Spring (and almost summer!) has most definitely sprung within our Full Circle Gardens.  Carrots, kale, herbs, tomatoes and an assortment of other vegetables are currently being harvested from our Destin and Walton Academy Gardens.  With all of these vegetables, we have been able to use these veggies in our Emeril Lagasse Full Circle Cooking Classes.  It is great to be able to teach the students how to use what is available to you in your recipes, and to show them exactly where their food is coming from.  

Just take a look at the Destin Garden (as of mid-May):

Here is vegetable output from both the Destin and Walton Academy Garden:

Stay tuned to see some of the finished meals using these ingredients!

Our program coordinator, Bennet Bastian, has had quite the array of experiences prior to joining the team at Food For Thought. A world traveler and volunteer with The Peace Corp, Bennet is fluent in four additional languages (German + 3 Ethiopian languages).  His two years experience with the Peace Corp and as a public health contractor in Ethiopia lead him to Food For Thought when he returned to his home on the Emerald Coast. 

During his time in Ethiopia, Bennet focused on public health, organizing volunteers and gardening, which has translated well to his role at Food For Thought as the program coordinator.  He spends his time supporting the programs at each of the pantries (backpack, snack and garden), and definitely has become our go-to-guy for anything related to the Full Circle Garden, as he helps to keep them flourishing. In addition, Bennet is key in helping our program director facilitate the packing and delivery of the backpacks and snacks to each of the schools among the two counties FFT Serves.

Bennet enjoys the interaction he has with the volunteers that come to help Food For Thought, and was drawn to FFT outreach knowing that it is helping to benefit kids in our community that are in need.  A native of Okaloosa County, Bennet said that if he were a kid today, he would likely have been a beneficiary of the FFT program as he was on the reduced meal program in school himself.  

We appreciate all the hard work that Bennet does coordinating our backpack, snack and garden programs and are very thankful that he has a green thumb!

In order to keep all of the Food For Thought programs in order, there is a lot of action that takes place behind the scenes, and Dinelle Putman keeps all things "programmatic" going as the Food For Thought Program Director.  

For the last year, Dinelle has worked as the Program Director, overseeing all five of the year-round programs here at Food for Thought. This includes managing and directing a team for the Backpack, Snack and Summer Programs, as well as overseeing the Full-Circle Kitchen and Full-Circle Garden.  Dinelle ensures that each of these programs has all of the resources necessary and that they are running efficiently as each program has been growing.  Being the Program Director here at Food For Thought is an integral part of making sure Food For Thought Outreach continues to meet the needs of the kids in our community.

Dinelle has not always worked in the non-profit sector, but has always been drawn to, and had the desire to work for a non-profit or mission of some sort.  After serving as a volunteer for Food For Thought through the bank she managed, Dinelle was drawn to the mission of FFT and began to look into more opportunities to work or serve.  She was pleasantly surprised when, in March of 2018, there was a full-time position available for a Program Manager.  Her 15 years of banking experience, the last three of which as an assistant branch manager, has lent her well to be able to direct the four programs at Food for Thought.

Working at Food For Thought has allowed Dinelle to feel like she has a career that has meaning and purpose, and she loves that she is also able to be a part of and give back to her community.  Dinelle is looking forward to being part of the growth of Food For Thought, and excited for the new warehouse to open in DeFuniak Springs, allowing FFT to better serve the kids in Walton County. 

With warmer weather now upon us, it is the time to begin our Spring planting and harvest for the The Full Circle Garden, which is now growing produce at two locations; the Destin Pantry and the Walton County Academy Campus.  This Spring we are planting a variety of vegetables to be harvested for use in both our Full Circle Kitchen cooking classes as well as for our seasonal program support.  Through these gardens, we are working to provide more fresh food to kids in our programs and give them the opportunity to see how fresh food grows, is harvested and then ready to eat.

Food For Thought Fun Fact: Every month 26K items of fresh food are produced from our Gardens! 

Destin Pantry Garden

Walton County Academy Garden

Since our gardens have been established, we have volunteers, kids from our Full Circle Kitchen program, and other groups come to help keep our gardens growing. If you have a green thumb, or just enjoy being outside and would like to volunteer in either of our gardens this spring or summer, let us know! volunteer@fftfl.org

This year we have partnered with The Sonder Project to work on our Full Circle garden located at our Destin pantry. The Sonder Project's goal is to support local organizations combatting hunger, and raise awareness around issues related to food security, clean water and education. They are providing us with the materials to maintain a successful garden in which we will use what is grown in our Full Circle kitchen. We are delighted to have The Sonder Project work in the garden and look forward to growing fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits.