FOM Participates in NH Feeding NH via the NH Food Bank

The Friends of Mascoma Foundation has had another successful year participating in the NH Feeding NH program via our partnership with the NH Food Bank. In 2020, The NH Food Bank in partnership with the NH Food Alliance, NH Farm Bureau and NOFA-NH proudly launched “NH Feeding NH” a statewide initiative designed to support the purchase of NH grown food to feed our food insecure neighbors with nutritious locally grown produce, fruit, dairy protein and more throughout NH communities.

In spring 2020, FOM was awarded an initial grant of $1,000 via this program to spend specifically at local farms and farm stands. In August 2020 FOM was awarded an additional $500 because the NH Food Bank was pleased with how we embraced the program supporting a number of local farms and farm stands. In 2021, FOM was selected to participate in the program again and was awarded $1,500 in May.

To date, Friends of Mascoma Foundation has supported the following farms and farm stands using funds from the NH Feeding NH Program:

• Open Woods of Grafton

• Spring Ledge Farm of New London

• Edgewater Farm of Plainfield

• Sunset Harvest Farm of Enfield

• Primitive Pickings of Lebanon

• Dirk Andrew/Westley Burton Agricultural Products of Canaan

• Pleasant Valley Produce at Campbell Farm of Enfield

We encourage all our friends and supporters to shop locally whenever possible! We thank the NH Food Bank for including FOM in this wonderful program. For more information on this initiative please visit the NH Food Bank’s site here: https://nhfoodbank.org/programs/nh-feeding-nh/

FOM To Collect and Distribute Warm Clothing

While we will not be hosting our traditional warm clothing/coat drive and distribution event we will still be collecting coats and warm clothing that are in good condition and distributing them to folks in need. During September and the first half of October FOM will be collecting coats, snow pants, and other warm clothing. We would like to focus on children and families.

We do not have the capacity to sort through as many items as we would in a normal year so please take that extra time to sort out items that are in poor condition.

Items can be dropped off in Enfield at Huse Memorial Park on Tuesdays from 3:30pm-6pm and in Canaan on Wednesdays from 11:00am-6pm on Wednesdays or by appointment. To schedule a drop appointment simply contact, Eula at ELKozma@friendsofmascoma.org.

After collecting and sorting, FOM will make these items available to the public during our Canaan public food pantry hours during the second half of October. Save the dates: October 21st and 28th from 4:000pm-6:00pm.

Update on Mascoma Builds Community Resilience

The Friends of Mascoma Foundation has been working with the UNH Extension on a project called Mascoma Builds Community Resilience since May of this year. UNH Extension received a grant to facilitate this project in three rural NH communities and Mascoma was selected as one of the three. 

This is different than the Enfield Master Planning process that a group is undertaking in Enfield, but we will be working collaboratively so that both groups can benefit from each other’s findings. 

We have held monthly Zoom meetings since May and our next meeting will be on Thursday, September 30th. It is not too late to get involved. I would be happy to bring you up to speed if you are interested in joining us at any point in time.

We are using ‘resilience’ as a broad term and realize it is a bit ambiguous. The context of the project is rural communities emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic and working together within their community to gather information, make organizational connections, apply lessons learned and re-emerge as a stronger community. 

Ways to get involved today—>

1. We are trying to get a better understanding of what ‘community’ means to folks generally and specifically what they like (or do not like) about the Mascoma Valley Region. If you have not done so already please answer the three questions on the form link here: https://forms.office.com/r/2dqgiLvEhA

2. Review what we have worked on so far: Mascoma Builds Community Resilience (padlet.com) This site has the topics we’ve covered so far in our meetings, important community data, ways participants can brainstorm, and much more! We hope to brainstorm renaming the project at our September meeting.

3. Help us spread the word! Share information about this project with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc… The more folks that know about this project and participate the better the results will be!

4. Join us for our September meeting on Thursday , September 30th from 3pm to 4:30pm. Zoom link here: https://unh.zoom.us/j/97510061098

FOM to Distribute Coats and Warm Clothing in October

While we will not be hosting our traditional warm clothing/coat drive and distribution event we will still be collecting coats and warm clothing that are in good condition during the month of September. We will then distribute these items at our public food pantries on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the second part of October. Stay tuned for details on distribution dates. If you have coats and warm clothing that are in good condition please reach out to Eula at elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org to coordinate drop off. Thank you!

It's Official!

Our long time lead volunteer, Lana Evans, has “officially” joined the FOM staff as our Part time Pantry and Volunteer Coordinator.   As you all know, Lana has always been an important part of the FOM team. She is extremely dedicated to our work and mission. During the past year it became clear that the organization needed to dedicate more staff time to running Friends Feeding Friends and was ready to hire a 2nd staff person.  We are pleased to have Lana as an official member of our team. Join us in welcoming Lana into her new role! 

Update on Mascoma Builds Community Resilience Project--Get Involved Now!

As you may or may not know we have been working with the UNH Extension on a project called Mascoma Builds Community Resilience.  We are using ‘resilience’ as a broad term and realize it is a bit ambiguous. The context of the project is rural communities emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic and working together within their community to gather information, make organizational connections, apply lessons learned and re-emerge as a stronger community.  We have had three virtual meetings so far, but you can get involved at any time. Below is some more information and a few ways to get involved now!

We are trying to reestablish community post-COVID-19 and the voices of the Mascoma community together. Some of what we are working on:
• Building a regional team of partners and community members interested in building resiliency in the Mascoma region
• Coming together as a community to learn about each other, our assets, and where to go from here
• Beginning to identify ways to build resiliency in community and how to take action as part of a regional team

Ways to get involved today—>

1. LAST CALL FOR THE SNA: As part of the Mascoma Builds Community Resilience project, we are conducting a Social Network Analysis (SNA) to better understand what organizations are currently collaborating with each other in the region and at what level. Please fill out our quick survey to help us see who you are already connected to in the Mascoma region: https://unh.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ekXzAAyvw0YgGaO This survey will close on Friday August 6th.

2. We are trying to get a better understanding of what ‘community’ means to folks generally and specifically what they like (or do not like) about the Mascoma Valley Region. Please answer the three questions on the form here: https://forms.office.com/r/2dqgiLvEhA

3. Help us spread the word! Share information about this project with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc… The more folks that know about this project and participate the better the results will be!

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to Eula at elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org.

Fight Hunger Bag Initiative for FOM at the W. Lebanon Hannaford in July!

As a reminder, for the month of July 2021, the Friends of Mascoma Foundation will receive a $1 donation from each purchase of the $2.50 reusable Fight Hunger Bag at the Hannaford store located at 8 Market Street, West Lebanon NH. Help us meet our goal of raising $150.00 through this initiative!

Congratulations Class of 2021!

Cheers to our 2021 Scholarship Recipients!

Torrie   Howlett               Enfield               $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Connor Thompson        Enfield               $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Gabriel Rock                    Enfield               $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Sophia  Guziewicz          Enfield               $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Dirk       Andrew               Canaan              $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Caleb    Hobbs                Canaan              $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Kylie  Ells                      Orange              $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Noah     Lecuyer              Enfield               $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Gaige    Hollis                  Enfield               $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Faith     Furman               Enfield                $1,000.00          Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Paige     Jette                   Enfield               $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Rachel  Dargie                Canaan              $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Caleb    Drexler               Enfield               $1,000.00           Friends of Mascoma Scholarship

Lucille   Ibey                     Enfield               $1,000.00           Malformity Labs STEM Scholarship

Emily     Moulton             Canaan               $1,000.00           Malformity Labs Women/STEM Scholarship

Natalie  Poitras                Grafton              $1,000.00           Carolyn A. Cusick Trust Teaching Scholarship

Nicholas Gaskin              Enfield               $1,500.00           Roberta Hines and Jerry Liebrand Nursing Scholarship in Memory of Velma Hines

Madison Ashley               Grafton               $1,500.00          Roberta Hines and Jerry Liebrand Healthcare Scholarship in Memory of Sadie Seamans

Cameron Stebbins          Enfield               $1,500.00           Roberta Hines and Jerry Liebrand Nursing Scholarship in Memory of Velma Hines

FOM has Another Successful Year with NH Gives

Another year of NH Gives in the books! Thank you to all of our friends and donors, both near and far, for making NH Gives 2021 a success. As promised we are sharing a summary of what we accomplished together during NH Gives as a Friends of Mascoma Team thanks to NH Center for Nonprofits and their generous donors and sponsors. Site-Wide Matches were made possible by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation (NHCF) and its donors. The Upper Valley Matches were made possible by the Bio X Cell Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation and NHCF.

These generous gifts will replenish our scholarship fund, fund teacher and staff mini-grants for the Mascoma Valley Regional School District, combat food insecurity in the Mascoma Valley, and keep Friends of Mascoma churning onward.

Notable Accomplishments:
-We reached our initial goal early on & moved on to our stretch goal and super stretch goal of $50,000. Your gifts blew right past our goal - we are in awe of your generosity!
-We achieved our goal of finishing in the top 3 (out of 584)! Phew - that went down to the wire!
- We landed 6.6% of the $300k site-wide matches spread across 10 Match Minutes and 24 hours.

We are grateful beyond measure for all of the support today and always!

*totals as of 5 pm on June 9th , and donations continued to roll in!

Warm Weather Update for Pantry Schedule

As you may know, the Friends of Mascoma Foundation has switched over to a curbside/outdoors food distribution model. We will not have shoppers enter our Canaan building and we are no longer operating out of the Enfield Town Offices.

Please be advised: There will be NO PUBLIC PANTRIES on June 1st or 2nd. We will reopen in Enfield and Canaan for June 8th and 9th respectively.

More information on set up and schedule:

·       Walk up only.  No pre-registration is required.

·       All shoppers and volunteers must have a mask.  If you do not have one, one will be provided to you.

·       All shoppers are to practice appropriate social distance guidelines.

·       Enfield Pantry: We will reopen June 8th in Enfield at Huse Memorial Park. We will also be utilizing our van, Foodie, for distribution. The Enfield schedule is Tuesdays from 4pm-6pm.

Canaan Pantry: The Canaan schedule is Wednesdays from 4pm-6pm at the FOM headquarters behind Canaan Hardware.

·       Who are these pantries for?: Our pantries are open to anyone in need of a 3-day supply of groceries that lives in one of the 5 Mascoma Valley Towns: Canaan, Dorchester, Grafton, Enfield and Orange.

·       How often can someone visit the curbside pantries: Once a week at either location.  If you cannot make it to either location during those hours and don’t have a family member or friend who can pick up for you, please call 603.632.4542 or email elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org our Executive Director Eula Lee Kozma. 

·       If you are not able to physically get to the either location due to health reasons or other serious matters please call 603.632.4542 or email elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org our Executive Director Eula Lee Kozma.  Special arrangements will be made on a case by case basis. 

· What information is required: If you are a new pantry shopper, for statistical tracking purposes, we ask many questions. They are simple questions that do not require any paperwork on your part. Please come prepared to verbally let us know the name of your head of household, date of birth, relationship to head of household, and town and state of residence for each member of the household, as well as the number of and ages of all people in the household. If you are an existing pantry shopper we may confirm a few details, but you will not have to answer all questions again.

NH Gives 2021 Starts in T-minus 8 Days!

The Friends of Mascoma is gearing up for NH Gives 2021! During NH Gives this year we will primarily raise money for our scholarship program. We are a growing organization. If we hit our goal, we keep on raising money to support our general operations!

As of June 2020 we have awarded $70,000 in scholarships and we will be awarding the next round of scholarships the following to the Class of 2021 in just a few weeks! The past year has been extremely difficult for people due to COVID-19, resulting in financial impacts to families in our district. Scholarships are increasingly important this year and next so students can pursue educational opportunities following graduation.

This year has been our busiest year yet for FOM and we are proud to be here to support the Mascoma community. We pride ourselves on being nimble and responding to the evolving needs of the community.  We are grateful for all the members of the Mascoma community, both near and far, who have support us during these unusual times. Thank you for your loyal support! We hope we can count on you again for NH Gives! Visit our page to learn more or sign up as a fundraiser for our team. Scroll down for all the details on this year’s exciting matches!

Info on 2021 matches:

• Matching donation opportunities were recently announced and we are excited to maximize our fundraising capabilities! This year the matches are available during different time slots, which are outlined below. We are looking for ten donors to sign up to donate during each time slot to really boost our efforts. Willing to sign up to help us out? Email our Executive Director, Eula Kozma, at elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org with your time slot! There are no guarantees that donations will be matched, the funds go quickly, however an organized effort helps us increase the likelihood of receiving matching donations.

• A $300,000 site-wide match pool, made possible by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and its donors will be used throughout the 24-hour event to encourage donors to give.

• Organizations from the Upper Valley region will be eligible for two additional matches during specific times. A $10,000 Upper Valley match - made possible by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and its Bio X Cell Fund - will be available at 5PM on June 8 and a $9,000 Upper Valley match - made possible by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and several of its donors - will be available at 3PM on June 9.

• Last year the matches went fast! This year they are planning to schedule “Match Minutes.” Each Match Minute will be allotted a portion of the total match (for example, $50,000). During that minute, each online donation made will be matched up to a pre-determined amount -IT’S $250 until the allotted portion is depleted. (see schedule below).

• From the beginning of that time frame until the funds are exhausted, each online donation will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $250. We expect increased donations during match opportunities and it is likely that funds allotted to that start time will be exhausted in under a minute. These funds will be distributed along the schedule below:
  
  June 8
  5:00 PM - $100,000 **** Upper Valley Match $10,000 also TRIPLE MATCH TIME!
  6:00 PM - $20,000
  7:00 PM - $20,000
  8:00 PM - $20,000
  9:00 PM - $20,000
  
  June 9
  8:00 AM - $20,000
  9:00 AM - $20,000
  12:00 PM - $20,000
  3:00 PM - $20,000 *****Upper Valley Match $9000 also TRIPLE MATCH TIME
  4:00 PM - $40,000
  
  The take home: there will be chances to DOUBLE and even TRIPLE your gift!

Friends of Mascoma Partners with The Cornucopia Project

We are very excited to partner with our friends at the Cornucopia Project on this special project. This week, Friends of Mascoma Foundation picked up some of their NEW Sunflower Kits to distribute to classrooms at both Enfield Village School and Canaan Elementary School. Cornucopia is doing some great work and they have three new planting kits designed for classrooms available on their website: https://cornucopiaproject.org/farm-stand/ or get a sneak peak below.

Students will learn how to germinate a seed then how to take care of seedlings once they have matured. Grow sunflowers in the classroom to then plant at school to make a “Sunflower House”, or send them home with students to be planted elsewhere.

About this lesson
Students will learn how to germinate a seed then how to take care of seedlings once they have matured. Grow sunflowers in the classroom to then plant at school to make a “Sunflower House”, or send them home with students to be planted elsewhere.

What’s included

• Materials
  Sunflower seeds
  Soil
  Pots
  Growing instructions

• Lessons include complete instructions, storybook, and accompanying discussion questions, follow up activities including plant care

• Students may bring the sunflowers home or follow the instruction to create a Sunflower House in your schoolyard.

• Visit the sunflower house for circle times, to learn about insects and pollinators, to observe growth, etc. Enjoy!

Ages: 2-5
Duration: 30 minutes
Location: Classroom
Season: Spring
Price: $35

FOM to Host Seed Sowing Workshop

Join FOM and a group of community volunteers for a seed sowing workshop on Saturday May 15th! Learn about homegardening including info about raised beds and container gardening and leave with your own tray of seeds.

The workshop will be held outside the Friends of Mascoma office at On the Common Ln, Canaan, NH 03741 on Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 10 AM. This event is free and open to the public. We encourage participants of all ages to attend. If you have any questions email Eula at elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org

FOM Seeking Part-Time Pantry and Volunteer Coordinator

We are pleased to announce that we are growing our team! FOM is searching for a part-time Pantry and Volunteer Coordinator. Read on to learn more about this opportunity! Please share with anyone who may be interested.

Friends of Mascoma Foundation Friends Feeding Friends Pantry and Volunteer Coordinator Job Description

The Friends of Mascoma Foundation seeks a part-time Pantry and Volunteer Coordinator to support its growing food access program Friends Feeding Friends.  Friends Feeding Friends is a program designed to decrease food insecurity, increase food access, and reduce food waste to all residents of the Mascoma Valley Regional School District. The program launched in February 2016 and has grown exponentially over the past few years.

Attention to detail, flexibility, friendly disposition, and ability to work with and manage volunteers are a must.  Similarly, an ability to maintain confidentiality and treat our customers and constituents with respect is of outmost importance.

This position is 20 hours a week and will report to the Executive Director. If you are interested in applying, please send a resume or explanation of your relevant job experience and a letter of inquiry to Eula Lee Kozma at elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org

The primary responsibilities of this role include, but are not limited to:

·         Create and Manage an electronic inventory system.

·         Manage and place all orders from the USDA, NHFB, and local farms.

·         Communicate and/or meet with or arrange for item drop-offs with Willing Hands.

·         Prepare and submit quarterly reports to the NHFB.

·         Report Monthly Fresh Rescue poundage to NHFB.

·         Prepare and submit monthly reports to the USDA.

·         Manage volunteers onsite and volunteer communications including creating and managing a monthly volunteer sign up list.

·         Prepare for two weekly pantries

o   Plan shelf stable offerings for the week

o   Plan protein options

o   Plan produce offerings as able

·         Execute two weekly pantries in conjunction with available volunteers.

·         Prepare and execute snack offerings for CES and EVS—historically, this has been weekly, this year it is monthly.  Adjust as needed.

·         Prepare and execute snack and backpack offerings for IRMS and MVRHS.

·         Manage holiday and school box programs in conjunction with Ingathering, National Honor Society and other organizations as needed. This occurs 3-4 times annually with varying levels of work and participation. 

·         This person may need to fill in if no pantry volunteers are available.

·         Keep an annual pantry in-kind tracking list (source of donated items and food drives).

·         Keep a Household weekly visit tally for an annual report.

·         Transport food in organization’s van.

·         Attending events on behalf of FOM as needed.

·         A clean driving record is required.

·         Basic computer skills a must and ability to use excel spreadsheets.

·         Lifting up to 40lbs is required for unpacking and shelve stocking.

·         Must maintain a food safety certificate.

·         Other tasks as needed.

Join us for the Mascoma Builds Community Resilience Project

Come one come all! Join FOM and UNH Extension for this kick off community conversation on ways we can all lift up the Mascoma Valley as we emerge from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Last Call for Scholarships!

It is scholarship season and the clock is ticking on our scholarship application period. The Friends of Mascoma Foundation scholarship application period is from January 1st through April 15th 2021. Applications are ONLY accepted through this website.

The number of scholarships and dollar amount awarded is dependent on available funds each year. Friends of Mascoma celebrates the pursuit of all forms of higher education. We encourage students pursuing trades and certificate programs to apply for our scholarships. If you or someone you know is even remotely interested we encourage you to apply as soon as possible!

For complete information and the application visit our website: http://friendsofmascoma.org/scholarship

Did You Miss the Community COVID-19 Presentations? Catch them here!

Still not sure about the COVID-19 vaccines? Or do you simply want to learn more? Please join our neighbors, immunologist Cheryl Guyre, PhD, and clinicians Karl Stanford, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, and David Beaufait, MD, for a science-based discussion of vaccine safety and efficacy. This two part series offers general information about the vaccine options such as how the Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine compares to the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna. In the second installment our neighbors return for another science-based discussion on the latest COVID-19 vaccine developments and a more in depth look at the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine, some tips on how to critically evaluate news reports on vaccine safety and efficacy. Both sessions end with a Q and A session.

Session One is available here: https://youtu.be/Y2x5WtleWj8

Session Two Is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuFDm7cklu8

This program was sponsored by the Enfield Police, The Friends of Mascoma Foundation, and the Mascoma Health Center.

FOM is Pleased to Announce our Partnership with AmeriCorps

The Friends of Mascoma Foundation is pleased to announce that via a new partnership with AmeriCorps, we have launched a search for a VISTA to help us address food insecurity issues it the Mascoma Valley region. If you or someone you know is interested in the applying please visit the listing here. This position would be ideal for someone planning a gap year.

The New Hampshire Food Insecurity AmeriCorps program is a full time VISTA service opportunity. AmeriCorps members serve with community based organizations, youth serving organizations and colleges to build capacity for local communities to address food insecurity. This VISTA Program provides high-impact professional development and training for our VISTA members. Training addresses skills required to carry out the assigned VISTA role, as well as skill-building that will be valuable to the VISTA member in their future professional pursuits. The program is a cohort-based experience that creates the opportunity to learn from peers in the program, to share what is learned in service, and to foster a supportive service year community.

FOM works with MVRSD to Distribute February Food Boxes

In cooperation with the MVRSD social workers and custodial staff, Mascoma High’s Student Athletic Leadership Training team, or SALT, has been taking an active role in the Friends of Mascoma Foundation’s efforts to relieve food security pressure during the pandemic.

Through FOM’s Friends Feeding Friends initiative, the SALT team assembled boxes of food for a pantry shared by the Mascoma Valley Regional High School and Indian River Middle School. Mascoma volleyball coach Eric Ramage, who is also a school counselor and the SALT team’s faculty adviser, said the goal is to have at least one student on every Mascoma team in every grade working on the project for the purposes of leadership development and promoting core values. “We hope to reach about 60 families; it’s a big team effort,” Ramage said of the initiative. “Our custodial staff􀄱 is integral to getting this organized for the students. The social workers in the two (school) buildings connect to what families the food goes to and they do the distribution.”

Ramage said that a couple of members of the girls basketball team were due to help out as well. The 10 SALT members, all athletes, have also invited 􀄮friends 􀄮om other school communities, such as drama, to assist.

FOM executive director Eula Lee Kozma said having students help out educates them on the district’s food security issues and teaches them the importance of helping others in their community.

Members of the Mascoma High boys basketball team stand with food boxes assembled through the school's Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) for distribution to area families.

A Valentine to Our Volunteers

A Valentine Message for our Volunteers:

As you know, the Friends of Mascoma Foundation is a mostly volunteer operated, grassroots 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to fostering educational advancements and nutritional well-being for students and their families within the Mascoma Valley Regional School District. We pride ourselves on being nimble and responding to the evolving needs of the community.  While 2020 was a year unlike any other for everyone Friends of Mascoma continued to deliver services and fulfill our mission.

We were able to do this because of our loyal group of dedicated volunteers. Our volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization.  Thank you so much for your commitment to the Friends of Mascoma Foundation this past year, and every year.  We look forward to having a proper in person volunteer recognition event later in 2021.  For now, please know how much you mean to us!

With love,

Holly, Kate, Carol, Liz, Matt, Beth, Sadie, Bridget, Sayer, Theresa and Eula