VCSU Squash Harvest 2020
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Cakes, pies, cookies, rolls, baked, fried… There isn’t a limit to the number of ways you can enjoy this vegetable.
Technically, it is a fruit because the part that we eat contains the seeds. However, we use it more like a vegetable, so that’s what we’ll call it.
Reverend Dan Faust plants a lot of these. They can be yellow, red, orange, or green, and they can be shaped in many different ways. Patty Pan, Boston Marrows, Yellow Crooknecks… Those are all varieties of squash. Faust raises so many squash that the harvest is measured in semiloads rather than wheelbarrows!
Valley City State University teams up with Faust through its Learning to Live class, which is meant to teach the spirit of volunteerism. VCSU sent seven buses filled with 220 college students to help Faust harvest his squash. Now that’s a lot of helping hands- 400 of them.
Rev. Faust’s wife agrees, saying “It takes a lot of cooperation among many people.” The squash harvesting program was begun when Rev. Faust grew a pickup box-full of squash and tried to take it to our local food bank. However, due to lack of space available, they were unable to accept the squash. Instead, they suggested the Great Plains Food Bank based in Fargo. So, Rev. Faust hauled his pickup full of squash into the Great Plains Food Bank, and they were happy to accept his donation. The next year, he ramped up the production of the squash, and at the same time, VCSU offered their students in the Learning to Live class as helping hands.
That was twelve years ago. The Annual Faust Squash Harvest is still going strong, producing even more squash than they ever have before- over three semiloads! When I was a VCSU freshman, I remember the squash harvest. Freshmen are grouped into those who share their major, so my group was all Fisheries and Wildlife students. Each group was given a section of the squash field to harvest, and the Fish and Wildlife kids quickly learned that the somewhat wet conditions of the field led to muddy hands. One more outgoing member of our group anointed all of our group members with ‘war paint,’ made from the mud we got on our hands. That’s why doing projects with a group is such a good team-building exercise: A common goal leads not only good work done, but also fun- like our ‘war paint.’
Those 400 hands worked on the squash from nine A.M. until nearly early evening. Faust says of this year “The harvest went very well- it was good and dry!”
That it was.
How do you eat squash? One simple way is to microwave it. Cut it in half, scoop the seeds out, and put it in a bowl. Fill the hollows in the squash where the seeds were with a few tablespoons of butter or lard and then add water. Adding some water to the bottom of the bowl is a good idea, too. Then, if you like squash savory, sprinkle with onion and garlic powders and a little salt. Microwave for ten to fifteen minutes- when you can easily slide a fork into the meat of the squash, it’s done! Scoop it out of the shell onto a plate or bowl and enjoy.
Many families will get to enjoy the wonders of squash thanks to Rev. Faust and the VCSU freshmen’s helping hands.
Furthermore, there are still squash left out at the squash farm! Rev. Faust says “Come pick it! It’s free!” The address is 3140 110th Ave SE, Valley City, ND, 58072. There are a lot of recipes out there for squash- bring your family and come enjoy harvesting squash. Good, clean (sort of), outdoor exercise that the whole family can enjoy- and then you can eat it.
Special to all the students and other volunteers you made the day a success: John Deere Seeding Group and Stoudt Ross Ford donated equipment and labor; along with D&B Portables who donated port-a-potties and Leevers Foods helped with smaller boxes for produce. Private parties brought bobcats, pickups and trailers to help load the large boxes and transport them to the semis. Paul Feist who provided leadership, organizing and collaborating with VCSU as well as Terry Lang and Julie Fosse, who have been helping at the garden every week since spring.