A bookbinding class held as part of the Murray L. Bob Education Initiatives

The James Prendergast Library will present a photography class in May as part of the Murray L. Bob Community Education Initiative.

Local photographer and Infinity instructor Cathy Panebianco will lead “Artistic Photos with Just a Smartphone” at 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 9 at the library. The class will offer participants an opportunity to improve cellphone photography skills by learning the basics: settings, techniques, lighting for exposure, and composition.

A smartphone is needed for the class. To register, call (716) 484-7135 Ext. 226.

The Jamestown Public Market will be at the library with Cornell Cooperative Extension’s SNAP-Ed program on May 16th from 5:00-7:00PM for “Cooking Fun with Fresh Herbs.” Attendees will learn how to grow herbs at home, identify them at the local community garden or nursery, and incorporate them in to easy and delicious meals. Participants will be able to smell, taste, and enjoy various herbs that grow well in WNY such as cilantro, sage, parsley, and basil. This program is supported in part through a grant from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

Additional Bob programs are scheduled throughout the year. Children’s Music Studio will hold Music Exploration classes in July and August for kids ages 6 and under and their caregivers. Children will sing, dance, and explore basic instruments during these free classes.

To learn more about the Murray L. Bob Community Education Initiative and find a full list of events, visit prendergastlibrary.org/bob-programs.

The coalition, based out of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, is working with Buffalo-based Journey’s End Refugee Resettlement agency, which is now operating a satellite office in donated space at St. Luke’s.

Reverend Luke Fodor said the coalition is working with two groups of people, “Both asylum seeking folks and refugees. There’s a distinction between the two groupings of people. Those who are asylum seeking have entered the country and asked for asylum based upon some exigency in their home countries. Legally crossed and presented themselves to the border guards and then been released under their own recognizance. That’s the legal process in the United States. And then they are then allowed to go where they want.”

Fodor said the asylum seeking families are from Colombia with the refugee families that came from Congo being in Jamestown for about a month.

He said asylum seekers in the United States cannot get a work permit for at least a year, “….or a limited resource of public assistance and that even is a difficult process to navigate. And then the refugees are able to come into the country because of the process they were brought into. They’re able to get public assistance and then also to get right into the workforce as long as they have the language skills and right placement.”

Fodor said while at least one refugee from the Congo has found employment, the asylum seekers from Colombia are dependent on help from the community to meet needs like food access, rent payments, and more.

Jamestown Public Market Director Linnea Haskin said the people from Colombia are offering food on Sundays at St. Luke’s Church from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., “But then they also hope to open a stand at the Farmer’s Market where they will be offering empanadas, arepas, and all of their delicious salsas. And so, for a donation of a minimum of $10, but whatever you can offer, you then get a delicious meal. And that money goes through the fund at St. Luke’s that we then utilize to purchase things that the family needs.”

Financial donations can be made to the New Neighbors Coalition fund set up at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation by visiting https://www.crcfonline.org/. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is also accepting donations through a paypal donation page at: http://bit.ly/3IH1Lxj

For more information, follow https://www.facebook.com/NewNeighborsCoalition/

(Left to Right) James Galbato, Brigiotta’s Farmland Produce; Luke Fodor, St. Luke’s Rector; Cassandra Skal and Emily Reynolds, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County; Linnea Haskin, Jamestown Public Market; Vince DeJoy, City of Dunkirk Director of Planning and Development.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County has applied for a grant to expand local food access.

CCE submitted a proposal in January for the NY Food for NY Families program, aiming to bring significant dollars to Chautauqua County focused on expanding healthy food access and economic development for local agricultural growers and producers.

Food insecurity is a high concern for Chautauqua County, with 17% of residents living below the poverty line.

Their proposal includes the implementation of several distribution sites and events across Chautauqua County, which, if funded, would begin this summer. CCE hopes to hire a coordinator who would oversee the project, working with county and regional farmers, dairy producers, and other state Agriculture producers to procure produce, dairy products, meat products, baked goods, and other local foods.

Over $500,000 would be invested in state products. Partner organizations include Brigiotta’s Farmland Produce who would be the lead partner in packaging state procured foods into up to 500 individual boxes per week. Distribution events will include collaborative sites with the Office of the Aging’s Local Roots Program, aimed at servicing senior citizens in areas such as Brocton, Cassadaga, and Fredonia; St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and the Jamestown Public Market’s Mobile Market program, aimed at low-income and minority communities; Rural Ministries of Dunkirk, aimed at servicing food insecure individuals; and Five Loaves + 20 Fish Ministries, servicing the ‘food desert’ area of Sherman/Clymer, specifically youth and families.

If awarded funds, the food boxes would be distributed at no cost to community members.

For more information on the NYS Food for NYS Families initiative visit: https://agriculture.ny.gov/news/state-department-agriculture-accepting-applications-nearly-26-million-new-york-food-new-york.

Volunteers assist in packaging CSA shares during the Jamestown Public Market’s 2022 market season

The Jamestown Public Market and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church are celebrating National CSA week the week of February 20 through 25.

Public Market Director Linnea Haskins said CSA stands for “Community Supported Agriculture, “You invest in a farm ahead of the growing season and in exchange you basically get the product that they grow or raise. So most CSA shares are vegetables or fruits, produce, but there are also flower shares, meat shares, some people do bread and eggs.”

Haskins said a lot of farms like to do CSAs because it helps expand their customer base and guarantees income prior to the growing season, “So, they can rely on that income to help them to grow what they need to grow, and harvest, and pay for any supplies, etc. But it’s a wonderful way for people to invest local.”

The Jamestown Public Market will be offering its third season of the ‘Eat Fresh, Do Good CSA’ this summer.

Working with local farms, such as organic produce farm Abers Acres and Amish-led Hidden Valley Produce, the Jamestown Public Market cultivates three sizes of CSA shares community members can ‘invest’ in prior to the growing season.

The cost of each share covers the produce people will receive week to week for 16 weeks, from June to September, as well as a donation towards the Jamestown Mobile Market program.

For more information on how to sign up for an ‘Eat Fresh, Do Good CSA’ share visit https://www.jtownpublicmarket.org/csa

Jamestown Public Market Director Linnea Haskins tells us about CSA Week and discusses agriculture in our community.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and the Jamestown Public Market are teaming up with the Chautauqua Area Potters to host the event from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Church’s Undercroft off East Fourth Street.

Father Luke Fodor said the event features thousands of handcrafted bowls by local amateur and professional potters available for the community to obtain through donation at various price points, “So, you can to do your Christmas shopping. You can come with your friends, as well as to have soup that comes with the bowl. So you buy the bowl and then you get soup to go along with the bowl. We’ll also have members of the Chadakoin Chamber Ensemble playing Christmas music on strings for a good portion, about 90 minutes or so.”

Public Market Director Linnea Haskins said the event is a way to highlight food access and food security.

The Empty Bowl Project previously was held in Fredonia for 14 years, with the last two years being held in a parking lot due to the Pandemic.

The money raised at the event will be distributed to food pantries throughout Chautauqua County by Feedmore of Western New York.

Lisa French

The 2022 Murray L. Bob Lecture will focus on food insecurity.

The annual lecture will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. tonight at the James Prendergast Library.

Community Outreach and Programming Manager Jennifer Champ said it will feature Field and Fork Network Co-Founder and Executive Director Lisa French, who will be joined by Jamestown Public Market Director Linnea Haskins, “She’ll be addressing different aspects of food insecurity and what they do to combat, and foster a sustainable food system. And joining her, of course, will be Linnea who has worked closely with them to start the ‘double-up food bucks’ program here through the Jamestown Public Market and the Mobile Market. And she’ll talk about how that has had an impact on the Jamestown community in particular.”

No registration is needed for the free event and it will feature a reception after the presentation.

For more information, visit www.prendergastlibrary.org

The free class runs from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8 at the library.

Participants will learn basic methods of food storage including reducing food spoilage, maintaining nutritional value, texture and flavor of foods, and preserving via freezing and canning.

No registration is required.

This class is being funded through a grant from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

Jamestown Public Market Director Linnea Haskins and Market Community Coordinator Hanna Bavuso present to Jamestown School Board (October 25, 2022)

The Jamestown Public Market has received a $50,000 from the USDA to bring edible gardens to Washington Middle and Bush Elementary Schools.

Public Market Community Coordinator Hannah Bavuso, speaking to the Jamestown School Board, said bringing edible gardens to the schools is a new initiative, “The idea of these edible school gardens is to really engage students in learning about where their food comes from. So taking it from, ‘This is something good to eat. This is not good for you to eat,’ and really showing individuals about what that means. And then empowering them to learn how to do it on their own.”

Bavuso said they will be helping Washington Middle School revitalize their garden and using funds to put tower gardens in at Bush Elementary.

She said the public market had worked with the Summer LEAP program at Fletcher and Bush schools this past summer, working with 165 students, “And really talked about where their food comes from and got them engaged with planting seeds, and we created business plans around food. It was really fun to watch them get inspired and learn about this really important aspect of not just how to nourish our bodies but actually how to grow the things that do nourish their bodies.”

Market Director Linnea Haskins said the program is not only a way to help make Jamestown a healthier community, but it’s also a way to inspire kids to get involved in local agriculture and the local economy.

Market Director Linnea Carlson said the final month of the market’s season will be in the Covenant Manor Apartments community space. The entrance for this location is on 23 West Third Street. Carlson said market hours for October will be 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

She said they hope the move indoors will help protect vendors and customers from potential inclement weather.

The final outdoor market will be this Saturday, September 24. The Public Market’s season ends Saturday, October 29.