4-H Coastal Clovers

Photos on this page were kindly shared by Coastal Clovers 4-H Leader, Russell Osgood.

The Coastal Clovers 4-H Club out of York, Maine, was founded in 2004, by Russ Osgood. It is a 4-H Club whose primary focus is community service. They have become involved in a variety of projects that reach out to help those in need.

The Coastal Clovers made eighty-six fleece blankets for the homeless and for people who were challenged to keep their homes warm. POLARTEC generously donated 395 yards of power stretch fleece to the Club so that they had the necessary material to make the blankets. In 2011, they delivered over one hundred fleece hats and scarfs that they made to the Pine Street Inn in Boston.

The Coastal Clovers 4-H members also made cookies and sent them to the soldiers in Afghanistan and to be enjoyed at the Table of Plenty dinner in York. Their fostering tree at the American Legion in 2009, helped support youth in foster care settings who currently reside in or who are originally from York County.

Thanks to the generosity of John Zacharias, and his

son, Abe Zacharias, of Zach’s Farm in York, Maine, the Coastal Clovers 4-H Club has had access to local land where they have planted large quantities of vegetables in three 800‘long rows. They donate the vegetables that they grow to local food pantries. The Club also tends ten 3x5 foot raised beds that were built from a grant from the Good Shepherd Food Bank. Thanks to a $500 Harvest Fund Grant from Maine Initiatives, the Coastal Clovers were able to purchase garden tools and hoops and covers that enabled them to extend their growing season. Coastal Landscaping and Garden Center also provided support by donating seedlings and providing an area for the Coastal Clovers to transplant and tend the seedlings.

In 2010, the Coastal Clovers donated 6549 pounds of food to those in need! That same year they organized a Food Drive at the Hannaford’s in York to help stock the York Food Pantry. They also conducted a raffle for a whole hog which translated into a year’s supply of pork for the lucky winner.

Members of the Coastal Clovers 4-H help to plan the gardens each winter and weed and water them during the summer. In the fall they harvest the produce for their Foods for Families project which helps supply three local food banks.

In collaboration with Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School in York, the Coastal Clovers 4-H made stuffed shells, and meatballs and sauce for the York Food Pantry in 2010. The previous year they made beef stew for the Food Pantry. They have been honored several years with the York County 4-H Community Service Award. You can check out all of their activities on their Facebook page.

Zach’s Farm in York has generously supported the Coastal Clovers 4-H for many years.