Newsletter 9/23/20

Greetings Friends and Neighbors, 

On Sunday morning the flowering vines that twined their way around the Gift Stand this Summer hang watery and limp, claimed by Winter’s frozen kiss. We set the table there with the remaining 50 loaves of bread, and within a few hours all have been received, headed towards cutting boards and toasters and kitchen counters around town. At 2pm a dozen folks – mostly in their 20’s and early 30’s – arrive for our weekly Work Day, and these new and familiar faces gather in a circle on the Sun-drenched afternoon grass to offer, by way of introduction, their names and a story of a Gift that had passed through their hands in recent days. Ava, our whole and hearty Work Day Coordinator, introduces the Farm by saying “Here at Brush Brook we aim to inspire mutually sustaining relationships between humans and other humans, and also between humans and all that is not human. We do this by grazing, growing, gleaning, cooking and baking food which is then given away as gifts to anyone who is hungry for any reason.” As I sit there, taking in the young faces watching Ava speak these words, I notice that she stands backlit by golden afternoon light reflecting off the forested hills that rise to make the Western wall of this narrow valley. There is something happening that defies easy description. Human Longing pours from attentive eyes and saturates the thin, late-Summer air. I wonder if I could actually scoop it up in handfuls. How has the word Community become so slippery in our time? What becomes of a Generation set adrift in a world creaking and groaning and taking on water from every seam? 

With $3000 still to raise and just 7 days left in the month, we are indeed writing to ask you to consider making a Financial Gift to enable us to continue this work. 

At the same time, we are wondering – 6-Months into this Gift Giving Experiment – how to describe the possibilities we have seen emerging from this practice of radical hospitality?  What does any of it mean, really? Is it worth continuing? 

Here’s the catch. We are asking you, Dear Reader of this News-Letter, to help us answer these very questions. Have you seen or read anything that has seemed worthwhile? How do you describe Brush Brook Community Farm to a friend? Have you been confused, inspired or even disquieted by the Farm’s work? Are you willing to send a few sentences to this address: brushbrookcommunityfarm@gmail.com? It would mean a lot to hear from you. We will carefully compile your responses to help us to vision where the work goes from here. If you are willing to make a Gift, you can do so by clicking here: Help Out! 

Please join us Friday at Soup and Bread Gift Distribution where we will be offering 70 quarts of homemade soup and 240 loaves of fresh bread as a gift to anyone who is hungry for any reason. 

Over the past six months hundreds of you have lent your considerable time, sweat and attention – and many hundreds of your dollars – toward these efforts to imagine another way to be with one another. With our eyes squinted, we try to catch a glimpse of possibilities that seem to lie just beyond the horizon, even now as the late-Summer Sun settles into the Western hills. We are grateful for, and humbled by, your companionship. 

With Great Care,

Ava, Erik, Collin, Evan and Adam – The Brush Brook Community Farm Team

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 Here is what you will find in this letter:

1. SOUP and BREAD GIFT DISTRIBUTION 9/25 – Details and Menu
2. WORK DAY and Potluck Picnic: Sunday 9/27, 2-5pm – click here for details: bit.ly/brushbrookworkdays
3. Vegetable Preservation Request for Assistance
4. FINANCIAL GIFT REQUESTS – detailed September Budget

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SOUP and BREAD GIFT DISTRIBUTION: Friday 9/25, 4:00 -6:00 pm, 4582 Main Road, Huntington, VT

    SOUPS:

1. Brush Brook Soup – Roasted Squash, Tomato, Greens, Beef, Garlic, Herbs, Bone Broth.  
2. Vegetarian Soup – Roasted Squash, Corn and Peppers, Herbs, Garlic.

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

    BREADS:  Mountain 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?

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WORK DAY and Potluck Picnic

These gatherings are close to the heart of what we do. Work is outside with ample opportunity for precautionary distancing. Find updated information here: bit.ly/brushbrookworkdays

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Vegetable Preservation Request for Assistance

In preparation for making Soup every week from Local ingredients, we are preparing Greens and other Vegetables for the Freezer. Would you be willing to help us by freezing a batch at home? We will have Kits (greens, instructions and containers) for pickup each Friday at the Gift Stand, 4-6pm.

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BUDGET UPDATE: Thank you for Considering the September 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 Friday Gift Stand, or donate through the website. We are 100% financially supported by these personal financial gifts. 

Brush Brook Community Farm and Bakery – Sept. Budget
	As of 9/22
Gifts Received(Balance from August)	$          2224.00
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	$         (3,073.42)

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