Flourish Newsletter: Summer 2024

  FLOURISH    
Nourish Wellness Newsletter  
Volume 1: Issue 9

This newsletter showcases the work that Nourish Wellness and volunteers have been doing from Fall 2023- Spring 2024.
​From cooking healthy meals to
​cultivating garden beds, sowing seeds, transplanting vegetables, harvesting produce and donating it,
Nourish Wellness and our volunteers have been quite busy! 

---

FALL 2023

---

~ HARVESTING & DONATING PRODUCE ~ 

Susana Abdurahman accepting our donated collard greens on behalf of Merritt S.O.U.L. (Merritt College's food bank).

​Merritt College's Basic Needs Coordinator, Susana Abdurahman, helps connect students with housing, food, and health services. When we asked if Merritt S.O.U.L. could use a donation of leafy greens, she said that fresh produce would be helpful and appreciated.
​
We were able to oblige and delivered leafy greens twice in the fall.
On one of these delivery days, we received a helping hand from a few Girl Scouts. They helped us harvest and drop off leafy greens and potatoes to Merritt S.O.U.L.. 

Girl Scouts harvesting produce to donate to Merritt S.O.U.L.

---

~ CULTIVATING BEDS ~

Nourish Wellness volunteers cultivated a garden bed and mixed in aged manure. They also formed paths around the bed for easier access when planting and harvesting food. 

NW volunteers, Katerina and Sabine, prepping a garden bed.

---

WINTER 2024

---

~ HARVESTING & DONATING PRODUCE ~ 

On a few occasions, we donated bags of tree collards, kale, and chard to Mercy Retirement Center's Mercy Brown Bag Program. Mercy Brown Bag provides supplemental food for seniors with lower incomes. 

NW's director harvesting collards

Bags of our harvested leafy greens

David Bolaños, Mercy Brown Bag's Operations Manager, and a co-worker/volunteer receiving bags of Nourish Wellness' leafy greens.

---

SPRING 2024

NW volunteer Gina & 2 of her children

After helping their mother, Gina, volunteer and sow flower seeds, these young visitors learned about culinary herbs from Nia.

---

~ GROWING FOOD ~

In the fall, volunteers sowed Ethiopian kale seed indoors in our work studio. In the beginning of the year, they transplanted the seedlings into 2” pots. 

In early spring, after installing gopher cages, volunteers transplanted the Ethiopian kale into a garden bed. (These cages prevent gophers from eating the plants for dinner). Afterwards, they fertilized the plant starts. The garden bed was later mulched with straw, (for weed suppression and moisture retention).

---

Volunteers, Katerina and Kristi, planting Ethiopian kale at NW mini-farm

Ethiopian kale seediings in a garden bed with straw mulch

---

~ HARVESTING & DONATING PRODUCE ~ 

In May, we harvested 9.5 bags of leafy greens to donate. We missed the drop off time for three of the programs we've donated to in the past. What to do, what to do.  

We called around, but couldn't find a place that would receive produce at that time.
We then called 211, to find an organization that was willing to accept produce donations after 4p.m.. They referred CityTeam Oakland. After contacting CityTeam Oakland to inquire about their need(s), we headed over to their soup kitchen to give them kale, tree collards, and chard. ​The cooks thanked us, one of which said that the donation was right on time.

---

~ CULTIVATING BEDS ~

Nourish Wellness Mini-Farm is still in a developmental stage. One of the tasks that we need the most help with is prepping garden beds. One of our volunteers recently cultivated and fertilized a garden bed. In a few weeks, we will put in gopher cages and plant more medicinal herbs.

NW volunteer Zashe' cultivating a garden bed

---

~ COOKING ~

Volunteer Katerina saw Nourish Wellness' sautéed chard recipe in our culinary blog.
​She gave it a try, adding bright red tomatoes for color. She said it was delicious! :-)

Volunteer Katerina's chard & tomatoes dish

---

Volunteer support needed! ​

Volunteer Zashe' harvesting tree collards

​Nourish Wellness needs assistance with:
​
​* Weeding and cultivating garden beds
*  Planting more greens
* Harvesting greens & veggies for donation
* Sheet mulching
​* String trimming (weed whacking)

​​Please email [email protected] if you would like to volunteer. 
Put "Volunteer Support" in the subject line.

---

Nourish Wellness has tote bags and t-shirts for sale.
​Please go to our FUNDRAISING PAGE for  more details.

Donations are appreciated. Any amount, small or large, can help Nourish Wellness continue to help others. ​ 
​
​Funds will help pay for supplies, printing holiday meal brochures, and operating costs.

Nourish Wellness is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

---