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Greetings Friends and Neighbors, 

Generous, regular Rain has brought on the Grass in the meadows and, as such, the Cows and Sheep are feasting, storing profusely available green leaves in their growing bodies – "gleaning" if you will. Garden harvests overflow the refrigerator, and so the human work of preserving and preparation for the cold season becomes a fulfilling, full-time job here at the Farm. Our intent is to give food away all winter-long that is from and of this place. We say "home-grown" to describe this local food, all the while unsure how and if we are really at home in the place where we live, asking perhaps: Who built this house we live in? Who has cared for it over the years? Who is actually responsible for the maintenance and are they fulfilling their obligations? Voting day seems a fine time to wonder about such questions.

We are thrilled to resume weekly Soup and Bread Gift Distribution this Friday, where local food is offered as a gift to anyone who is hungry for any reason. If you know someone in town who would appreciate a delivery, please take it upon yourself to pass the Gift along. We will be at the Stand from 4-6pm on Friday 8/14, 8/21 and 8/28, and encourage you to stop by to take home Soup and Bread for your household and some to give away. Please join us in considering the August Budget, detailed below. Work Days will be every Sunday from 2-5pm. Click HERE for more information. 

What is the difference between living in a house and being at home? The discontent that flares in many places this summer brings to mind a little-know conversation with Dr. Martin Luther King, recalled by his friend Harry Belafonte: 

“I remember the last time we were together, at my home, shortly before he was murdered. He seemed quite agitated and preoccupied, and I asked him what the problem was?” King responded: “I’ve come upon something that disturbs me deeply. We have fought hard and long for integration, as I believe we should have, and I know we will win, but I have come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house. I’m afraid that America has lost the moral vision she may have had, and I’m afraid that even as we integrate, we are walking into a place that does not understand that this nation needs to be deeply concerned with the plight of the poor and disenfranchised...I fear I am integrating my people into a burning house.” Belafonte added, “That statement took me aback. It was the last thing I would have expected to hear, considering the nature of our struggle.” Belafonte asked King, “What should we do?” and King replied that we should, “become the firemen… Let us not stand by and let the house burn.”

The conversation is remarkable both for King’s willingness to consider the unintended consequences of his life’s work and for the power of his directive to "become the firemen". You might be wondering, what does this have to do with Brush Brook Community Farm and the Huntington Valley? The connection comes when we learn that the Greek word ‘oikos,’ meaning ‘house,’ is the root of both our words ‘ecology’ and ‘economy.’ The sweep of King’s observation and plea comes into view as we re-member Ecology as the study of the relationships between those who share a household, a place, an environment. Economy is the work of describing and maintaining the interactions between the residents. Can we maintain healthy relationships between the residents of our households – human and other-than-human – when we have allowed them to become so large? Perhaps we could say that living in a house is a privilege. But being at home is something very different, less a privilege than a responsibility. Being at home might have very little to do with shelter and much more to do with obligation, willingness, participation and limits. Being at home describes a state of relationship. Being at home is related to citizenship. We understand homelessness as one of the worst afflictions to befall people in the developed world. And it is interesting to consider that the word we use to describe this wretched affliction is not house-less-ness, but homelessness. We don’t often consider that some people who live on the streets might actually be choosing to flee, having seen the smoke billowing from the windows. I have written before that a Gift Economy is fed to life by the practice of voluntary material impoverishment. I have heard repeatedly that this is not a particularly appealing or comfortable collection of words, that maybe I could find some other way to encourage people to get involved. But I maintain that it is the most honest way I can describe the Magic that happens every week at the Farm and at the Gift Stand. Thank you very much for reading. We look forward to seeing you on Friday!


Here is what you will find in this letter:

  1. SOUP MENU for 8/14
  2. INVITATION: GIFT DISTRIBUTION DETAILS
  3. WORK PARTY: Please join us August 16th.
  4. BUDGET UPDATE – detailed August Budget. 

With Great Care, 

Adam and the Brush Brook Community Farm Team


SOUP MENU

  1. Brush Brook Soup – Zucchini, Carrots, Onions, Swiss Chard, Beef, Herbs, Bone Broth.  
  2. Vegetarian Soup – Pureed Sweet Potato, Turnip, Tomato, Garlic and Butter.

Please bring a pint or quart container with you from home and we will fill it for you. 

INVITATION: GIFT DISTRIBUTION DETAILS 

Friday 8/14, 4:00pm – 6:00 pm
Brush Brook Community Farm & Running Stone Bread
4582 Main Road, Huntington, VT.

Bread Varieties this week:  Simple Wheat, Polenta, 3 Seed, Rye, Sprouted Grain, Backcountry Loaf (gf)

Would you consider coming by for bread and soup for your household, and/or some to drop off to a neighbor on your way home?


BUDGET UPDATE: Thank you for Considering the August Budget

Many heartfelt thanks to all who have responded to these invitations by sending in Financial Gifts. If you would like to support our work, you can mail checks made out to Brush Brook Community Farm to PO Box 202, Huntington, VT, 05462, bring gifts to the Bread and Soup Stand, or donate through the website. We are 100% financially supported by these personal financial gifts. 

Brush Brook Community Farm and Bakery – August Budget

As of 8/12
Gifts Received in August  $           800.00
Estimated Expenses for August
Production Expenses
Bread Ingredients & Packaging  $          1,115.50 
Bakery Overhead (Insur., Electric, etc.)  $            555.86 
Bakery Rent  $            300.00 
Farm Expenses  $          1,051.76 
Farm/Bakery Team Requested Gifts
Adam Wilson Personal Living (full time)  $            648.08 
Adam Wilson Rent  $            200.00 
Erik Weil (part time) Rent/Housing   $            500.00 
Collin McCarthy (part time) Utilities   $            100.00 
Investments
Bakery Deferred Maintenance Fund  $            400.00 
Fees
Estimated Federal/State Taxes  $            351.22 
Paypal Fees   $             75.00 
Total  $          5,297.42 
Balance  $         (4,497.42)

Support the Farm & Bakery

The operations of Brush Brook Community Farm & Bakery are maintained by neighborly working hands and financial gifts. Your generous monetary support propels the gift of food forward to those open to receiving it.

Thank you!