Project Report
| Feb 1, 2017
End of Season 2016 Update
By Daniel Chmielewski | Project Leader
![]()
The goal of Hidden Villa's Healthy Foods, Healthy Families program is to provide a consistent source of fresh produce from our certified organic farm directly to low-income individuals and families primarily residing in Mountain View, CA and surrounding neighborhoods. Funding for this program enables Hidden Villa to grow produce for the Community Services Agency of Mountain View's Food and Nutrition Center. Fresh fruits and vegetables are delivered twice weekly throughout the growing season of May to November and the CSA of Mountain View clients are able to select food that will best serve their families. 56% of those served by this program are children and youth under the age of 18 and seniors over the age of 60.
2016 Outcomes:
- Hidden Villa provided 5,362 pounds of vegetables to our neighbors at the Community Services Agency of Mountain View this growing season. A serving of vegetables is approximately 4 oz. (depending on the type of vegetable), and we grew 21,448 servings of vegetables exclusively for the clients at CSA of Mountain View.
Here is what some of the clients had to say:
- “I love getting produce from the farm. It is so beautiful and fresh.” – 2016 CSA of Mountain View Client
- “I know when the produce comes from the farm I don’t have to worry about pesticides.” – 2016 CSA of Mountain View Client
- “This really helps my family. We are trying to eat heathier and it is so expensive. Not only do we get fresh produce but great quality produce.” – 2016 CSA of Mountain View Client
New for Next Year:
- For the next season we look forward to dramatically increased fruit production because of the investment we made in a new deer fence. Protected completely from deer predation, all our fruit trees have experienced record growth this year and appear poised to produce a better diversity and quantity of fruit for our Community Services Agency and local community.
- We have also modified the timing for our fall plantings of leaf greens to better produce for the winter months. Based on this change we expect to be capable of providing leaf greens to the Community Services Agency of Mountain View for an extended period of the winter and spring.
Thank you for your support! It makes all of the difference for those in need.
![]()
![]()
Links:
![Share on Twitter]()
![Share on Facebook]()
Oct 30, 2016
What a Great Season
By Sofia Pablo | Program Manager
![Happy Fall from Hidden Villa!]()
Happy Fall from Hidden Villa!
“I love getting produce from the farm. It is so beautiful and fresh.” - Food Pantry Client
This has been a great season at Hidden Villa. The rains are beginning, which always signals a change in our harvest and the energy around the farm. We also want to take a moment to celebrate our long-time partnership that we've had with the Community Services Agency of Mountain View. We truly feel like partners in this effort to address healthy eating and access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
In the past year the Community Services Agency of Mountain View Food Pantry served 1,102 families, with the majority of recipients being children and seniors. Hidden Villa donated 5,362 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables and we continue to be the only source of consistent donations of fresh vegetables throughout the season. This is what the Food Pantry Program Manager sent us from a client at the Community Services Agency of Mountain View. “This really helps my family. We are trying to eat heathier and it is so expensive. Not only do we get fresh produce but great quality produce.” We appreciate your support in making healthy, fresh food available to our neighbors in Mountain View.
![Share on Twitter]()
![Share on Facebook]()
Aug 5, 2016
Summer Days Drift By
By CSA Intern | Hidden Villa Internship Program
![]()
As the summer days drift by, some chaotic, and some relaxed, I still feel in awe of the beauty and abundance of the farm and all that it gives to us. Not just in the diversity of sweet and delicious fruits, of which we get to share with you and to eat during our hot days in the sun, or the vegetables springing up all over our fields, but in the way this place and all the people it has drawn to it have taught me so much over the past several months. The simple joys of watching the setting sun while riding in from the fields at the end of a long day, the satisfaction of watching all the little seedlings we lovingly care for burst up and begin to thrive, sometimes overnight, or seemingly just if I turn my back for a minute, have brought me a distinct sense of contentment. I hope that we are able to share some of this with you in the tasteful and nutritious qualities of our weekly bounty!
With mid-summer comes the advent of our more heat-loving crops. With all the work we’ve been putting into the farm, I know that some beautiful weeks donations to our partners at the Community Services Agency of Mountain View are head. It seems like just yesterday we were reaping our first harvests of the springtime, and already we are beginning our planting for the fall. We're so grateful to have such a powerful connection to our food, the land, and the community that we're feeding with organic, fresh fruits and vegetables.
![Share on Twitter]()
![Share on Facebook]()
