As many of you know, we lost one of our longstanding WMFC members, Sherry Frick, last month. Sherry was such an inspiration to us, with her commitment to local farms and foods, her dedication to help end hunger, and her passion for helping teach others about our food system. UMD College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Dean, Craig Beyrouty, captured our sentiments in his email regarding Sherry's passing: Sherry had the most giving heart and enthusiasm for life, and she will be deeply missed by all. Sherry was an incredibly dedicated and active member of the college community. She spearheaded a number of notable projects that earned her significant recognition for their undeniable impact across the state. Her innumerable accomplishments include the Jane Gates Heritage House teaching garden, where she helped serve the museum’s mission of faith, education, and African American History. Sherry designed and executed a backyard transformation that included four raised beds for vegetables, a small bed for fruit, and a pollinator garden. Sherry initiated the “Apples for All” project in 2017, where she collaborated with a local WWII veteran who wanted to donate all of the fruit from his orchard to folks in need. Frick organized 35 volunteers to pick and distribute over 6,000 pounds of apples to 22 organizations including food pantries, homeless shelters, senior centers, soup kitchens, and schools. Some of Sherry’s other innovative projects include the installation of the new rain garden at a local school as well as her work at 13 different sites where she assisted in the planning and design of community or demonstration gardens. Sherry was ever present at her local farmer’s market as an ambassador for its popular demonstration garden, which she was instrumental in designing. The garden provided a platform for programming opportunities and emphasized native plants, attracting pollinators, the historical use of plants for medicine, dye, fiber, edible landscaping, and food gardening. When the pandemic hit, instead of scaling back programming, Sherry ramped it up. She collaborated with the Garrett County horticulture educator to transition programs into a virtual format. Their gardening and forestry series drew an amazing 3,500 participants for their synchronous sessions. Also during that time, Sherry chaired UME’s Program Reopening Committee which was tasked with developing guidelines and resources for Extension educators to return to in-person programming in response to COVID-19 health and safety issues. In her free time, Sherry was engaged in many service activities including three visits to Haiti with a local church to educate women about proper seed planting techniques and growing vegetables and flowers. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Oct 22 at 1 pm at Pleasant View Baptist Church at 8931 Garrett Highway in Oakland, with a dessert extravaganza to follow.
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We have four follow-ups from our food council meeting today: 1. Maryland Food System Resiliency Council Lunch & Learn: October’s Lunch and Learn will be held on October 19th at noon and will feature FSRC member, Meg Kimmel, Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer of the Maryland Food Bank (Member of the FSRC and Co-Chair of the Food Access and Distribution Subcommittee), and Carmen Del Guercio who is the Maryland Food Bank President and CEO. More info in the flyer here. 2. White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health was held on September 28th. The Executive Summary is here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/27/executive-summary-biden-harris-administration-national-strategy-on-hunger-nutrition-and-health/ 3. In preparation for the upcoming legislative session, the Maryland Hunger Solutions Annual Legislative Brainstorming Session will be held on Thursday, Oct. 20 from 1-3:30 pm. The discussion will be held virtually with breakout sessions covering SNAP and Child Nutrition Programs. MD Hunger Solution’s Director, Michael J. Wilson, is a member of the FSRC. The link to register is here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItduytrTwsHdULXO5SNttPOeIpeChzit4F 4. Save the Date! The next (annual) Western Maryland Food Council meeting will be held February 9, 2023 (2nd Thursday) at 4:00 pm. It will be held in person with a zoom option. Mark your calendars!
Join us for our next WMFC Meeting on Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 4:30 pm! Below is the zoom link.
Minutes from March 10 meeting. Topic: WMFC - June 2022 Meeting Time: Jun 23, 2022 04:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://umd.zoom.us/j/5179298672 Meeting ID: 517 929 8672 One tap mobile +13017158592,,5179298672# US (Washington DC) +13126266799,,5179298672# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 436 2866 US (New York) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 517 929 8672 Find your local number: https://umd.zoom.us/u/acb6vsiGN Join by SIP 5179298672@zoomcrc.com Join by H.323 162.255.37.11 (US West) 162.255.36.11 (US East) 115.114.131.7 (India Mumbai) 115.114.115.7 (India Hyderabad) 213.19.144.110 (Amsterdam Netherlands) 213.244.140.110 (Germany) 103.122.166.55 (Australia Sydney) 103.122.167.55 (Australia Melbourne) 149.137.40.110 (Singapore) 64.211.144.160 (Brazil) 149.137.68.253 (Mexico) 69.174.57.160 (Canada Toronto) 65.39.152.160 (Canada Vancouver) 207.226.132.110 (Japan Tokyo) 149.137.24.110 (Japan Osaka) Meeting ID: 517 929 8672 2022 WMFC Annual Meeting Agenda
March 4, 2022 - 4:30pm Via Zoom Call to Order and Introductions - Willie Secretary Minutes from the last meeting - Cheryl Treasurers Report - Sherry Maryland Ag Council Report - Sherry MAEDRAF Grant Report - Willie/Jill Hudson Maryland Food Resiliency Council Update - Theresa Frostburg Grows De-Commissioning - Willie Election of Council Members William D. Lantz Jr is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: WMFC Annual 2022 Meeting Time: Mar 10, 2022 04:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://umd.zoom.us/j/5179298672 Meeting ID: 517 929 8672 One tap mobile +13017158592,,5179298672# US (Washington DC) +13126266799,,5179298672# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 436 2866 US (New York) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 517 929 8672 Find your local number: https://umd.zoom.us/u/acb6vsiGN Join by SIP 5179298672@zoomcrc.com Join by H.323 162.255.37.11 (US West) 162.255.36.11 (US East) 115.114.131.7 (India Mumbai) 115.114.115.7 (India Hyderabad) 213.19.144.110 (Amsterdam Netherlands) 213.244.140.110 (Germany) 103.122.166.55 (Australia Sydney) 103.122.167.55 (Australia Melbourne) 149.137.40.110 (Singapore) 64.211.144.160 (Brazil) 149.137.68.253 (Mexico) 69.174.57.160 (Canada Toronto) 65.39.152.160 (Canada Vancouver) 207.226.132.110 (Japan Tokyo) 149.137.24.110 (Japan Osaka) Meeting ID: 517 929 8672
Thanks to everyone who came out to our first annual Community Seed Exchange at Frostburg City Place on Sunday! We had a wonderful time and met so many great folks! See you next year!
University of Maryland Extension and Frostburg Grows are proud to present a community seed exchange. This event is meant to bring together local gardeners from all skill levels to share seeds, suggestions, and stories.
Gardeners of all ages are strongly encouraged to bring seeds to share- but seed sharing is not required. Allegany County Master Gardeners will be present to help visitors navigate the event and to answer any garden-related questions. Master Gardeners will also be giving talks/demonstrations on a variety of subjects. This is a family-friendly event and there will be a kids corner with a guided workshop on DIY seed bombs. There will also be a number of local vendors sharing information and products on a variety of topics including health and wellness, horticulture, and conservation. This event is free and open to the public. Vendors/Organizations that will be present: Evergreen Heritage Center The Nettle Patch, LLC Wholesome Harvest Co-op Rules for bringing seeds: 1. Commercial and self-saved open pollinated seeds are allowed 2. No self-saved hybrids 3. Bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, and corms allowed 4. All self-saved items must be bagged and labeled with variety and date of collection
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