients’ lives. No doubt, his remarks helped to fuel the energetic bidding that followed.
We extend a huge thank you to Sponauer and Wheeler Health, to Healing Meals, to all our dinner guests and auction buyers, and to the auction donors.
Thank you, Harvest Dinner Auction Donors!
Laura J. Eden, Artist
Resolute Fit–Granby (Rob Olson)
Level Up Fitness–Avon (Rob Olson)
Missing Link Wine Company
The Bushnell
Metro Bis
Black Label New England Photography (Rob Faber)
Merrill Memoirs (Sarah Merrill)
O’Brien Nursery (John O’Brien)
Karen Kudish
Eric Lukingbeal
John Schumann
Amy Eisler
More Holcomb Farm Events
Senior Center Fresh Access Distributions Wrap-up in Style
Every Thursday since June, an intrepid crew of volunteers has helped distribute Holcomb Farm produce to Granby Senior Center members. An average of 90 members participated weekly in this service, which we are able to provide to the town at no cost, thanks in part to support from the Granby Community Fund. This year, when you receive your annual letter to support the Granby Community Fund, please know that its grants really make a difference in the lives of your neighbors.
Thanks to Feldman Farms
Through a chance conversation as the harvest season ended, Feldman Farms of Southwick donated its remaining winter squash to our local Fresh Access community partners. Nine bushels of winter squash were delivered to the Granby Senior Center, Waste Not Want Not Community Dinner and Granby Congregational Church Open Cupboard Pantry for use or distribution to their clients. Friends of Holcomb Farm is thankful to Jack Feldman and family for sharing their bounty with the Granby community.
It’s Annual Appeal Time
As is the case with many nonprofits this time of year, Friends of Holcomb Farm is reaching out to ask for your support. The money we raise supports the work we do: building and maintaining an arboretum and hiking trails throughout the 312-acre Holcomb Farm; growing produce locally, sustainably and without chemicals; operating a farm store that also carries other local products; and providing roughly a quarter of the food we grow to people who might not otherwise have access, through Fresh Access.
We are a community service organization that works hard to support our neighbors and utilize Granby’s Holcomb Farm so it can continue to be the valuable, community-wide treasure it is, without relying on taxpayer dollars. The farm is open to all, and we hope many will show their support for our mission through membership, which comes with an annual contribution of $35 or more.
Fresh Food This Winter
Much improved growing conditions this summer and fall allowed us to offer the Winter CSA, which sold out in three days! For those who missed out, shop with us at the annual Lost Acres Vineyard Holiday Farmers’ market on Saturday, Dec. 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Check our Facebook or Instagram posts for pop-up markets as winter root veggies and greenhouse greens allow. If you do not receive our periodic emails and would like to, please drop a note to cat@holcombfarm.org
A Unique Gift Idea from Our CSA
Looking to give meaningful gifts this holiday season? We are pleased to offer the Holcomb Farm Gift Bag, filled with a handpicked selection of Holcomb Farm vegetables, a jar of our delicious Holcomb Farm tomatoes, and a wall calendar filled with beautiful Holcomb Farm photos. It’s the perfect gift for the foodie, the health-conscious eater, the family chef or anyone looking to eat better and shrink their carbon footprint. Give the gift of health and wellness and support a local farm at the same time. It’s a thoughtful gift everyone will appreciate, especially as we head into winter. (Here’s an idea: treat yourself to a bag while you’re at it!) Go to our website, holcombfarm.org, to learn more.