Here is a preliminary list of our needs for this year. Based on what we did last year, 50,000 lbs of food with about $8,000. of our own money spent, it would stand to reason that if our goals are to gather 500,000 lbs of food this year we need at least $80,000 to do so. We will also need the equipment to gather, process and store this food till we can distribute it. We are in the process of forming a strategic alliance with the Utah Food Bank. This alliance has they ability to rocket us way past our goal of a half million pounds of fresh produce, so we also need to look at industrial canning and drying equipment. Obviously this projects scope is growing daily. So another need that we have is a building that we can use. I am in the process of working with Ralph Hansen to build a business plan that will help us raise the capital to get private as well as federal grant money. I hesitate to put a hard figure on what we need as this project can be as big as we can accommodate. I mean if we don’t get $80,000 will we Quit? Of course not. And if we get more that $80,000.? We will do more.  So, here is a list as I see it today.

1. $80,000.
2. Two pickup trucks
3. Canning supplies
4. Industrial dehydrators
5. Canning equipment
6. Ladders, pruning equip,.buckets, etc.
7. A building with office space and warehouse space with a walk in refrigerator/freezer,
8. A industrial kitchen
9. People willing to volunteer, pickers, processors, admin.

We need to build a team that sees this as a worth while cause. A worth while cause is the definition of Project. I hope that the people that are reading this see The Backyard Harvest Project as such and step up and help us make a difference.

Here is a radical idea. I’ll form it as a question.

If only 400 people sold their X-boxes, Nintendos, Playstations and etc, and donated the money and the time saved we would be bulging at the seems. As well as the benefits each of us would have by interacting with each other rather than staring at a computer game for hours on end.

This is a call to action! Do something! If not with me find something that you are passionate about and go out and do it! Make this world a better place!

A word of warning. Don’t come to me with problems and reasons that this project will not work. If you see a problem I need solutions.

“Those of you that say it can’t be done keep on interrupting us that are doing it”. I don’t know who to give credit for this quote but it is so true.

Now go do something good!

Lee J. Bradshaw