Schedule Change and More Events!

Third Time's the Charm?
We Hope So!

The
ANNUAL MEETING & DINNER ON THE FARM

Has Been Rescheduled (Again) for May 11th Due to Weather

Same time, same place, different day! The public is invited to attend Rural Resources Annual Meeting and Dinner on May 11^th at 6:00 p.m. at Holly Creek Farm. The event is free but donations will be gratefully accepted to help offset the cost.
Guests will be able to tour the new Farm & Food Learning Center, currently under construction, and see the progress on the Farm and Food Teen Training program’s spring garden.


The Farm & Food Learning Center will provide space for programs, community workshops, offices and a commercial kitchen. The Rural Resources staff has been working out of a small trailer, without indoor plumbing, since a fire destroyed the building in 2009. Youth programs have been held in out buildings and a Pavilion donated by the Rotary Club. Thanks to funding from the USDA, the Appalachian Regional Commission, East Tennessee Foundation and many other generous local donors, progress on the learning center is continuing.



Rural Resources is nonprofit working to connect farms, food and families through community education, youth programs and sustainable agriculture.
Holly Creek Farm is located at 2870 Holly Creek Rd, Greeneville. For more information call Rural Resources at 423-636-8171 or register here.

The
Incredible Farm Dinner on Main!

Photo of Farm to Table Dinner in Jonesborough is courtesy of Woven Creative Studios

Tickets are on sale now for the Incredible Farm Dinner on Main!

Meet us downtown on July 23rd at 7:00 p.m. for dinner and live music on Main Street in Greeneville, Tenn. Reserve your place at the table now!
The Incredible Farm Dinner on Main is the “don’t miss” event of the summer in Greeneville, TN.  Enjoy local fare around one community table set to perfection right in the middle of Main Street!  We will gather at 7pm in the lobby of the Capital Theatre for hors d’oeuvres and drinks and then be seated on Main for a 4 course meal.  End the night with more fun inside the Capital.
This event benefits Rural Resources and the Capital Theatre and is made possible with generous sponsorship from Edward Jones Investments with Lee House, Jost, Inc., Tracey Solomon, and others.

 Farm Day Camp Registration is Open!

It's Time for Summer Fun on the Farm!

Farm Day Camp is an opportunity for children ages 4 to 12 to enjoy a full week of hands-on activities on the farm, learning about food's journey from soil to table while building relationships with the land, plants, animals and each other!

The week-long camps run from June 5 to July 28 at  Rural Resources' Holly Creek Farm, 2870 Holly Creek Rd., Greeneville, TN 37745.

The 2017 sessions:
Li'l Sprouts 1, ages 4-5, June 5 - 10; meets 9-noon,
Li'l Sprouts 2, ages 4-5, June 12 - 16; meets 9-noon,
Farm Explorers1, 1st - 3rd Grades, June 19 - 23; 9-3pm
Farm Explorers 2, 1st - 3rd Grades, June 26 - 30; 9-3pm
Farm Explorers 3, 1st - 3rd Grades, July 17 - 21; 9-3pm
Discover Natural Resources Camp, Grades 4-6 or experienced Farm Day
Campers, July 24 - 28; 9-5 M-W, overnight Thurs., and dismisses at noon on Friday

Sprouts $85; Explorers $160; Discovery $225
A limited number of scholarships are available.

Spaces are limited. Register HERE!
Or Contact Sharon at 423-636-8171
or sharon@ruralresources.net

Capital Campaign Deadline Extended!

Illustration of the Farm & Food Learning Center

 You may have heard our exciting news. If you didn't, here it is:

Our deadline for the $200,000 matching grant has been extended to May 1^st!

This is great news for us! The last update from our bookkeeper shows that the total of the donations that have come in from the website, generosity.com and checks mailed in to our office amounts to less than one-quarter of our goal and we urgently need to raise the rest.

This link will take you to a video on our generosity.com page that tells our story and shows pictures of the fire that destroyed our previous building, but here's a synopsis:

Fire devoured our building in 2009.

In 2009, a lightening strike sparked a fire that devoured our previous building. It was devastating but also showed us the love and generosity of our community. From the volunteer firefighters who responded to battle the blaze, preserve other structures on the property and protect our animals, to volunteers who helped with clean-up, from C&C Millwright's donation of a small construction office trailer to give us a roof over our heads to the local churches who lend us their facilities for cooking classes and events, we have felt the kindness, concern and support from our community for our youth and our mission.

The office trailer donated by C & C Millwright

Since the fire, staff has worked out of the trailer and programs have been conducted in the farm's tobacco barn, outbuildings and a Pavilion donated earlier this year by the Rotary Club. There is no indoor plumbing on the property.

The staff persevered, continuing to conduct and develop programs, and then we received a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to build the Farm & Food Learning Center. The center will house classrooms, a commercial kitchen and office space. The kitchen space will also be available to residents of Greene County and surrounding areas to help them establish food-based businesses. Construction on the building began last July.

“The teens in our Farm & Food Teen Training program will be able to prepare and preserve the food they grow on-site and be able to build sustainable farm- and food-related businesses,” says Sally Causey, Rural Resources' executive director. “Farm Day Campers won't have to use the outhouse anymore and students coming for field trips will have expanded offerings. There is no doubt that this facility will be a game-changer for hands-on learning opportunities for years to come.”

Progress on the
 Farm & Food Learning Center.
VWCA  Construction

 Funding for the current phase of construction was raised in 2014 but final costs were greater than originally estimated and additional funding is needed to finish construction and purchase the equipment for the commercial kitchen.

Fast forward to a second generous opportunity from the ARC.

In 2016 we received an offer of a second grant in the amount of $200,000. In order to qualify for the grant, Rural Resources must raise $200,000 to show that the building can be fully completed. We launched a capital campaign in December to raise the $200,000 we need by January 31^st. That deadline has been extended and we now have just under three months to raise the remainder of the $200,000.

“Cash and pledges will count towards the match for the ARC funding for which we were recommended by the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development,” says Causey. “We have a list of needed items and a variety of naming opportunities that can be found on our website for anyone who would like to make a specific element of building or a piece of equipment possible. We have learned from our previous fundraising efforts that every penny counts and we welcome all sizes of donations and the ability to speak to any individual or group. All who give will receive permanent recognition inside the building.”

Why are we asking people to give toward completing this project? Because we believe the children, the youth and our community are worth it and will benefit from the Farm & Food Learning Center for years to come.

Food Demo at the Greene County Fair

 “Since we began this program in 2008, at-risk and food-insecure teens have been learning how to fish, not just so they can feed themselves, but so they can share their 'fish' with others,” says Causey. “ It's built into the program that the kids give back to the community in a number of ways. They donate fresh produce from their garden to the local soup kitchen and do cooking and gardening demonstrations at the local farmer's markets and county fair.”

Teens in the Farm & Food Teen Training Program

The teens also cater a thanksgiving meal for the elderly, share their knowledge of growing food in their neighborhoods and some become the cooks and shoppers for their own families.

“Teens have gone on to do some impressive things and most importantly the vast majority have gone on to further their education or go directly into the workplace – in some cases immediately qualifying for management positions” says Sally. “The Farm & Food Learning Center will be key to beginning their own business ventures right on the farm. It will also provide much needed facilities for Farm Day Camp, our long running summer program for children along with a whole host of new learning opportunities for the entire community.”

Would you like to help us reach our goal to qualify for the ARC grant and touch lives for generations to come? There are several ways you can contribute.

Visit our generosity.com page and donate there.

Visit our website, ruralresources.net, and click on the support tab. From there, click on the Capital Campaign tab. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the donate button on the left.

Mail your donation to Rural Resources, 2870 Holly Creek Rd., Greeneville, TN 37745. If you bring it in person you can see the progress on the building.

Call our office at 423-636-8171.

We are grateful for any and all donations!

Annual Teen Recap

Whew! The year sure is wrapping up fast! Our Farm and Food Teen Training program wrapped up this month with the Teen Dinner on December 6^th. The annual celebration of the teens’ accomplishments, held at First Presbyterian Church in Greeneville, gives everyone a reason to pause and reflect on the year’s program. 

This year’s theme was Growing a CEED. The acronym stands for Cultivate, Equip, Empower and Develop. Those principles are at the heart of the FFTT program and Rural Resources’ mission to connect farms, food and families.

Teens prepared and served the dinner with the help of Chef Melissa Rebholz and Severian Simmons, co-owners of River House Farm. The menu for the dinner included a succulent pork pot roast, gourmet salad, corn bread, and a delicious cheese cake. Locally-sourced foods for the event came from Rural Resources, River House Farm, Buffalo Trail Orchard, Ziegenwald Dairy and Rosey Aviaries & Bee Farms.

Each youth received a certificate of completion for their year of learning and service. While some will be moving onto the next step in their program cycle, others have completed the 4-year program and have the option to enter into internships. Volunteers and supporters also received certificates and thank you gifts created by the teens and a former program participant who started a food-based business. Robert Graf, a long-time supporter who passed away last spring and is dearly missed, was also remembered.

FFTT stats for the year include 5,596 square feet of gardens on our Holly Creek Farm and at homes of the teens, and 2,113 total training hours, which includes classes, gardening, fieldtrips, catering and volunteering at the Tabernacle Soup Kitchen and a local retirement home, bringing the program’s cumulative total up to 15,125 since 2008. The teens also made several donations of fresh produce from their garden on the farm to the soup kitchen. One of the benefits of the FFTT program that’s hard to quantify is the impact it has on the families of teens and in their neighborhoods. In addition to the fresh produce they grow for their families, they often become the shoppers and cooks in their homes, saving families money and improving their nutrition. The home gardens sometimes prompt questions from neighbors, which allows the teens to share their knowledge and experience, while inspiring other low-income residents to grow their own food.

Another highlight of the year remembered at the dinner was the Leadership Retreat, an event designed around a ropes course and outdoor adventure activities to build trust and teamwork within the group and help individuals develop leadership skills, compassion and the self-confidence they need to make good decisions, especially when faced with peer pressure.

It’s great to see all these CEEDs taking root and bearing fruit in the lives of the youth we are privileged to work with. Not only do they become more self-sufficient and achieve greater food-security through the programs, the business skills prepare them for employment or starting their own businesses and, through our connection with Grow Appalachia, two of our youth have been accepted into tuition-free degree programs at Berea College in Kentucky.

The truly amazing thing about all of this is that’s it’s been accomplished without a building or indoor plumbing. A tragic fire in 2009 devoured the programming and office space. Since then, every inch of usable space – an old tobacco barn and some outbuildings – has been utilized for programs and a small, two-room construction trailer was donated to house all the staff. An outdoor composting toilette and a pit-style outhouse serves as bathrooms and there are outdoor sinks in the milking shed, produce processing station and Farm Day Camp area.

While the success of the FFTT program is a testament to the determination of the staff to fill a need for the at-risk youth we work with and give them the hope of a better future, we’ve become root-bound and are in need of more – and more efficient – space. Construction began on a new building over the summer, but we need more funds to complete it. Through a generous opportunity from the Appalachian Regional Commission, we have an opportunity to receive a $200,000 grant if we can raise $200,000 on our own. This would be enough funds to complete the construction of the Farm & Food Learning Center. The center will house classrooms, a commercial kitchen and office space … with indoor plumbing!

Rural Resources Executive Director Sally Causey launched a capital campaign this month to raise the $200,000 by Jamuary 31^st.

“There is no doubt that this facility will be a game-changer for hands-on learning opportunities for years to come,” says Causey.

Please consider being a part of connecting farms, food and families through community education, programs to empower at-risk youth and building a vibrant local-foods economy by donating to our capital campaign. Donations can be made at generosity.com, on our website or by mailing a check to our office at 2870 Holly Creek Rd, Greeneville, TN 37745. Have questions? Visit our website, email us at info@ruralresources.net or call our office at 423-636-8171.

OUR FARM AND FOOD TEEN TRAINING PARTNERS: THANK YOU!!

Help with Classes:

Kitty Earl

Mary Goldman

Melissa Rebholz

Coralynn McKelvy

Janice Graf

Connie & Lynn McCamey

Garden Volunteers:

Connie McCamey

Ruth McCamey

Deb Cook

Joan Ruch

Tanasi Rice

Lauren Boles

Teen Chopped Cook-Off:

Beth Foster

Catie Snelson

Sheena Julian

Julie Ibanez

Barbara Hodges

Mary Goldman

Program Volunteers:

Hannah Lowe

Sheena Julian

Catie Snelson

Austin Julian

Sharon Luttrell

Faelyn Campbell

Bobby Strickland

Fair Volunteers:

Janice Graf

Melissa Rebholz

Sharon Luttrell

Faelyn Campbell

Austin Julian

Jerry Anderson

Donna Yelton and niece

Marina Church

Joy and Eddie Dailey

Suzie Suchman

Bobby Strickland

James Belt

Donations of time & labor or materials:

Roy Darnell

Chris Hahne

Hugh & Barbara Belt

James Belt

Dollar General – Austin Julian

Garry Renfro

Robert Graf

Rural Support Partners

Coralynn McKelvy

Partnerships:

First Presbyterian Church

Greeneville Farmers Market

Depot Street Farmers Market

Fox Park

Jonesborough Farmers Market

Berea Funders:

Alice Loftin & Don Miller

Anonymous Donor

David Hendricksen

Nickola Kuhn

Gail Beach

Norma George

Westside Garden Club

Julia Anderson

Sally Causey

Edward & Joan Ruch

Kirsten Davis

Teen Chopped Cook-Off Sponsors:

Ingles #70

Sav Mor Foods

Broyles Feed Store

Food City #606

Food City #663

Food City #608

Big Lots

Ace Hardware

Grand Rental Station

Angel Waddell State Farm

Kyker’s Extreme Automotive

Bob’s Factory Outlet

MECO

Program Funders:

USDA

East Tennessee Foundation

TDA

Presbyterian Hunger Group

Grow Appalachia

What is Winter Solstice?

Did you know that yesterday marked the winter solstice for the northern hemisphere? The winter solstice, so named because it designates the beginning of astronomical winter, marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. This happens because our planet rotates on a tilted axis as it orbits the Sun. The axial tilt causes the days to lengthen or shorten, depending on which hemisphere you’re in, and the seasons to change.

Astronomical winter, or solstice, usually falls around the 21st of December and lasts until the spring equinox in March. Meteorological winter, the one the weather forecasters  pay the most attention to, is different. It begins on December 1st and lasts until the end of February. Though the solstice marks the true astronomical beginning of winter, weather forecasters consider December 1st the beginning of winter because December, January and February have historically been the coldest months of the year in the northern hemisphere. As the days shorten,  the Earth loses some of its stored thermal energy from the Sun. By the time December arrives, the portion of the planet tilted away from the Sun is noticeably cooler. When the days begin to grow longer and more thermal energy is absorbed, temperatures begin to rise again.

In agricultural societies, winter solstice has traditionally been an important event marked with celebrations that usually include something that we here at Rural Resources can relate to: food. Depending on the culture, feasts lasted from days to weeks and brought together families and communities. After months of short, dark days, they looked forward to the return of the Sun, craving it's light and warmth. As the days grew longer and brighter, the cycle of planting, cultivating and harvest would continue. The land would again bear fruit, providing for their needs of  food, shelter, heat, fiber and medicine. It was a time of reflection and rejoicing but also an act of faith that spring, summer and autumn would return again, with provision for another year.

As we enter into winter, we here at Rural Resources are marking the season with an act of faith also. We are moving forward in the construction of a building, the Farm & Food Learning Center, that will provide space for our programs, community education and offices, to replace the one that was tragically lost to a fire in 2009. Since that time, we’ve persevered using the old tobacco barn, some outbuildings and a small, loaned trailer for office space. One of the things we’re most looking forward to with the new building is indoor plumbing.

The faith part comes in with a capital campaign we’ve kicked off this month to help us qualify for grant money to finish the construction. Through a generous opportunity from the Appalachian Regional Commission, we will receive $200,000 if we can raise $200,000 ourselves. We’ve seen the seeds  planted in our youth programs and community outreach bear fruit. With this building, we’re preparing for an even bigger harvest. Your help can make our faith a reality. Please consider joining our effort to change lives and strengthen our community through connecting farms, food and families by making a donation at here. Donations can also be made on our website  or by mail to: Rural Resources, 2870 Holly Creek Rd, Greeneville, TN 37745..

Thank You!!!

EXCITEMENT IS IN THE AIR!

Excitement is in the air – and on the ground – here at Rural Resources' Holly Creek Farm! We have an opportunity to receive a $200,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to complete the new Farm & Food Learning Center! Construction began on the project in July and, as many of you know, site grading, septic, the slab for the foundation, roughed in plumbing and the tap to the county water line are finished, and super-insulated wall panels are on the way.

“Once the walls arrive, the building will take shape very quickly,” says Executive Director Sally Causey. “We will have a sustainably built, energy efficient Learning Center.”

In order to qualify for the grant money to finish the building, we have to raise $200,000. We are launching a capital campaign this month to reach our goal by Jan. 31^st. 

  

“The teens in our Farm & Food Teen Training program will be able to prepare and preserve the food they grow on-site and be able to build sustainable farm- and food-related businesses,” said Causey. “Farm Day Campers won’t have to use the outhouse anymore and students coming for field trips will have expanded offerings. There is no doubt that this facility will be a game-changer for hands-on learning opportunities for years to come.”

The learning center will house classrooms, a commercial kitchen and office space to replace buildings lost in a devastating fire in 2009. The kitchen space will also be available to residents of Greene County and surrounding areas.

Since the fire, staff has worked out of a donated two-room trailer and programs have been conducted in the farm's tobacco barn, outbuildings and a Pavilion donated earlier this year by the Rotary Club. There is no indoor plumbing on the property.

Thank you for getting us this far! Can you help us take advantage of this generous opportunity from the Appalachian Regional Commission? Donations to the capital campaign to complete construction can be made through Generosity.com, by visiting ruralresources.net or by mailing a check to:

Rural Resources

2870 Holly Creek Rd

Greeneville, TN 37745