STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Celebrate the bounty of the new Bloom Community Farm on Wednesday, Sept. 13.

The farm will partner with The Hunger Coalition for a Farm Appreciation Party from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the farm out Quigley Canyon behind the Wood River High School football field. Access is via Fox Acres Road.

There’ll be farm tours, light fare from ingredients harvested on site, drinks and live music provided by Andrew Sheppard.

“The celebration will be a fun way to thank the community, particularly volunteers, partners, and donors, for their commitment to changing the landscape of food security in Blaine County,” said Jeanne Liston, director of The Hunger Coalition.

The Hunger Coalition has been able to provide clients with hundreds of pounds of food harvested at the farm by the loving hands of community volunteers. Many of those volunteers also took food home for themselves in the farm’s Volunteer for Veggies program.

So far, more than 3,000 pounds of food have been produced with some of it sold at deeply discounted prices to seniors through a mobile market and others provided to youngsters participating in various youth programs. Local teen interns took part in a program where they learned to grow, care for and prepare the vegetables raised on the farm, in addition to selling it through the mobile market.

“It’s truly remarkable what our community is capable of. Bloom Farm was just a question mark on a chalkboard a year and a half ago,” said Liston. “With the help of volunteers, partner organizations, donors and staff, together we’ve achieved so much! The party is an opportunity to share the growth, say thank you, and celebrate this humbling community effort.”

“When we first started, this was all weeds and dirt,” said Maryanna, a Bloom Youth Project intern. “I’m proud that in just a few months we’ve harvested more than a ton of food.”

To RSVP for the Farm Appreciation Party, call 208-788-0121 or e-mail info@thehungercoalition.org.