The Leichtag Latest – June 2014
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Dear Friends, Neighbors, and Partners,
Save the Date!
Sukkot at the Ranch returns Sunday October 12th, 2014. We can’t wait to celebrate food, farming and the harvest together again.
We’ll share more details in the coming months. In the meantime, please mark your calendars!
New Partners
Acclaimed farmer, entrepreneur, and author Daron ‘Farmer D’ Joffe has joined the Leichtag Foundation staff team as Ranch Development Director. He and his family will be moving to Encinitas from the Bay Area over the summer. Here’s a short clip of Farmer D from Sukkot at the Ranch 2013.
We’ve partnered up with our neighbors to form the Encinitas Environmental Education Cluster. These partners include the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA, the Encinitas Union School District, the San Diego Botanic Garden, Seacrest Village Retirement Communities, and the San Dieguito Heritage Museum.
Finally, we’ve had “bud break” on the vineyard, which brings to mind the upcoming Jewish festival of Shavuot, a holiday which celebrates inclusivity and hospitality, knowledge and the agricultural bounty.
Thank you for your interest and support! Have a happy Shavuot!
Jim Farley President & CEO |
Charlene Seidle Executive Vice President |
Upcoming Events at the Ranch
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“Reveal the Power of Food”
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| How can we in San Diego County grow from the traditional hunger relief “service” model to providing solutions built upon equal access to healthy food, economic empowerment, social enterprise and community engagement?Join us on June 24th at 4:00pm for a discussion with Robert Egger, Founder and President of L.A. Kitchen and D.C. Central Kitchen and a national thought leader on how we can both address hunger and — at the same time — create jobs and build the economy.This event is open to the community. Please RSVP! | |
The Latest in…
North County Jewish Life
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Participate in Our Focus GroupWe are conducting follow up focus groups in mid June and would appreciate and value your input! Selected focus group participants will be notified by June 6th. Dinner will be provided and for groups with children, childcare will be available as well. In addition, each selected focus group participant will receive a $25 gift card. Sign up now! |
San Diego-Israel Connections
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Sustainability in Israel & NepalThis month, the Jewish Food Justice Fellows traveled to Israel to learn about the latest in sustainable agriculture, and how it can inform community building. They then proceeded to Nepal to learn about agriculture in the developing world. We’ll be sharing more stories in the future, but here are some highlights from their trip. See more. |
Jerusalem Renewal
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Ultra-Orthodox Workforce DevelopmentDuring their time in Israel, the Fellows met with several of our Jerusalem grantees. Addressing poverty in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, the Kidum program (pictured) focuses on training and ongoing professional development for the job market and for sustaining a living wage. The Fellows engaged in candid, thoughtful conversation with ultra-Orthodox participants and program staff. |
Self Sufficiency
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Announcing the 2-1-1 North County PortalTo help individuals needing assistance, or agencies looking to help their clients, the Leichtag Foundation supported the creation of 2-1-1’s new online portal to make it easier to search for services in North County. In addition to the “North County Resource Guide” search engine, check out the new “North County Nutrition Resources” page with easy-to-navigate links to information on community gardens, farmer’s markets, food pantries, meals for seniors, and more. 2-1-1 added a special feature so people may search for food distributions by day of the week. Learn more. |
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“Working Together to End Hunger in North County”A convening on hunger was hosted by the North County Food Policy Council in April 2014 at Interfaith Community Services. This was a tremendous opportunity to bring together organizations addressing hunger in North County to learn about available resources, share best practices, foster collaboration and create new partnerships. The event also offered training on the San Diego Self-Sufficiency Standard and “Making Ends Meet” report, 2-1-1’s new online search portal for North County, and the Food Policy Council’s GIS map of North County nutrition resources. |
Jewish Food Justice Fellowship Videos
- Rushing to the Kotel for Yom Hazikaron (0:54)
- Celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut at with Secular Yeshiva at Tower of David(2:08)
- What’s Jewish about Composting?(1:56)
- Cultivating a Better Food System – Introduction by Rabbi Andy Kastner (3:08)
- Cultivating a Better Food System – Danielle Nierenberg, President of Food Tank (27:59)
Black, Jewish and Queer. These three identities weave the fabric of who I am, but it took a long time to believe that they could exist together.
Lee and Toni Leichtag established the Leichtag Foundation in 1991 following the sale of their business. Lee and Toni were lifelong entrepreneurs with a passion for innovation and for supporting talent. They believed that only with big risk comes big reward. Both born to families in poverty, Toni to a single mother, they strongly believed in helping those most in need and most vulnerable in our community. While they supported many causes, their strongest support was for young children and the elderly, two demographics who particularly lack voice in our society.
Lifelong Baltimoreans, Rabbi George and Alison Wielechowski and their sons, 11-year-old Lennon and 9-year-old Gideon, are more than pursuing the good life in Southern California. Having moved to San Diego more than three years ago, they are fulfilling a lifelong dream.
You would think that as the executive director of San Diego LGBT Pride, Fernando Zweifach López Jr., who uses the pronoun they, has done all the coming out they possibly can. A queer, non-binary individual who has worked for many years on civil rights issues, López also speaks openly and often about their father’s family, Mexican-American migrant workers who tilled the fields of rural California.
Stacie and Jeff Cook understand commitment. They live it.
