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Express
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Wednesday, August 16, 2017
City of Ketchum Speaker Series on Total Solar Eclipse in Ketchum Hear three experts discuss the Great American Eclipse on Saturday, August 19, at 12 p.m. and Sunday, August 20 at 12 p.m. Eclipse chaser Leona Rice, astronomers Carolyn Rankin-Mallory and Jeff Silverman together with Ketchum Mayor Nina Jonas will be sharing insights of the Total Solar Eclipse in Ketchum Town Square. Free copies of the Eclipse Guide for Locals and Visitors will be available at the events and local vendors will be serving food and drinks. Total Solar Eclipse Viewing Party is scheduled for August 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Festival Meadow on Sun Valley Road. Visit ketchumsunvalleyeclipse2017.com for additional information.
Union Contract Negotiations On Thursday, August 17, and Friday, August 18, contract negotiations will take place between the City of Ketchum and Ketchum Firefighters Local #4758. This is a public meeting and will take place on both days from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Ketchum City Hall.
General Election on November 7 Three positions are up for election on November 7, 2017; mayor and two city council members. Each position serves a 4-year term. Declarations of Candidacy must be filed with the Ketchum City Clerk at City Hall, 480 East Ave. N. beginning on August 28 and ending on September 8, 2017 at 5 p.m. Please visit ketchumidaho.org/election for information and forms.
Public Notice FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT OVERLAY: City Council will hold a public hearing on Monday, September 4, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. in Ketchum City Hall to consider permanent adoption of the text amendments to Chapter 17.88, Floodplain Management Overlay, of the zoning code that City Council previouslyenacted on an emergency basis in April 2017.
Public Meetings CITY COUNCIL MEETING Thursday • Aug. 17 • 5:30 pm • City Hall
Visit ketchumidaho.org to sign up for email notifications, the City eNewsletter and to followus on Facebookand Twitter. Email questions and comments to participate@ketchumidaho.org.
WE’RE HAPPY TO WELCOME
HENRY HAGENBUCH
TO THE CLEARROCK TEAM Henry has joined the ClearRock team as Director of Business Development. He brings 10 years of experience in sales and marketing roles, and received his B.A. and M.B.A. from UCLA. info@clearrockcapital.com I 208.726.8858 www.clearrockcapital.com
MISCELLANY III
BRAND NEW on FRIDAYS FR FREE in the Idaho Mountain Express Birthday Greetings
Bloom Community Farm provides food for people in need Express Staff Writer
Keep Up With City News
Connections
A farm is in full ‘Bloom’ near Hailey By MARK DEE
PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING Monday • Sep. 11 • 5:30 pm • City Hall
Rant & Rave
Express photos by Roland Lane
Bloom Community Farm Coordinator Abbie Mallory picks carrots alongside first-time volunteer Ricky Ward of Hailey on Aug. 5.
Respond to Miscellany II
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Out past the high school in Hailey, past the gate, past where Fox Acres Road goes to gravel, then to dust, the floor of Quigley Canyon is turning from green to gold. The wire wheels of rolling sprinklers loiter among the summer barley, lofting rhythmic sprays over the field until it’s ready to be picked, packed and shipped away from Blaine County. Once it goes, it will be leaving behind one of the 10 most expensive counties in the country to buy a meal. But not all the food here is set for market. Along the southern edge, tight to the rising bluff, there’s one fenced-in acre in full flower with crops earmarked to stay put. This is the Bloom Community Farm, a collaboration between The Hunger Coalition and its younger offshoot, Bloom. What’s grown here stays here, supplying produce to the coalition’s mobile food bank, Bloom’s summer food truck—and, through a program called Volunteers for Veggies, the people who help farm it. In its first full season, the weekly yield weighs in between 100 and 200 pounds, depending on what crops are ready to pick. “We’ve harvested a ton since May,” said Lynea Petty, food production manager for The Hunger Coalition. “A literal ton.” What started out as a row of kale in July of last year has grown to include 35 types of vegetables, a greenhouse and a smattering of native flowers to lure in pollinators. “The soil here turns out to be awesome,” Bloom Community Farm Coordinator Abbie Mallory said. “And, we’ve had a lot of help.” That was on display one Saturday in August. Mallory and her staff issued assignments to the dozen volunteers who filtered though. A low morning haze thickened the sunlight to amber, burnishing the canyon walls. Grasshoppers clicked and snapped airborne along the soil. At the far end of the farm, a man worked a broadfork into the beds.
Abbie Mallory harvests eight ball summer squash, one of 35 varieties of plants at the farm. And, quietly, the volunteers went about their work. “Last week, we were weeding,” said Mike McGonigal, who was washing a pile of root vegetables alongside his wife, Mary. “This week, they have us pulling carrots. I guess you’d call that a promotion.” “It’s like therapy for us, doing this,” Mary added, brushing off a bright orange bundle. Nearby, three children stood next to a row of plastic bins, examining the take. That Saturday, it came to five pounds per person for each hour worked. One girl sifted through, and, removing a handful of dark green leaves, talked strategy. The goal: A salad to sell at their lemonade stand. With 15 pounds between them, they’d have plenty to work with. “It’s an opportunity for kids to get involved in the community,” said Jeff Lamoureux, who brought the group along. “But it’s also great to get your hands in the dirt … and this takes a lot of hands.” One of the Bloom’s stated goals is youth involvement. St. Luke’s Wood River and the Blaine County Recreation District have already held camps at the farm this summer. Next semester, Wood River High School—only a quarter mile down the dirt road—plans to use the site as well. But another is the food itself, which The Hunger Coalition says can be hard to come by in the Wood River Valley. The Blaine County Food Assess-
ment Report, a 2015 study commissioned by the coalition, found that about 14 percent of county residents could be considered “food insecure,” meaning they have limited or uncertain access to nutritionally adequate food in a socially acceptable way. That’s right around the most recent available national average of 13.4 percent published by Feeding America, a hunger relief organization. The challenge isn’t availability so much as price: Blaine County has the ninth highest food costs in the country, 1.5 times the national average, according to the USDA. Last year, the Hunger Coalition served 3,537 people, about 17 percent of county residents, said Brooke McKenna, director of operations for the organization. “The whole old-school idea of hunger—‘I’m hungry, I don’t have food’—is out of touch with what we tend to see,” McKenna said. “Food insecurity is a much more fluid concept. We know about that here, because the economy is very seasonal. Someone can have plenty of work in the high seasons, but nothing when we go into slack. “I was born and raised here. It’s not like that’s any different than it was 30 years ago—it was an expensive resort area then, and it is now. But today we have a much more diverse population, and they’re staying year-round.” “There are plenty of stores in Boise with high prices, too,” Food Production Manager Petty added. See Farm, next page