ANNOUNCEMENTS
(courtesy of the unconventional and unorthodox Paul Conforti)
Our club presented Carl Burkybile with a $500 donation for his Helping Hands International organization to be used towards fresh water projects in Kenya. www.hhi.org/our-work
Fruit Sale: the 1st mention in the notes this year. Fruit arrives the week after Thanksgiving. Robb (General) Patton reprises his invaluable role as Fruit Meister Extraordinaire!
Speaking of fruit: Tod Satterthwaite is having a Kale Pickin’ party this Saturday 11/3 from 8:30 to 11:30am at the Sola Gratia Farm which is adjacent to the St. Matthew Lutheran Church (2200 Philo Road, Urbana, IL just north of Meijer). Pickin’s goes to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank.
The girl group of Donna & Diana will coordinate our annual essay contest (more info later).
Ed Perry announced that volunteers are being sought to “man” the Eastern Illinois’ mobile foodbank on its 11/10 journey to DeLand.
Ata passed a sign up sheet to attend or donate to the Rotary Veterans event.
Saturday Novenber 10th is our club’s next EIFB Foodmobile volunteer opportunity. We will meet at 9am at the De Land Fire Station, 215 N.Highway Ave., De Land Illinois. We will help unload the EIFB truck, set up the tables and food and help distribute the food. Food distribution takes about 2 hours and then we help load up the truck of any left over food. We should be done by 1:00pm. Let Ed, eperry1049@gmail.com, know if you can help the entire time or a portion of it.
PROGRAM: Wes Jarrel of Prairie Fruit Farm, LLC
Wes Jarrell and Leslie Cooperband are the owners of Prairie Fruit Farm, LLC. (4410 N. Lincoln Ave, Champaign). In 2003, they moved from Madison, Wisconsin. The first year all of the land previously in cash grain (about 5 acres) was planted with a cover crop of buckwheat to begin restoring the prairie soil. In 2004, 350 fruit trees and 600 berry plants were planted and they obtained four Nubian goats (three does and one buck).
In August 2005, the farm received licenses for a Grade A goat dairy and farmstead creamery. The farm expanded to 70 goat milkers, put in a milking parlor with a pipeline that carries the milk directly to a refrigerated bulk tank. The farm rents an additional 32 acres adjacent to the farm providing more pastures berry plants and hay.
The farm vision is to integrate perennial crops and livestock production, and to add value to our products through on-farm processing. They strive to educate the community about organic and sustainable agriculture and the connections between food production and consumption and to serve as a model for others interested in small-scale diversified farming systems working toward building a vibrant local food system in Central Illinois.
Products include Farmstead and Artisan Goat and Sheep Milk Cheeses, Goat Milk Gelato, Organic Fruits and Local, Slow-Food Meals on the Farm.
Please visit the farm’s wonderful website:
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| Nov 1st | Nov 8th | Nov 15th | Nov 22nd | |
| Introductions | Mitch Schluter | Jen Shelby | Cary Woolard | No |
| Invocation | Andrew Kerins | Mary Hodson | Dave Krchak | Meeting |
| Greeters | Mitch Schluter | Jen Shelby | Cary Woolard | This |
| Patrice Grant | Bruce Hatfield | Mary Hodson | Week | |
| Song Leader | Neal Chamberlain | Reuben Chambers | Paul Conforti | Enjoy |
| Notetaker | Chamberlain | Perry | Penwell | Tofurkey |
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Upcoming Schedule
Nov 1 – Joly Wu, Akbar Agha, and Sherry Wang from AIESEC
Nov 8 – Lisa Sprinkle, Champaign County Forest Preserve District
Nov 15 – Larry Pennie, DGE, Rotary Foundation and Future Vision
Nov 22 – Thanksgiving – no meeting, but join Chuck for tofurkey at his place
Nov 29 – Jim Angel, State Climatologist
Dec 13 – Holiday party
Dec 20 – TBD
Dec 27 – Benny Lapid will discuss Jerusalem
