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06/10/2020 09:30 AMA unique cooking and gardening project that was set to take place at the Senior Center this summer is taking on a new flavor, as its creator has reimagined her program as a hybrid virtual and in-person collaborative event that plans to bring people together around delicious recipes and home-grown vegetables.
Madison resident and current UConn student Sarah Platt first launched Sow, Grow, Savor in February, with plans for sessions to be centered around a garden at the Senior Center, putting older residents together with younger folks for an educational, intergenerational experience.
Now, in the new realities of the coronavirus pandemic, Platt is launching a hybrid model that asks participants to join together both in person at local farms, and also virtually on video calls to learn recipes or techniques from chefs, agriculturalists, and other experts, all while sharing their successes through the program’s online platforms.
“Participants can share videos, pictures, essays, poems all about what they’re doing at home in their gardens and in their kitchen, and then through our Zoom meetings,” Platt said. “People can be doing the same or similar activities at home, and feel like they’re doing it together.”
Free and open to anyone to participate in whatever way or to whatever degree they feel comfortable, the program is funded by a grant from UConn and will run through August, Platt said, adapting to any changes in state or local guidelines related to the pandemic with the hopes of adding more in-person events later on.
Specific programs will include everything from recipes, to workshops on composting, to field trips where participants will learn about garlic harvesting, Platt said. There will be plenty of room for people to simply share their own ideas, meals, and harvests, along with more structured work, including the possibility of challenges or competitions, Platt said.
“It’s a little bit more open-ended...The live Zoom meetings are going to be conversations about specific things rather than actual activities,” Platt said. “ Maybe before the meetings, people will follow along with some directions...so then there’s something to talk about.”
Platt, a graduate of The Country School, said she was inspired to share cooking and gardening with Madison residents through her experiences working on farms in France as well as tending a patch in Bauer Park. Sow, Grow, Savor is also focused on health, sustainability, and community wellness, and will continue seeking to connect seniors and younger folks, Platt said, even though for now those connections will be mostly virtual.
“I still really want it to be intergenerational...I was getting some feedback from some people in the town about, ‘I have my grandma in Pennsylvania who thinks this is cool and wants to contribute and follow along,’” Platt said. “It’s a way for the different generations [even] within a family to connect.”
Platt said she has been working with the Madison Senior Center as it begins reopening to help connect older folks to the program and assist with any technological issues in regards to virtual events or sharing. She said she also plans on pairing off seniors and young people on individual projects: a recipe, a challenge, or a scavenger hunt.
All of this and more will be shared either on the project’s website or through its social media pages, where participants will have a good amount of leeway to experiment or show off their own ideas in an “ongoing conversation” about growing, gardening, and cooking.
Platt said she is also hoping to see talented people volunteer to share their own innovations and potentially lead virtual groups and workshops. The program also hopes to recruit illustrators, graphic designers, and those who have experience in design or marketing to help promote Sow, Grow, Savor in Madison.
The whole program will culminate with a celebration feast, either at the Senior Center or at The Country School, to celebrate all the work and learning that happened over the summer, as well as enjoy their delicious creations, Platt said.
“That will be an opportunity for the participants who might not have actually gotten to see each other in person to finally connect,” Platt said.
Platt said she herself will be spending a lot of the summer tending her own garden, currently located at The Country School, with the expectation there will be plenty of bountiful harvests between now and August.
For more information on Sow, Grow, Savor or to sign up for the program, visit sowgrowsavor.dining.uconn.edu.