The Milwaukee Post

6 • Milwaukee Post • July 12, 2013 Farm: Hunger Task Force-operated site adds fresh produce to food supplies, offers classes continued from Page 1 manager with Hunger Task Force, said the property was the perfect venue to adopt some new, outside-the-box methods into the organization's operations plan. The HTF has a 30-year lease agreement on the property. "We have 208 tillable acres here, and we've been growing 27 different types of crops," she said. "All this is possible because of the more than 800 volunteers who have helped." Hartenstein said the produce – ranging from more traditional offerings, such as apples, to more obscure vegetables, including pickling cucumbers – goes directly into the HTF's emergency food system once it is harvested. "With the different varieties, it's turned out we've had a large amount of produce injected into our system," Matt King, the HTF's farm director, said. "This is not something that just benefits Franklin, but the entire Milwaukee area." Like many agricultural sites, The Farm took a hit during the second half of last summer as the drought deepened. But the site has rebounded this year, Hartenstein said, and the goal by the end of the planting season is to harvest between 350,000 and 400,000 pounds of produce. "It hurt us quite a bit," Hartenstein said. "But we've been making progress this year." The Farm serves a three-pronged purpose. In addition to growing produce, the site is used as a fish hatchery and a nutrition education center. The more than 40,000 fish reared at the site are eventually transported to Milwaukee County parks in an effort to give urban youths and adults quality fishing options. This past year, the nutrition education program at The Farm has blossomed through an active partnership with 10 schools within the Milwaukee Public Schools system. Children receive handson education about the benefits of eating healthy. This summer, hundreds of MPS students have been visiting The Farm for a class that ties gardening and cooking together. "We let the kids play around in the dirt," Hartenstein said. A registered dietitian aims to instill a love of healthy eating into the lives of the children visiting The Farm. During a reporter's visit, several dozen MPS students were learning about kohlrabi, a crunchy turnip native to Germany that is grown on the grounds of The Farm. "This was picked from the garden the same day the kids are eating it, so it's very fresh," Hartenstein said. While largely unassuming, a number of local and county officials have taken notice of The Farm and lauded HTF for its efforts. "This was an area that was a bit of an eyesore before they came in," Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor said of the HTF's oversight of the grounds. "They've been doing some wonderful things on that property." Kohl's, Menards, Roundy's named as top stores by national magazine Post Staff MENONOMEE FALLS – Kohl's, Menards and Roundy's Supermarkets have been named in the STORES magazine Top 100 Retailers list. Menomonee Falls-based Kohl's came in at number 21 with $19,279,000 in U.S. retail sales in 2012. When comparing 2011 to 2012, Kohl's had 2.5 percent in sales growth. It had a total of 1,146 stores in 2012 and its store growth was 1.7 percent. Menards, based in Eau Claire, was named number 48 with $8,441,000 of U.S. retail sales in 2012. When comparing 2011 to 2012, Menards had 4.6 percent increase in sales. It had a total of 272 stores in 2012 and saw a 4.2 percent increase in its store growth. Milwaukee-based Roundy's Supermarkets came in at number 93 and had $3,887,000 in U.S. retail sales in 2012. The company had 1.6 percent increase in sales last year compared to 2011. In 2012, the company had 161 stores and saw a 1.9 increase in store growth. "In a year that saw collective sales decline 1 percent, the department stores in the Top 100 still generated average sales of $23.3 billion in 2012. Top 100 supermarkets were nearly as strong, averaging $21.2 billion in 2012 sales," according to the report. Photos by Dave Fidlin/Special to The Post A field of cabbage, lettuce and other greens within The Farm's grounds. As part of a partnership with Milwaukee Public Schools, the Hunger Task Force buses students out to the facility for a series of hands-on workshops, nutrition education classes and opportunities for the kids to be active participants in gardening. Neighborhood Theater Group to be first in state with new digital cinema techology Post Staff MILWAUKEE – Neighborhood Theater Group announced via its Facebook page Tuesday that it will be the first theaters in Wisconsin to present RealD 3D Precision White Screen Technology. "Both the Rosebud and Times theaters will be outfitted with the latest in digital cinema technology, including Barco projection and state-of-the-art uncompressed digital sound. Compared to the silver screens seen in most 3D theaters, the Precision White screens provide much more even light distribution resulting in a brighter overall image, and more accurate color and texture reproduction," according to the Facebook post. Neighborhood Theater Group plans to have both the Rosebud and Times theaters converted to digital cinema by July 18.

• Cover