July 2025 Meeting Minutes

July 21^st LIFE5b Meeting

6:00pm at the Depot in Shenandoah

Attendees: Jessa Bears, Shad Swanson, Laura Ferguson, Janine Johnson, Matt Johnson, Andrew Nostvick (via phone), Tammy Jones, Julie Wagner, Michelle Bacher, Charity & Kyle Johnson.

Call to Order at 6:01 pm.

Recognitions

J. Bears recognized J. Johnson for heading up the box packing efforts. Discussion on how Fridays have been working well for packing boxes so far.

Last month’s minutes approved.

Treasurer Report

S. Swanson reported that he expects another check from Livewell soon.

Fundraising Update

J. Bears has checked in on PayPal account. Currently around $490 available. Will be using PayPal for Salsa Class registration. Discussion on how to register for classes. There was an anonymous donation for $20 – could have been someone trying to register for salsa class.

Action Item Follow-up

J. Bears updated website – encouraged everyone to double check if all looks good.

June meeting minutes have been posted on website.

J. Bears reported that Shendig went well. May want to double check shift times if LIFE5b helps again in the future. Got busier after volunteer shifts were over. L. Ferguson will write thank you note for Stephanie Page. J. Bears to get contact information.

Old Business

Hospital Boxes – J. Wagner gave brief update. She has been delivering the hospital boxes.

LIFE 5b boxes – missed last 2 weeks due to low produce availability. Need additional growers, J. Bears encouraged everyone to keep asking around to see if more gardeners would like to join.

Discussion on who will be helping deliver this Saturday. L. Ferguson planning to help, J. Wagner to deliver hospital boxes.

Tank tops – J. Bears is waiting on pricing from County Line.

Tie Dye Class - will take place on August 1^st at 5:30 pm in Coin. Shelly Davidson will teach the class. Cost is $10 to sign up. Shelly is planning to get there at 5:00 pm. Might need more people to help – J. Bears is planning to be there.

Salsa Making Class – August 16^th at 10:15 am. Make sure to have participants bring their own containers. May want to update Facebook even page with this information.

New Business

Shenandoah School – wanting local produce. J. Johnson is waiting on additional updates. Potential concerns about produce availability.

Discussion with Charity Johnson on communication and expectations from growers who wish to work with LIFE5b. Mondays are the cutoff for produce availability to be reported. Additional discussion on different types of boxes. Charity reported that she had tagged LIFE5b in a Facebook post about a family in need in Sidney. J. Bears to investigate – notification did not come through or may have been missed.

Important Dates:

·         August 1^st: Tie Dye Class – 5:30 pm – Coin Community Center

·         August 16^th: Salsa Making Class – 10:15 am – Tabor Library

·         September 14^th: Garden of Paradise Field Day

·         September 21^st: Sycamore Ridge Goat Yoga

·         October 11^th: Goat Pumpkin Carving

·         November 11^th: Herb Class

·         2^nd week of November: Food boxes end

·         November: 2026 planning meeting

Meeting Adjourned at 6:34 pm.

Next meeting August 18^th, 6pm, Sidney.