Despite this summer’s lack of rain, many home gardens are at their peak right now. Tomatoes, zucchini, other seasonal delights — they’re all ripe.
Some gardeners may actually have too much produce. They give it to neighbors — and still have extra food.
Every problem has a solution. This one is easy.
Grow-A-Row Westport is a volunteer effort to grow and donate fresh produce. Since 2020 members have planted, tended, harvested, and collected nutritious donations of fresh fruits vegetables, and herbs to benefit food-insecure people and families throughout Fairfield County.
Bounty from the Westport Community Gardens.
Amy Unikewicz runs Grow-A-Row Westport. The program began in the spring of 2020 at the Westport Community Gardens, during the early COVID lockdown.
The idea was simple: encourage fellow Community Gardens members to grow an extra row (or more) to donate.
She set-up a large cooler. All season long, gardeners filled it with freshly harvested items. Several members helped transport over 200 grocery bags were donated to the Center for Food Equity and Economic Development (FEED) in Bridgeport.
Westport continues to sustain the effort. Early on, Pippa Bell Ader of the Zero Food Waste Initiative and Sustainable Westport, and Aileen Brill of Christ & Holy Trinity Church, helped with logistics.
Last year Pippa connected Amy with Westporter Haley Schulman — national site coordinator with Food Rescue US – Fairfield County, a non-profit that picks up otherwise-wasted food from restaurants and supermarkets, and delivers it to pantries and shelters.
Haley — also a Wakeman Town Farm committee member — loved Amy’s idea to expand Grow-A-Row Westport beyond the Community Gardens.
They met Lori Cochran, director of the Westport Farmers’ Market. She championed the idea of a Grow-A-Row community collection cooler every Thursday at the Imperial Avenue parking lot.
By the donation cooler at the Westport Farmers’ Marker: Lori Cochran, WFM director; Amanda Sayegh, Westport Housing Authority director of programs and resident services; Amy Unikewicz, Grow-A-Row Westport founder; Haley Schulman, national site coordinator with Food Rescue US – Fairfield County, and Food Rescue US volunteers, Jennifer Seideman, Darryl Kowalsky and Susie Kowalsky.
The Wakeman Town Farm Committee supported Grow-A-Row collections at their weekly farm stand too.
Haley committed Food Rescue US – Fairfield County’s network of volunteers to transport the fresh produce, and found agencies that are a good fit for the collections.
Grow-a-Row at Wakeman Town Farm.
Now in its third year, the expanded Grow-A-Row Westport effort continues to, um, grow.
All home gardeners are invited to donate at any of 3 drop-off spots:
Saturdays (9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wakeman Town Farm farm stand, 134 Cross Highway)
Daily (8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Christ & Holy Trinity Church Branson Hall, 75 Church Lane).
Westporter Cornelia Olson donates a huge rutabaga.
Not a gardener? Grow-A-Row gladly accepts fresh produce from your CSA, refrigerator, even “freshly-purchased” at the Farmers’ Market or Wakeman Farm Stand.
Each week, volunteers with Food Rescue US – Fairfield County deliver the donated produce to agencies in Bridgeport and Westport, including: FEED Center, Lucy Baney Family Reunification Center at Career Resources CT, Fridgeport (Bridgeport’s first community fridge), and the Westport Housing Authority.
Westport Housing Authority director of programs and resident services Amanda Sayegh says that residents are very appreciative of the fresh donations. They’re shared among 221 families, including seniors and families with children, and prioritized to the most food-insecure residents.
“Fresh vegetables are considered a luxury for many,” Amanda says. One resident was “thrilled” to receive fresh lettuce — something they had not been able to purchase for a long time.
You may shake your head, wondering how you’ll get rid of all that lettuce.
Now you know: Grow-A-Row!
(For more information, follow @growarowwestport on Instagram.)
(Want to help “06880” grow? Please click here to donate!)
Joe Stadek lives in Ridgefield — and donates to Westport’s Grow-a-Row project. (All photos courtesy of Amy Unikewicz)
If local farmers grow it, you can buy it at the Westport Farmers’ Market.
And if you grow it — and have too much of it — the Market wants it.
Extra lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, whatever — donate it, through the WFM and Grow-a-Row.
Grow-A-Row is a volunteer effort to grow and donate fresh local seasonal produce to food-insecure populations in Fairfield County. Based at the Westport Community Gardens, Grow-A-Row plants, tends, harvests and collects nutritious donations of fresh produce and herbs, then delivers it directly to agencies in need.
You don’t even need to grow it yourself, though. If you bought too much fresh produce, bring it too.
Deliveries are at the Farmers’ Market (Imperial Avenue parking lot), any Thursday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Produce will be delivered by Food Rescue US – Fairfield County volunteers. The Bridgeport FEED Center, Fridgport, Career Resources CT, and Westport Housing Authority will receive the donations.
If your cup (and table) runneth over, donate produce to Grow-a-Row, at the Westport Farmers’ Market.
Music Theater of Connecticut’s stirring production of “Falsettoland” — starring a Westport father-and-son acting duo — took top honors at Monday’s Connecticut Critics Circle Awards. The event, which celebrates work from the state’s professional theaters during the 2021–22 season, was held at Long Wharf Theatre.
Westport’s Dan Sklar won Outstanding Actor in a Musical. His son Ari was honored for Outstanding Debut.
Kevin Connors was named Top Director for “Falsettolands.” He also earned the Tom Killen Award, for lifetime service to the theater.
The Westport Country Playhouse was cited too. Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical went to Daniel J. Maldonado for “Next to Normal”; Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play was won by Sharina Martin, for “Doubt.”
Speaking of awards: “The Lisa Wexler Show,” hosted by Westport’s own, won 1st place for Best Radio Interview at the National Federation of Press Women’s awards ceremony on Saturday in Fargo, North Dakota.
The honor was for Wexler’s live interview with Congressman Jim Himes on January 7, 2021, just hours after he had spent the night at the Capitol following the January 6 riot. Click here to hear the show.
“The Lisa Wexler Show” is broadcast weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon on AM WICC, AM 600 and 107.3 FM.
An application by Tarpon Towers to build a 124-foot structure on private property at 92 Greens Farms Road was filed with the state on May 26. The town of Westport received notice of this filing and is coordinating logistics with the applicant.
Town officials notified Tarpon of a desire to explore an alternative site along the railroad right of way, and is trying to get the state Department of Transportation to approve that site. Information is available on the Connecticut Siting Council’s website.
A public hearing is scheduled for August 9. A final decision is expected a month or two later. (Hat tip: Stephen Goldstein)
A cell tower been proposed for the property on the left: 92 Greens Farms Road. (Photo courtesy of Google Maps)
If the fireworks are not for you, but you don’t want to stay home tomorrow (Thursday, June 30), consider Jazz at the Post.
Guitar master Paul Bollenback headlines this week’s 2 shows at VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399 (465 Riverside Avenue, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.; $10 cover). He’s joined by Mark Lewandowski (bass), Jason Tiemann (drums) and the Jazz Rabbi himself, saxophonist Greg Wall.
In addition to cool jazz, there’s a hot new menu from chef Derek Furino (from 6:30 p.m. on). Reservations are strongly suggested: jazzatthepost@gmail.com.
The Westport PBA Scholarship Fund helps college-bound children of our Police Department. Two scholarships are also awarded to Staples High School seniors who will pursue degrees in law enforcement.
Major funding comes from an annual golf tournament. This year’s is set for July 18, at Tashua Knolls in Trumbull.
It’s a scramble tournament, shotgun start. The day includes breakfast, the tourney itself (9 a.m.), and a cocktail reception with open bar (1 to 3 p.m.).
There’s a 50/50 raffle, other raffle prizes, and prizes for longest drive, closest to pin, closest to line, and the winning foursome.
The cost is $250 per golfer. Sponsorships are available at the $1,000, $3,000, $5,000 and $10,000 levels. Checks should be sent to the Westport PBA Scholarship Fund, 50 Jesup Road, Westport, CT 06880. Questions? Email jlauria@westportct.gov, or call 203-803-0215.
They can’t believe it’s time. But Staples High School’s Class of 1972 holds its 50th reunion September 9-11. Events include a Saturday night dinner at the Gaelic-American Club in Fairfield. with music by the Reunion Band. There’s an informal gathering Friday night at the Black Duck, and a get-together Sunday at Compo Beach. For more information and reservations, click here.
“I just returned from Block Island for a few days. Even in that short time, these guys grew so much. The chicks are exercising their wings and getting ready to fledge (if they haven’t already.) I didn’t see them lift up from the nest today, but they are ready!”
Luxe Nail Spa — in the shopping plaza opposite Fresh Market — has closed, reportedly due to high rent. The owners are seeking a new location, perhaps in Stamford.
Staples High School Class of 2019 graduate and former Saugatuck Rowing Club member Justin Schmidt is part of a team that beat the defending men’s lightweight quadruple sculls 2 weeks ago in Florida. They’ll represent the US at the U23 World Rowing Championships next month in Varese, Italy.
Schmidt now rows at the University of Delaware. He and his Conshohocken Rowing Center teammates have set up a GoFundMe page, to help offset costs of the trip. Click here to help.
Justin Schmidt (3rd from left), with teammates and coaches.
Carol Fisher died in her Westport home on Sunday. She was 94, and had fought Parkinson’s disease for a decade.
The New York City native graduated from Queens College at age 19. She worked at Little Golden Books and for a movie magazine before taking a job as acquisitions editor at Pyramid Books. There she developed and edited a book by Peter Max, plus health-focused cookbooks and short biographies of movie stars. Pyramid Books became, as a result of her efforts, the US publisher of bestselling author Barbara Cartland. Carol also worked as an editor at Harcourt Brace.
Her life changed in 1978, when she married longtime Westport resident Milton Fisher, an attorney, investment banker, author, and teacher of the popular Applied Creativity adult education class.
Together they founded Wildcat Publishing Company. Carol brought her editorial skills and experience to the publication of books including the Holocaust memoir Dry Tears, by Nechama Tec, a resistance classic, and The Fall of Japan by Westporter William Craig.
Carol Fisher was a devoted participant in and organizer of stimulating programs at the Westport Senior Center, Westport-Weston Arts Council, and Westport Library. The Senior Center recognized her efforts to enliven and improves the lives of seniors with a Service to Seniors Award in 2013.
As executive director of the Renée B. Fisher Foundation, she was instrumental in creating and sustaining initiatives including Milton Fisher Scholarship for Innovation and Creativity, the annual Renée B. Fisher Piano Competition, and the Books for Teachers program that has built thousands of classroom libraries in under-resourced schools across the country. The Pequot Library in Southport, where the program began, remains its flagship program.
Carol Fisher was an enthusiastic member of several book clubs and a movie discussion club, and was also an avid bridge player. She was a member of the Westport Rotary Club, and a longtime member of Temple Israel.
She loved hosting multi-generational gatherings on Thanksgiving and Passover every year, as well as month-long family reunions during summers. The last gathering she hosted coincided with her 94th birthday this year.
She was predeceased by her husband Milton and brother Leonard Plaine. Carol Fisher is survived by her stepdaughter Shelley (James Fishkin) Fisher Fishkin, grandchildren Joseph and Robert Fishkin, and great-grandchildren Anna Ardith Fishkin Franklin and Simon Asher Fishkin Franklin, all of California.
A private virtual memorial service is planned for late summer. Friends interested in attending should email sfishkin@stanford.edu. Contributions in Carol’s memory may be sent to the Anti-Defamation League.
Carol Fisher
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Eileen Lavigne Flug spotted these “Westport … Naturally” birds early the other morning, along Soundview Drive.
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