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FNB Middletown is Back!

Hi everyone, Kristina here. I am new this year to FNB Middletown but I am proud to say that we are up and sharing! With this blog, I hope to keep folks up to date on what we're up to and to show what it is to be a part of FNB.

Right now, we're picking up produce from ION on Friday afternoons and sharing food on Sundays.

This Sunday was the second time we've cooked since getting organized earlier this month. The church has been busy with events so we've been rescuing produce from the landfills for the last few weeks and filling the church freezer! Therefore, we had a ton of great veggies to work with this week. For instance, we've been accumulating a lot of broccoli... this giant strainer was filled quite a few times over the last few pickups (trust me, this is almost an understatement).
So yesterday we roasted brussel sprouts, broccoli, and asparagus and stir fried green beans, red peppers, and more broccoli while chatting with the church folks. They said our meal smelled delicious and gave us some of their leftover pastries and bagels.



At around 12:30 we packed our carts and arms and walked down to The Buttonwood Tree to set up.
The street was busier than the last time we set up a few weeks back and people were super grateful for a meal and conversation. Someone also stopped by with a giant bag of bread and bagels that he hoped we could distribute, so folks were able to take some food to go and share with others.

We forgot a serving spoon and do plan on "investing in" some rocks to hold paper goods down in the wind, but no matter. The day was a total success. We shared a meal that otherwise would have been thrown away, met some new people, and spread the word that we would be coming by more often. Consistent sharing is our main objective in the coming weeks.

We also plan on connecting with FNB Hartford to share some of our fresh food. Last week, as the kitchen wasn't available, we took a trip to Hartford to check out their food share in Bushnell Park. It was a beautiful day and we were able to meet the volunteers up there and discuss ideas. One of their volunteers came by and helped us process last week's pickup as well and he mentioned they do not have a steady supply of fresh food at the moment. ION has been donating a lot of great produce and due to the fact that we weren't cooking every Sunday and that we don't have refrigerator access, we currently have more than enough to share.

That's quite an update, so I'll end by saying the best way to stay connected with FNB Middletown is to watch the website or "like" us on Facebook. We will be posting there when a new blog post is up and creating a FB "event" for each element of what makes a FNB chapter run smoothly. RSVP there, send us a direct message with any questions, or just show up and say hi!

✌ Kristina

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