Superstars of Farming
Thank you for your recognition of Community Greenhouse Partners' recent progress in breaking ground. However, there are farmers far more deserving of recognition as Best Urban Farmer ["Best of Cleveland," March 30, 2011]. There are so many champions whose years of breaking new ground and forward thinking paved the way for our project. Some of these include:
Margaret Armstead and Barbara Strauss, for holding up a community garden as they consistently make a market garden work and deliver quality educational programming.
Justin Husher, for continuing to develop new methods and new products at market and being an outspoken advocate for small farmer rights in Cleveland.
Julie Patton, for her fiery commitment to a neighborhood, tying wisdom acquired in life with the wisdom of nature.
Shawn Belt of Green Corps, for reaching out to so many kids, teaching through doing.
All the folks of Gather Round, for exploring new and old ways to connect with plants in a place nobody but the truly visionary could have foreseen.
In addition, praise should be given to all the activists, farmers, and supporters affiliated with localfoodscleveland.org and Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S.org), who have collectively made Cleveland one of the strongest local food centers in the nation. Anyone willing to bend their backs to produce fresh food from Cleveland's rocky clay is a hero in our eyes, and all are deserving of our praise. More important, they deserve our dollars as they try to provide food for all of Cleveland's residents.
Timothy D. Smith
Executive Director
Community Greenhouse Partners
Grilled Cheese Economics
It's probably worth pointing out to the economic development gurus that, all by himself, Matt Fish of Melt has created 200 jobs ["Best Entrepreneur"]. That's 50 percent of the total jobs JumpStart takes credit for creating, with about $10 million a year. Let's give Matt an extra million and see what he does with it!
Sputteringwithoutrage
