not far from the tree

I can’t pretend to be doing all of this by myself. Let the truth be unveiled — I have a trusty team of ruthless scavengers/businessers/marketers/pomologists helping me out and collectively running the show.

First and foremost, there is Wendy at Spadina House who suggested this whole thing in the first place. Her official title is “heritage horticulturalist,” so she’s obviousy not somebody to mess with. This whole thing was her idea, to put the apples to good use and hook the whole thing up with the farmers’ market. I’m just a pawn in her plot for urban sustainability, really. I’m sure I’ll be making regular visits to Spadina House when Wendy is working in order to let her vast knowledge rub off on me. And I must get a photo of her!

There’s also Chris, my loving partner (pictured here with a cauliflower head). He supports me in whatever I do, no matter how crazy. He came up with the name “not far from the tree.” Oh so clever! The guy’s got mad copywriting skillz. Plus when I was busy being stressed out or networking, he took over the booth and set the whole marketing thing down with a vengeance. He’s the real reason why we sold out in under an hour on our first day. And with puny, blemished apples — a very hard sell, indeed.

Bronwyn is a fair maiden who knows way more about orchards and fruit-picking than I do. I’ve got her on the team for brains and for braun. And I’m sure she’s still hiding stuff from me.

And then there’s Meredith, food educator extraordinaire. Not only does she bring to the table her prowess and knowledge about urban food issues, but she also covers it with a fancy apple-themed tablecloth! She’s the hook-up for excellent apple materials since she picked through the “apple” folder at her work — goldmine! Oh and she has really good ideas like “Hey! Let’s put these cauliflower leaves on our head!”

Still others have promised to volunteer as the adventure unfolds.