VIDEO: USA, WYOMING - Cody’s Vertical Garden Enhances Downtown

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August 31, 2020

By Wendy Corr

Visitors to Cody this summer might be able to pick their own salad greens straight from the garden – downtown.

This summer, a hydroponic garden was installed in Bell Plaza, a public space in the heart of downtown Cody. Bernie Butler works for the city but is volunteering her time to take care of the vertical garden that has been placed for the benefit of the community.

“It’s just to get the community involved in growing edibles, besides a dirt base,” Butler said. “And it’s more of an art form, too, just to enhance this plaza that we have it in.”

A vertical garden is just what it sounds like — plants placed in upward reaching rows instead of spread out across the ground. The plants are raised in a hydroponic system that uses nutrient-rich water for nourishment rather than dirt.

Butler said Cody is one of several Wyoming cities to embrace the vegetable growing technique.

“They partnered with Travis Hines out of Pinedale, he has Bio-Logic Designs,” she said. “He built this frame for it, brought everything down, we planted the plants, which he supplied, and filled up the tank – we have fish and aqua plants in there. He just got us going.”

The funds for the garden came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, funneled through the Wyoming Business Council. Amy Quick, the Northwest Regional Director for the Business Council, said the project benefits communities in a number of ways.

“Eleven different communities throughout the state are participating, including, of course, Cody, but Sheridan, Rock Springs, Casper are a few other examples,” Quick said. “And it’s just a really great opportunity to get some community involvement, focus on nutrition, education, economic development.”

Butler pointed out that the produce from the garden is available to anyone.

“I do have a couple of older people that come by almost every night, and they take some lettuce and some kale, and the mint is their favorite.”

Butler adds that once colder weather arrives, the garden will move to Eastside Elementary, where students there will take over the process – and the produce.

These Peach Salsa Brands Sold in 8 States Are Being Recalled

Three brands of peach salsa may be contaminated with Salmonella, the FDA warns.

Peaches are technically still in season until late September, however, you may want to refrain from picking up any containers of fresh peach salsa at the grocery store—that is, if you live in a certain eight states.

The FDA recently announced that Russ Davis Wholesale (RDW) is recalling Peach Salsa sold under the following three brands: Crazy Fresh Perfectly Peach Salsa, Quick & Easy Perfectly Peach Salsa, and Clear Label Perfectly Peach Salsa. The salsa has reportedly been contaminated with Salmonella, which, according to the CDC, can cause diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps, among other symptoms.

The recall comes in response to Wawona Packaging, which informed RDW on August 22 that the peaches used to make the salsas could have been contaminated with the foodborne pathogen. The affected products include any packages of Crazy Fresh Perfectly Peach Salsa with a sell by date of 6/25/2020 to 8/26/2020; Quick & Easy Perfectly Peach Salsa with sell by date of 7/29/2020 to 8/26/2020; and Clear Label Perfectly Peach Salsa with sell by date of 7/30/2020 to 8/23/2020. (Related: 7 Secret Tricks for Extending Food Expiration Dates)

The packages of peach salsa that could be tainted with Salmonella were delivered to retail stores in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. There are a few other miscellaneous containers of peach salsa that could cause foodborne illness, including ones that were offered at the deli counter at several grocery stores in Ortonville and Cross Lake in Minnesota, as well as in Tipton, Iowa.

In addition, five Bountiful Fresh gift baskets are suspected to have included the contaminated peaches, which were sold through one location in Hastings, Minnesota. If you've purchased any of the following items in the past several days, be sure to throw it out immediately. So far, there haven't been any reported cases of foodborne illness from these peaches, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take precaution!

For more, check out These Are the Most Often Recalled Foods in America.

Article by: Cheyenne Buckingham | August 26, 2020