Celebrate Fall with GrowOV

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View this email in your browser Hello Friends and Neighbors!   It's September and we are taking a breath. Like most Wheeling summers, this one has been both exhausting and rewarding - full of juicy tomatoes and long, sweaty days in the sun. Now, though, the overflowing harvest we've counted on through July and August is slowing to a manageable stream. Cicadas are out and they'll make sure you know it. Summer's not over yet, but the transition to the next season is pushing to the top of our minds. For many of our friends and family members, September means falling back into the routine of school or work after weeks of vacation. We find our new routines too as we say goodbye to our diligent seasonal workers, pick the last of the summer fruits off the vine before yanking them out to make room for cold weather crops, and set our sights on preparing for a busy fall and winter. We hope to see YOU this fall too - we're grateful for everyone following along with our updates this season, and we hope you'll take the opportunity to meet up with us this fall! Hannah Hedrick Education Program Manager Grow Ohio Valley SIGN UP NOW LUNCHBOX PEPPERS: COMING TO A CAFETERIA NEAR YOU Have you heard about lunchbox peppers? The perfect snack-sized veggie? If you're an elementary student in Ohio County, you probably have! This season, GrowOV has partnered with Ohio County Schools to distribute over 1300lbs of locally grown sweet lunchbox peppers through elementary school cafeteria lunches. It takes a lot of peppers to feed a whole county - 300-400lbs of peppers is enough to provide a fresh veggie side for one meal for all the OCS elementary students. In 2019, West Virginia passed the Fresh Food Act, showing support for local food by committing that state institutions in WV would obtain at least 5% of their food from in-state producers. Since then, growers have been working hard to adjust their production to meet this huge demand, and we'll continue to make progress toward this goal by strengthening the relationships among our growers, institutions, and consumers. We couldn't be more excited about sharing local food with local kids, and are grateful to OCS for making it happen!   SOMETHING'S HAPPENING ON VINEYARD HILL... There's a slight chill in the morning air...a stray yellow leaf crunches under foot...and clusters of shiny red apples are ready to be picked from branches bending under their weight. This month marks the beginning of the apple harvest in GrowOV's Vineyard Hills Orchard. The Orchard, whose first planting took place in 2017, is currently home to over 300 fruit trees, including 45 varieties of apples and a handful of peaches, plums, and pears. This is the second season that the young trees have yielded a significant crop, and the project is gaining momentum. In August, Grow Ohio Valley was awarded Specialty Crop Block Grant funding from the USDA for orchard staffing and equipment, including an apple cider press that can be shared among producers in the area. If you haven't had the opportunity to set foot the Orchard yet, you'll get your chance on October 22nd at Grow Ohio Valley's annual Harvest Festival. This year, the festival will span the entirety of Vineyard Hill. We'll have music and pumpkin picking overlooking the Ohio River at the Lincoln Meadow, a food court packed with local vendors on the hilltop, and an Orchard experience on the other side.   Most apples will be picked by October, but guests will have a chance to taste fresh pressed apple cider, sample and watch the making of a batch of apple butter with the Blended Homestead, meet friendly pygora goats from Farmstead Fibers, and grab a bag of NJ's kettle corn. We hope to see you there! MORE HARVEST FEST INFO Hannah Hedrick Next Next Summer Updates 2022 Copyright © 2021 Grow Ohio Valley - All Rights Reserved. Website photography courtesy of Erin Yaeger and Grow Ohio Valley GROW OHIO VALLEY 1006 Grandview Street Wheeling, WV 26003 info@growov.org (304) 233-GROW