Ox Shoppe Seed Swap will Educate, Empower Growers
If you’re looking to hone your gardening skills or grow something new this year, it could be worthwhile to put the Great Geauga Seed Swap on your calendar.
If you’re looking to hone your gardening skills or grow something new this year, it could be worthwhile to put the Great Geauga Seed Swap on your calendar.
The event, held from noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Heritage Marketplace Event Center in Middlefield, is being organized by Darrell Kendall and his wife Dawn Fleming-Kendall — who run The Ox Shoppe in Thompson, a registered nonprofit organization through which they operate a locally-sourced farm store, education and employment center.
Their mission is to lower barriers to high-quality food, and to provide training and employment opportunities to individuals with barriers to employment, according to theoxshoppe.org.
“One of the easiest ways to lower barriers to quality food is to empower folks to (grow their own food),” Darrell said in an interview Feb. 5.
While the Cleveland Seed Bank hosts a free seed swap every year, Darrell said the Great Geauga Seed Swap will be a bit different.
“(CSB’s) is all about the seeds,” he said. “We decided with ours, we’ll do some educational programming, too.”
CSB will also be at the Geauga seed swap, along with expert gardeners and vendors, Darrell said. Sponsors include Robison Equipment, Middlefield Bank, Hemly Tool and Middlefield Seed.
The event includes a keynote address from farmer Lee Jones, of the Chef’s Garden, six expert panels on every aspect of effective growing, as well as the opportunity to network with hundreds of gardeners and growers.
“Whether you’re a beginner or a hobby gardener or advanced (gardener), there’s going to be something to learn there for everybody,” Darrell said. “It’s an opportunity for people who have a similar passion to get together and meet.”
The seed swap serves as a fundraiser for The Ox Shoppe’s employment program, he said.
“A lot of the employers in Geauga County want to do the right thing and hire folks with disabilities or who may have a criminal history or a drug history,” he said. “We work with local companies to find placements and right now, we’ve got about 10 individuals that are either currently placed or we are working on a placement for.”
One steady partner is the New Leaf drug court program spearheaded by Geauga County Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Paschke.
“Just like our program, Darrell and Dawn are very passionate about helping others and making our community a better place,” New Leaf Specialized Docket Coordinator Maureen Maruna said in an email.
Darrell added The Ox Shoppe also works regularly with tenants at The Red Tulip Project, which operates a home for women recovering from substance use in Claridon Township.
“They have some garden infrastructure there,” he said. “Out of all of this came a partnership where we’re going to help them get their garden going and try to get a little community garden space for them.”
The seed swap will give The Ox Shoppe a chance to fundraise and support their operation for another year, Darrell added.
“This is a nice little (fundraiser) for us in the spring that fits our mission, will bring some dollars into the organization and just help the community get better at growing their stuff,” he said.
Tickets for the Great Geauga Seed Swap are $20 and can be purchased online at www.theoxshoppe.org. Children under 18 are free.
