Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force---A Journal

Final Travels----Farewell from Reyne

2010-08-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

For those of you who do not know me my name is Reyne Watson, and I was an Americorps VISTA Volunteer for the Idaho Hunger Relief Task for this past year. With my time coming to an end it is important for me to write a farewell. In December 2008 I graduated with my degree in Elementary Education. I did some subbing shortly after, I knew that I had picked the right major but there was certainly something missing. I had made plans to move home so I could pursue a job in my hometown, but about 3 months before I was to do so I received a phone call from a connection who thought of me for a position with the Task Force. I was very excited because I was hoping that something like this would become available. After talking with those close to me, they all said this sounds perfect for you Reyne!

Now the year is coming to a close I am so grateful to having this amazing opportunity. I did things that I never thought I would have the courage to do, and I learned many different lessons along the way. I truly hope that I was able to help someone along the way, I take away something from this that I will never forget. This position definitely took me out of my comfort zone in more than one way, I found that you learn the most in experiences that involve the unknown.

I decided that when this position I was going to pursue working with youth, as well as pursuing my career in teaching. My true passion lies in education and youth development, I find my niche in working with children. =)

This spring, I read a book called the Hunger Games. Its a futuristic FICTIONAL tale where youth are forced into violence and starvation. While its genre is young adult, I highly recommend this book to adults as well. It really struck a chord with me. It covers a world where human rights are basically stolen, a person has no value to society. I found myself realizing how important hunger policy work can be, we are advocates that are hoping to prevent a future of devastation. If I had not taken this position I am unsure if I would have pulled such POWERFUL themes from this book. For me, hunger is a human rights issue, we do not get to decide who gets to eat and who doesn't. I am blessed to have worked for such a powerful cause.

I would also like share this link: You can receive an education packet for free! It is such a great focus on what the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is! http://www.humanrights.com/#/home

I am so thankful for all the relationships and connections have been able to create in only a year here.

Last week we had the pleasure of traveling up to Cottonwood & Lewiston. We went to the Monastery of St. Gertrude and stayed there for two days. St. Gertrude has graciously support many of our adventures this past year, it was our honor to share with them what we have been up to! After Breland and I did our presentation, we received many thanks from all of the Sisters. The Monastery is such a peaceful and refreshing place. I highly recommend taking a visit. We were given a tour of their new bed & breakfast that they opened in the Guest House, it is beautiful. For more information make sure you visit their website. Here is the direct link to their inn.

Sr Carol Ann was a gracious host to us on our visit. She took us up the hill on the property and showed us around the forest. It was a wonderful stay, thanks for having us!

Here are some photos I took.....

A doll Sr. Carol Ann made out of a flower:

The prayer path up the hill:

Lovely nature:

The cemetery:

An amazing long life:

Ocean Spray:

We made it to the TOP!

Gorgeous sunset:

Next stop: Lewiston. We were graciously hosted by another sister from the Monastery who has a home there. Thank you Sr. Carm for your hospitality!

We were a part of the Sustain Life Festival. It was wonderful to be a part of events in other parts of Idaho. Breland was visiting with some of our friends at Wilson Banner Ranch. Here is a picture of our display:

Hope you enjoy all of the pictures! While I am excited to pursue my career as an educator, leaving the Task Force is bittersweet. I am so thankful for this journey. With that I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

"It's not the destination, its the journey..."-Unknown

sincerely,
Reyne

ps if you hear of anything involving education jobs or after school programs with youth please comment on this post to let me know! Thanks! or you can email me at
reynemw@gmail.com

School Community Garden: Taft Elementary

2010-05-20T11:27:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are not aware of this, I hold a degree in Elementary Education with hopes of teaching some day! I thoroughly enjoy learning and in turn have become passionate about guiding our youth to discover & explore the wonders of the world. My teaching philosophy relies heavily on allowing children to learn in tactile and hands on ways. A school garden can be beneficial in SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS! The teachers I remember were the ones that gave us activities to harbor our learning. One science teacher took us to the river to test the water, we learned about the water cycle in a very hands on way that I will never forget. Now what I do not remember is the repetitive worksheets that memorized definitions that would later prove to meaningless, there wasn't any application.
I am not saying that current or past teaching methods are invalid, I am just excited to see a garden play a dedicated role in a child's academic curriculum. A garden is sustainable.
I asked for feedback about school garden's on our FACEBOOK page, here were a few responses (hopefully I can share more soon)

KATE:
Fresh food, new physical activity in the fresh air, economical lessons, learn to be responsible and follow through, spark interest in science, use math to determine germination rate, try new foods, pride, a new skill...what's not positive about that?

KARLA:
Ditto that, plus the joy of eating something you helped to grow and tend! Some students try a new food because it was in their garden, and they like it! Also, start a compost pile, and see how helpful that is to the garden! Produce can be donated to the food bank, or used to help those in need local to the school. Lots of ideas here!

Please comment on this post and share your thoughts.

On Tuesday this week they held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Taft Elementary School Garden...They had an incredible array of student presentations as well as wonderful support from the community.
I am excited to visit the garden this summer to see it grow!

Here are some pictures from the ribbon cutting ceremony!
Click on the BUGS link to see the entire album.

From BUGS

Dear Idaho

2010-04-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Idaho,

I want to thank you for letting me travel your terrain the past two weeks. You gave us nice weather and clear roads to drive on. We logged almost 2000 miles and we got to discover how beautiful you are in the process. Thank you for valuing tradition, hard work, and community. All of these things are very important and I appreciate everyone who lives in Idaho that was willing to take the time to share with us. We couldn't have done any of this without you, your voice is important, it does matter! We as a Task Force believe that in a state as abundant and gorgeous as you there is no reason for anyone to go hungry. Thank you for helping us get just one step closer to making that belief a reality.

Sincerely,
Reyne
The Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force

ps I was able to shoot some amazing photos of Idaho. When I get the chance I will edit some of my favorites (due to lighting and color issues) and then share them here.

End of the Week: Blackfoot, Malad, & Twin Falls

2010-04-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

The last part of our trip went by fast! We traveled to Blackfoot on Wednesday, Malad on Thursday, stayed in Burley Friday, and then on to Twin Falls Saturday!

We are very thankful to have stayed with Shannon Jensen in Blackfoot, her children even gave up their bedrooms for us to sleep in! It was very nice of them. :) Blackfoot was fun, we took lots of pictures and we played the Wii with Shannon's children, TJ & Jordyn. I promise we were working too!

We drove around Malad (about an hour outside of Pocatello) and almost got stuck in the mud (long story ha ha). While they are a small community, they have a lot of heart. We heard lots of opinions, we were encouraged to hear that everyone we spoke to had a lot to say. When we decided that we wanted to visit Malad we asked the local SEICA (South Eastern Idaho Community Action) for help and the were so very accommodating!

We also met with community members in Blackfoot and Twin Falls. Both of which are very passionate about making important community connections. I thoroughly enjoy talking with people and just hearing their stories---this trip was very informative and definitely beneficial!

~Reyne

Blackfoot Pictures:

Malad Photos:

More Driving!

2010-04-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

I just love taking pictures while we are driving, I find that I can some pretty cool shots. Here are some from the drive to Blackfoot. We hit a rainstorm so I had to get some raindrops on the windows!

ENJOY....

~Reyne

CHALLIS

2010-04-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Challis: Thank you so much for being so hospitable and friendly :)

We stayed an the Pioneer Inn which was very cozy and had a welcoming atmosphere. Even their dog Mr. Lucky made us feel at home.

The Y-Inn had a large accommodating meeting room that was definitely more than we expected. The service was wonderful!

I thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Challis. We got some wonderful feedback from the community, everyone was very gracious to share their stories. It was inspiring to be in a community that felt very caring. This trip has revealed some very isolated communities. The closest food stamp office is in Salmon that is at least 50 miles away, and anywhere else is at least 2 hours away. That doesn't sound like much until you consider the quality of the mountain roads in icy or snowy conditions.

This is a very beautiful part of Idaho, I can see why many would fall in love with it.

I heard someone say that it is hard to find good produce in their community, they have to drive elsewhere. At the same time we also heard that they are working on building up a farmers market that they just started last year. Apparently there were at least 55 vendors, most being produce vendors!
I sure wish we could do some more traveling so we can go there during the summer as well!

~Reyne

Driving to Challis...

2010-04-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

We were greeted by yet another sunny & beautiful day on the drive to Challis from Ketchum on Tuesday. Check out the gorgeous drive!

This is the bathhouse at some hot springs......

When we made it to Challis this is where we stayed, very nice place I highly recommend it!

More Challis pictures to come. We just got back to Boise today so I will have more time to add some more posts about our trip.
Have a great weekend!

~Reyne

Fairfield

2010-04-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

We embarked on our Eastern Idaho travels on Monday, April 19 in the afternoon. First stop: FAIRFIELD. I apologize about being so behind on my posting, internet access has been limited on this trip. My first priority this week was to get caught up from the Northern Idaho trip, apparently people have been asking about it. :) It is great to have so many interested readers. Thank you!

So we drove to Fairfield for our evening focus group meeting at the Sandwiched Inn deli. Halfway through the drive I got to wave a quick hello to my hometown of Mountain Home. Monday was beautiful! I had to quickly discard of my sweater, what a nice warm & sunny day!

Thank you to the Sandwiched Inn deli for providing a meeting space along with a delicious meal! Fairfield is small, but holds a quaint charm. In our meeting we were quickly informed of how isolated their town was. There is only one grocery store in town and they are unable to accept food stamps. The residents have to drive to Twin Falls or Jerome, which is at least 57 miles away to access any other grocery stores. This can take well over 2 hours in the winter time, due to snow ins that lead to road closures if they are even able to put gas into their vehicle.

Here is a glimpse at Fairfield:

We drove to Ketchum that night and were able to stay with someone who had just bought a house. Thank you Craig for allowing us to stay with you, especially since you were in the middle of the move in process...we felt very welcome there!

Next stop: CHALLIS!

~Reyne

Caldwell

2010-04-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

We met at Acapulco Restaurant in Caldwell to speak with members of the many communities in the Treasure Valley. This was a very beneficial discussion, it is great to hear from everyone all over Idaho who recognize the importance of networking. Thanks for everyone's input as well as the great service & food we received at Acapulco.

I am currently in the process of going through and uploading pictures from all of our Task Force travels, pictures will be coming soon.

Stay tuned to our FACEBOOK, I will announce it there!

~Reyne

Coeur d'Alene & Moscow

2010-04-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry for the delay in posting. Unfortunately I was having some technical difficulty with logging into my account. I am unsure what caused this but I do apologize that I am so behind.
I hope you enjoy hearing about our last 2 stops on our trip to Northern Idaho....

We went to Coeur d'Alene from Grangeville, what a beautiful drive! I absolutely fell in love with this area!

Once we arrived we got settled into our lodging that just happened to be located right off of the lake. This house had a beautiful view of the lake, we stayed in the basement that is rented out as a Bed & Breakfast by a retired woman. She rents it out in the summer and has had guests from all over! She was very hospitable, so was her dog, Zach. :) If I ever go back to visit, I know where I will be staying.

This area was definitely larger than the other communities we had visited thus far. We drove through Hayden & Rathdrum as well. One of the meetings we organized was in Rathdrum at Granny's Pantry. I already had enough sugar that day but I was in definite need of a slice of pie (a la mode of course!).
It was great to talk to members of the community about local foods and to just hear their stories. I found myself enjoying every conversation and viewed it as a wonderful learning opportunity. I am learning so much about what matters to me as well as what is important to others.

We were graciously offered a meeting space at the Lake City Senior Center and provided a delicious lunch. In this community we focused mostly on the Senior population, we got a great deal of help from the Area Agency on Aging to set up participants. Thank you so much for your help and participation!

While Coeur d'Alene is very beautiful and we wanted to explore it more, it was very chilly while we were there. The wind was terrible! But I was able to get some gorgeous sunset photographs (right off of the deck we were staying at!) that I will share...

WELCOME!!!

On our way home we had one last stop, Moscow. This was a great last meeting, a delicious lunch from the Moscow Co-Op was included. :) I can't get over how welcoming and beautiful this state can be!

Our last meeting was a great wrap up of everything we are hearing. I love getting to know this state and exploring how different each community is. I have only been to Moscow once before but it is growing on me. I love hearing stories that inspire us, I felt this way here.

I have some pictures of the drive to Moscow from Coeur d'Alene as well as in the town itself. ENJOY!

After Moscow we made the journey home to Boise. It was a fairly quick drive in the beginning until we passed McCall and we knew we were close to home. The trip was wonderful but we were both missing people from home so it felt good to arrive HOME safely!

Cottonwood & Grangeville

2010-04-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the Monastery of St Gertrude in Cottonwood much earlier than we expected and were graciously hosted there. Sister Carol Ann gave us a quick tour of the Monastery and we heard about some of their history. We saw the chapel that holds the original altar from when it was built, amazing. It had been restored and we came the day after Easter and the decorations were still present.
We were provided with meals (they had home baked bread as well as home canned pears!!! YUM) and a cozy room to stay in. It was spacious, private, with an incredible view from my own personal deck!
Thank you Sister Carol Ann for being such a wonderful host.

Here is the fantastic view from my deck!

While we were staying in Cottonwood, we spent a lot of our time in Grangeville. This community seems committed to making a difference. They are very much focused on developing an environment that is centered around child and family health. I only say this because I heard from community members about how committed they are to their families and they are well aware of the impact a low income can have on trying to survive.
We were welcomed into the community and thanked over and over again. We felt so appreciated and that is very inspiring. I am so grateful to be in a position to travel and meet new people who are willing to share their personal experiences. You find yourself enjoying the simple moment of conversation that when they thank you for listening it is very eye opening & humbling.
I come away from Grangeville & Cottonwood analyzing what I am passionate about and how I can make a difference. Many citizens in this community came across to have a strong opinion, but it is one with a passion for value of hard work, humility & a desire to enjoy life.

Here is some data about Idaho county:

Estimated population in 2009: 15,448

Number of people on food stamps in September 2009: 1,113

Percentage of population on food stamps in September 2009: 7%

Number of grocery stores that accept EBT: 13

Percentage of unemployed in December 2009: 11.9%

Child poverty rate in 2008: 25.3%

Closest Food Stamp office: Grangeville (Estimated distance: 15 miles)

Here is our rental car in Cottonwood :)

Need a bath? I love it.

Thanks for reading, our next stop is Coeur d'Alene!

~Reyne

Council

2010-04-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been filled with mileage, beautiful scenery, & lots of water! On Monday Idaho was very wet!!! There was rain, then snow, then more rain, and then snow. Now of course this was a span of about 300 miles. We left Ada county at about 7:30am to begin our travels to Northern Idaho!!

We arrived with plenty of time to explore Council. We were greeted by a kind Welcome sign which I made sure to take a picture of!!!!

I am definitely interested in learning about the history of Council. We drove around the town and up a ridge so I could snap some photos of the entire town. One of my favorite pictures was just outside of town with construction equipment abandoned in a lot with a for sale sign--the backdrop was incredible.

The town layout was easy to get around, it is refreshing to away from an atmosphere that is always in such a hurry. There wasn't much worry about getting lost, which is fortunate because I was relying on google maps to get me there, the directions were wrong!!!

With so much time to spare we set out on foot to walk downtown. All of the snow was melting off of the roof of each building, this made for many puddles. We found an abandoned theatre that appeared to have been there for awhile, it was closed along with a building that used to be a Karate school. Both buildings were for sale.

We were graciously taken care of by the Council Senior Center with a meeting space and lunch. As we talked with the cook she shared about an activity the members were recently involved in. They would gather at the center to knit hats, scarfs, and mittens that would be donated to a program that provided them to children (young and old) that needed them for the winter months.

How inspiring!

Comments from the community gave us a glimpse into their concerns and struggles. Not only did they feel uncomfortable leaving the safe haven of their community, but this proves to be physically difficult. How can you trust a car to make it 2 hours for grocery shopping when you feel grateful that it would just barely start the morning before? How is a parent supposed to be healthy for their children when they go hungry to make sure those they are caring for have all they need?

Thank you Council for sharing your personal stories! Not only am I grateful to research information for Idaho to learn from, but I am learning---gaining a new perspective.

I have included some data for you to review about about Council:

Estimated population in 2009: 3,499

Number of people on food stamps in September 2009: 260

Percentage of population on food stamps in September 2009: 7%

Number of grocery stores that accept EBT: 5

Percentage of unemployed in December 2009: 17.8%

Child poverty rate in 2008: 21.1%

Closest Food Stamp office: Payette (estimated distance: 65 miles)

Even though we hit a lot of snow at first when leaving Council, we turned a corner and the scenery turned from white to green!!

Our journey continues as we travel to stay at St Gertrude Monastery in Cottonwood....

~Reyne

First Stop: Horseshoe Bend (Boise County)

2010-04-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

I facilitated my very first focus group discussion in Horseshoe Bend on March 23rd. The morning of the focus group meeting came and I was incredibly nervous. My supervisor was surprised by this and explained that I had absolutely nothing to be worried about, not that I was convinced by this. I had no idea what to expect, yet I was excited to play my part in this work.

We received an incredible amount of support from the community in setting up this meeting. We were offered meeting space at the school, childcare for the participants, & The Riverside restaurant graciously delivered dinner.

All I can share for now is how well the first meeting went, I am very grateful to all who were willing to participate. It is a blessing to hear personal stories that others are willing to share, all wonderful feedback. My nerves were definitely evaporated by the end of the meeting!

While our current budget could only support a limited number of focus group sites, including only one town in Boise county, I have included some data about this particular area.

Number of grocery stores in Horseshoe Bend: 2 grocery stores, 1 seasonal farm stand

Estimated Boise County population in 2009: 7,504

Number of people in Boise County on food stamps in September 2009: 397

Percentage of Boise County population on food stamps in September 2009: 5%

Percentage of unemployed in Boise County as of December 2009: 10.6%

Child poverty rate in 2008: 18.2%

Closest Food Stamp office: Boise (Estimated distance: 26 miles)

In these discussions and in my own VISTA experience I am discovering the financial burden necessities like gas & food can implement on each monthly budget. I have noticed gas prices rising, this makes me nervous because I live 15 miles from where I work and need to budget gas accordingly.
I could only imagine trying to budget for gas to access affordable nutritious food as well, I guess not everybody lives 5 minutes from a grocery store.

That is just a small piece of what I am learning so far, I look forward to the next step.

~Reyne

More to come soon.....

The Beginning....

2010-04-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

My name is Reyne and I signed up to be an Americorps VISTA with the Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force in August of 2009. Breland and I both went to training in Seattle at the same time and work together on a daily basis.
When we were hired it was clear that large portion of our tasks would include planning and implementing focus group studies across Idaho regarding hunger.

Now that it is April we have completed the planning process and have begun our travels around Idaho discovering the communities that inhabit this beautiful state. Our current travels include our journey up north so please stay tuned!

Here is our past and present itinerary:

March 23rd: Horseshoe Bend (Boise County)

April 5th: Council (Adams County)

April 6th: Grangeville (Idaho County)

April 7th: Rathdrum & Coeur d'Alene (Kootenai County)

April 8th: Coeur d'Alene (Kootenai County)

April 14th: Caldwell (Canyon County)

April 19th: Fairfield (Camas County)

April 20th: Challis (Custer Couny)

April 22nd: Malad City (Oneida County)

Following posts will include our stories from each location, thanks for reading!

~Reyne