DFW truck farm pays visit to Coppell’s Farmers Market

By Sissy Courtney 

According to a 2007 census, America has over two million truck farms, but it has only has 30 farms in a truck. Texas has only one farm in a truck, the DFW Truck Farm, and it showed up at Kids Day at Coppell’s Farmers Market Oct. 20 straight from the State Fair, where it was part of Texas Discovery Gardens.

Marilyn Simmons and daughter Donelle Simmons of Waxahachie are called The Farm Girls on their radio gardening show, and they own and operate the DFW Truck Farm.

“If you can garden in the bed of a truck, you can garden anywhere,” Donelle said. “The soil in the truck is made up of expanded shell, molasses, enriched soil and mushroom compost. The membrane is like the material they use in rooftop gardening to control the water.”

Holes in the bed of the truck for drainage keep the truck from rusting. A Dripping Springs ollas waters the plants.

“It’s like an urn, and you burry it down and fill it up with water,” Donelle said. “When it is cool, it takes a week for it to run out; in the summer, we have to fill it up about every two days.”

Growing in the bed of the truck were Swiss chard, sage, thyme, radishes, sorrel, fennel, garlic, chives, spinach, lavender, eggplant, mint and parsley.

“When we go to schools I let the students plant the radishes, so when we go back a month later, they can see that the radishes are growing,” Donelle said.

Last year they visited 60 schools, but this year they have changed the program.

“Now we go to each school three times: once to talk about the truck farm and plant something,” Donelle said. “Then, we go back and bring a farmer, and then we go back with a chef and cook something from the truck. We aren’t able to cover as many schools, but it makes a greater impact, rather than just sending them home with some mint to plant, which really doesn’t mean anything to them.”

Rainbow food

A representative of the Art Institute, Le Cordon Bleu from Dallas, and the American Culinary Federation joined in the excitement to present a scavenger hunt for the kids. They gave kids foods from colors of the rainbow: red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow squash, green spinach and purple grapes.

“They taste each one, figure out what color each one is, put it into a category, and then they have to go around the Farmer’s Market and find a fruit or vegetable of each color,” said Toni Slone from the Art Institute. “When they fill in three of each category or as many as they can find, they come back and we give them ranch dip for their veggies, seeds to grow veggies at home with their parents, and we give them kiwis because most kids don’t try them because they’re brown and fuzzy and they don’t look appetizing. We like to give them that, so they get something surprising in the end and learn to eat something new.

Free face painting was available for the children, and they could buy kid-sized portions of fruits and vegetables from the vendors.

By Amanda Casanova 

A visitor snaps a photo of a staged car at the Q Chevrolet Car Show on Oct. 20 in Irving. Photo by Amanda Casanova.About 14,000 hot meals will be served to the needy with proceeds raised from the Q Chevrolet Car Show held on Oct. 20 in Irving. Funds generated from the inaugural car show will benefit both the Tarrant Area Foodbank and Goodwill, according to organizers.

Put on by Texas Riders Helping Texans, a nonprofit charity organization of motorcycle riders, and George-McKenna Electrical Contractors, the event drew donations and sponsorships from the all over the area.

“So many children aren’t being fed,” said Tom Troy, president of the Texas Riders Helping Texans. “When you consider that, it’s so important to give back to the community.

“With an event like this, we get to work with the people who need it the most and the people who know how to stretch it the most.”

Visitors eyed the roughly 40 cars spread out on the Q Chevrolet lot. Some snapped photos of theAbout 40 cars were on display at the Q Chevrolet Car Show on Oct. 20 in Irving. Photo by Amanda Casanova. shined and buffed machines, and others talked cars while leaning inside of a car hood.

“We’ve had a tremendous corporate sponsorship and support for this,” Brian Sidwell of George-McKenna Electrical Contractors said. “They’ve done a great job in supporting us to make sure this is a success.”

The car show is one of many events put on by the Texas Riders Helping Texans and the Ramblin’ Gamblers, an associated motorcycle organization.

In December, the Ramblin’ Gamblers will ride from Keller City Hall to Bronson Rock in Keller to benefit Randy Carter, a fellow motorcyclist who was killed by a drunk driver in 2011. The event will feature a silent auction and door prizes with proceeds from the ride going to buying toys and clothes for Christmas for needy families.

Last year, through all their fundraising efforts, the Texas Riders organization raised enough money to feed 60,000 people.

“Everything we do is to help local families,” Gary Lee of the Texas Riders said. “It’s just nice to see people give and to be a part of that.”

A family checks out the interior of a Chevy Camaro the Q Chevrolet Car Show on Oct. 20 in Irving. Photo by Amanda Casanova.

Among this year’s winners of the Athanatos Christian Ministries’ short story and poetry contests, Therese Eby of Irving received first place, the Hieropraxis Gerard Manley Hopkins Award, for her poem, Herodia.”
The fourth annual contest saw some winning entries that many Christians may feel "push the envelope" but are nonetheless consistent with ACM's goals.
"If our stories only connect with believers, we fail as a Christian apologetics ministry,” said Anthony Horvath, ACM's executive director.
Including this year's contests, ACM distributed nearly $15,000 in cash awards since it first began its literary apologetics ministries.
The top honor in the short story competition went to David Sable for his tale, The God of Oscar’s Misunderstanding.”
The stories and poems can be read online at www.christianwritingcontest.com.
Source: Athanatos Christian Ministries

Ranchview High School received the "2012 College Readiness Award” from the Texas ACT Council for increasing the number of students taking the ACT Assessment over the past five years and significantly increasing their level of achievement and college readiness.

The Texas ACT Council is comprised of secondary and postsecondary educators who advise ACT, Inc. on the utilization of ACT programs and services in Texas schools and colleges. In 2012, over 39 percent of Texas graduating high school seniors took the ACT in Texas while the total number of Texas students taking the ACT has increased over 40 percent since 2008.

Source: CFB ISD