Gardening The Community Celebrates the Harvest

It's become a family tradition to celebrate the harvest with Gardening The Community at their Pancake Breakfast and Harvest Fundraiser. This is a terrific event that supports a local food justice organization in Springfield. It's also a lot of fun, and truly a celebration. This year we brought our friend Toni and our goddaughter Parker for the first time. Our plan is to bring a few more friends every year to experience the "GTC love." It was great to see so many board and staff members of The River Valley Market Co-op also in attendance. And River Valley Market generously donated $1,000 in food to support this event and the great work of GTC!

The mission of GTC is to develop youth, urban agriculture and sustainable living to build healthy and equitable communities. There are many aspects to this organization that make it unique, innovative and inspiring. I thoroughly appreciate that GTC's youth development work builds great leaders in our community. The grit of the work is to turn unused lots in Springfield into thriving gardens. These vegetables are sold at local farmer's markets and other venues to support the work of GTC. The produce is often moved by bicycle, encouraging participants to engage in healthy activities and operate in a more sustainable way. Stop by the GTC website to learn more about their history, milestones and other programs, like GTC EATS! CSA Farm Share Program.

The pancake breakfast this year was held at The Trinity United Methodist Church near Forest Park. The place was packed with people enjoying GTC's delicious homemade pancakes, prepared by the youth. I especially love the Harvest Pancake. I'll include the recipe at the end of this post. It's wonderful eaten with their homemade compote, syrup and butter.

GTC had an excellent program lined up to celebrate the growth and accomplishments of GTC over the year. They  always recognize the youth with service awards. Awards are given to volunteers and community members who have given so much to help with the continued success of the organization. And, there's lively entertainment, such as music and poetry reading. This year, Maurice Taylor spoke and I was moved by what he had to share. I love the energy of this event and how it highlights a coming together to build something beautiful and healthful for our community. You can buy tickets for a raffle and this we won two lovely gift baskets.

The centerpieces were lovely! 

Like GTC's Facebook page so you can hear about upcoming events. They have a wonderful plant sale in the spring for all of you avid gardeners out there. Did you know GTC will also be participating in the Valley Gives Program? If you are able, support GTC during this 24 Hour Celebration of Generosity.

GTC's Harvest Pancake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred or sifted before measuring
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 medium carrot shredded
• 1 small apple shredded
• 1/4 cup shredded sweet potato

Preparation:

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and 1 1/2 cups of milk; add to flour mixture, stirring only until smooth. Blend in melted butter, sweet potate,carrot, and apple. If the batter seems too thick to pour, add a little more milk. Cook on a hot, greased griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbly, a little dry around the edges, and lightly browned on the bottom; turn and brown the other side. Recipe for pancakes serves 5.