Genentech donates a food forest!

On June 7, Genentech employees came out to the Gardens at North River Road for their yearly volunteer project. this year, they left a very long-lasting mark by donating and planting 14 fruit trees. Six volunteers worked for about three hours to dig holes, amend soil, install gopher baskets to protect the investment, and get the fruit trees in the ground.

Genentech volunteers planted 14 fruit trees on June 7.

Thanks to Genentech, we now have apples, nectarines, plums, peaches, apricots, figs, banana, pineapple guava, and nectaplums growing in our garden! They do need to establish themselves for a few years before they will be producing any fruit, but we are greatly looking forward to having fresh, natural fruits to serve our preschoolers for lunches ans snacks. We are happy to have another addition of perennials (plant's that continue to grow as long as their needs are met, as opposed to annuals that need to be replanted every year) in the garden. By planting more perennials, we are ensuring a harvest in years to come, without having to dig out old plants and replant every season.

Thank you Genetech! We can't wait to work with you again next year!

Genentech Gives Back!

June 14th was was the day in 2011 when Genentech gave back. In 2010, volunteers from Genentech helped us build raised beds at the Gardens at River Road, to be planted later with vegetables to support our preschools and Food Bank.

This year, they harvested the fruits of their labor! They picked and cleaned 70 lbs of beets, cucumbers, basil, onions, carrots, beans, and herbs. This brought the total food harvested in 2011 to 500 lbs! Everyone had fun harvesting a row of potatoes with four- and five-year-old preschoolers!

In addition to harvesting produce, Genentech volunteers did an amazing job weeding an area of the garden, then covering that area with weed block and wood chips. Thanks to the 14 volunteers on June 14th, the garden truly looks better then ever.

I can't wait to see Genentech again next year!

~Abby Weglarz~

~Volunteer Coordinator~

~North County Community Services~

Thank You To Our Community Partners

Genentech volunteers garden at the Food Bank

On October 13th, a group of 20 volunteers from Genentech spent nearly 5 hours working at the North County Food Bank. Groups of volunteers are nothing new to the Food Bank, but this past Wednesday, Genentech did a project that was extra special. They showed up in awesome volunteer t-shirts and spent nearly 5 hours shoveling, raking, digging, mixing, and planting dirt. They converted a barren patch of land into a productive vegetable and herb garden. In addition to putting in garden beds, they also installed a compost container to recycle vegetable waste back into the garden, and filled planter pots with soil and herbs to greet those entering through the office.

The garden will be maintained by volunteers at the Food Bank. It is not protected by a fence, so it is expected that if people are hungry and want something out of the garden, they can just take it. Extra vegetables and herbs will be distributed through the Food Bank.

If you are interested in helping with this or any of our other garden projects throughout North County, please contact Abby at volunteer@sdnccs.org, or call 760-471-5483

Click on the post title to see more pictures of the volunteer day!

Thank you Genentech!