The Applegater

22 Summer 2022 Applegater Is the Applegate Valley ready for Scouting? BY ERIK JOHNSEN Greetings, Applegate residents! Because the valley is not densely populated, we have to work to find opportunities to bring people together and build a sense of community. Based on an article in the Applegater last year, I saw some changes going on at Pacifica, so I reached out to make an introduction and find common areas of interest. It has been great learning about their facilities and programs, and they have been extremely welcoming of collaborations with local Scouting. ose discussions led us to hold the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)'s annual rocket launch at Pacifica in late April. We started the day with some of Pacifica's ed ucation al p rogram in g, including survival skills and a challenge course that was fun for both kids and adults. Since the value of community service is a core component of Scouting, we gladly helped the Pacifica folks raise a new group tent for their outdoor school programs and sleeping accommodations. We're looking forward to coming back next school year. We finished the afternoon with our rocket launch. Many interested families showed up for this event, including a rocket enthusiast who splits time between the Applegate and the Bay Area. You know it's been a successful day when you've met new friends, given back to the community, and had fun. In addition to my roles with our Jacksonville-based Scout groups, I also serve our local Crater Lake Council by helping to increase Scouting membership, including starting new Scout groups. So here's the question: Is the Applegate in need of its own Scout pack and troop, to bring people together and build a sense of community, with quality youth programs and activities? To answer that question, you probably need to know a little about how Scouting works. First, the Boy Scouts of America delivers its programs through a partnership w i t h a n o t h e r l o c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n who also shares a long-term goal of serving youth. Those organizations, called charter partners, can be a variety of entities, including service clubs such as Rotary and Kiwanis, Parent-Teacher Organizations, churches, nonprofits, and even for-profit businesses. e BSA—open to boys and girls—is primarily a volunteer-run organization, which means that to start a new pack or troop we need at least five young people to participate and six adults to run things. In practice, a group will function much better with 15-25 Scouts and associated parents to help out. Ready to join the fun? We are collecting contacts for like-minded folks until we have the critical mass to start something. Please email Pack17Jacksonville@gmail. com to find out more. Erik Johnsen Committee Chair, Cub Scout Pack 17 VP Membership, Crater Lake Council Pack17Jacksonville@gmail.com Members of Pack 17 (Jacksonville) on an outing. Across the nation, local and regional food systems are experiencing a flush of energy, resurgence, and funding. e pandemic and associated supply-chain issues have highlighted the vulnerability and insecurity of communities completely dependent on globalized food systems to fill stores, pantries, and bellies. Now more than ever funding is available to support and build stronger localized food systems. The term "food system" describes the flow of activities that connect the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food. We have all these elements in our little valley, but the connection between them can be fragmented, leaving inefficiencies and gaps in the chain. Much of the food and goods grown here in the Applegate are sold outside of the region, and most of the food brought home is from town and trucked in from the globalized food system. Localizing our food system keeps resources close to home and builds community wealth and resiliency. We are for tunate to live in a place of tremendous agricultural abundance. Many of us are farmers or are neighbors with people who make a living from working the land. Yet how much access do we have to the products grown here? And how much support do farmers have from the local consumer? Last year A Greater Applegate (AGA) and Rogue Valley Food Systems Network (RVFSN) were awarded a grant from Business Oregon's Rural Opportunity Initiative to weave together local input and regional food systems. is grant enables AGA and RVFSN, with other partners, to build the information and communication systems that will lay the foundation for a more robust and resilient food and farm culture in the Applegate. e first phase of this project is well underway and includes supporting thriving farmers markets to facilitate more direct consumer access to local products. e most accessible and direct way to participate and reap the benefits of this work is to patronize your local farmers market. Besides the fresh produce, animal products, and baked goods at these markets, you will find locally made clothing, seeds, plant starts, informational booths, libations, live music, hot food, and good conversation weekly in three locations across the Applegate. In my own neighborhood of Ruch, I am thrilled to have the Applegate Evening Market in full swing. Located on the picturesque Electric Gardens Flower Farm, the market has a vibe that is right and something for everyone. With more than 40 vendors of garden produce, beef, fish, honey, mushrooms, crafts, seeds, seedlings, herbs, and apothecary items, you can get plenty of staple items. Options abound for a hot meal: fresh, locally grown beef burgers, wood-fired pizza, Caribbean cuisine, barbecue, vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan. Local nonprofits are there to connect with you and talk about the important work being done in our community. Siskiyou Cellular is providing boosters so vendors can easily take all forms of payment. anks to a Momentum Grant from AGA, the market has new picnic tables with more shade to enhance the experience of the weekly live music and beer garden. In addition to a weekly line- up of fantastic local bands on the covered stage, an open mic session happens on the fourth Wednesday of every month, so you can share your music too. Market Manager jb Palasini (who doesn't capitalize his initial initials) and Sarah Osborn, owner of Electric Gardens Flower Farm, have been hard at work creating a weekly gathering that genuinely serves our community by providing an opportunity for artists, farmers, and entrepreneurs to showcase their work, and a free space where the community can gather. I am so grateful for all the hard work that has gone into creating this opportunity for all of us, and I don't plan on missing the chance to join in the creation of our budding local food system. Grab your friends, a basket, and a sun hat, and head over to your local market. Are you building local food systems in your neighborhood? Reach out, and let's work together. Sara Marie Hamilton saramarie.1@rvfoodsystem.org Weekly markets •••••• Williams Farmers Market 4-6:30 pm Mondays, May 2-October 24, 206 Tetherow Road, Williams. Facebook. com/williamsfarmersmarket Applegate Evening Market 5-8 pm Wednesdays, Electric Gardens, 8035 Highway 238. Applegateeveningmarket.com Murphy's Outdoor Market 9 am -1 p m , Ap ril 1-Sep tem ber 30, 6 8 9 0 W i l l i a m s H i g h w a y . Murphysoutdoormarket.com Jville Market 9 am-1:30 pm Sundays, May 1-October, Historic Courthouse, 206 North Fifth Street, Jacksonville. Facebook.com/jville.market BY SARA MARIE HAMILTON Building a local food and farms network: Start at the farmers market Seeds from Feral Farm are among the items you might find at the Applegate Evening Market. Now serving burgers!

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