After meeting Farmer Lee Jones and learning about the Veggie U initiative, plus the fact that program was in jeopardy  locally due to lack of awareness and funds, I knew this was something we could try to help and something that would resonate well with you – my readers. Truthfully, I was hoping we’d be able to support a few classrooms (each classroom requires $200). But that didn’t happen. Instead, according to my contact at Veggie U, you guys saved the entire program in Cleveland, raising a total of $3,820 – with 100% of the donations going towards the kids! More importantly, that’s 84 Cleveland schools, 171 classrooms and 3,840 students that will participate and learn about eating healthy, sustainable agriculture and combating adolescent disease and juvenile diabetes starting March 1. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

I cannot thank you all enough for your incredible generosity and taking the time to donate. It is greatly appreciated by so many, especially those 4^th graders and their teachers. You guys simply rock and have truly made a difference. Hopefully, this is something we can continue each year and impact future students.

I also realize we were able to raise more because so many helped to spread the word – via good ol’ fashioned word-of-mouth, tweets and Facebook. Thank you – just look at the difference it made. I especially want to thank many of our bloggers and media. We have a wonderful blogging community here and it’s one I’m very proud to be part of. It’s one that’s incredibly supportive, both of each other and of our city. A special thank you to I Heart Cleveland, Live to Cook at Home, Heidi Robb, Confessions of a Cohabitant, Chef’s Widow, Cleveland’s a Plum, A Girl About Cleveland, Local Food Service, Bite Buff, Cleveland at Heart, Great Lakes Design Collaborative, Garden, Grocery, Gadget Girl , Cooker Girl, Metromix and Michael Ruhlman.  And our local food reporters/editors Joe Crea and Debbi Snook at the Plain Dealer. They took an immediate interest in this effort and shared with readers.

Finally, we would not be having this conversation if it wasn’t for our chefs, restaurant and store owners. I shared the idea and almost everyone got on board and offered their support to make it even better. We all know this group is responsible for making us some seriously good eats. But they also have some seriously big hearts and are an incredibly supportive group. They made it interesting and because of their generosity, people donated even more (let’s face it – that was some prize any foodie would covet!). We started out with roughly $1,400 in restaurant gift cards, and after the initial post, additional restaurants contacted me wanting to participate for a total of nearly $2,000 in restaurant gift certificates! These awesome establishments include: Western Reserve Wine Tartine Momocho Lola The Greenhouse Tavern Heinen’s Blue Canyon The Flying Fig Fire Erie Island Coffee Fahrenheit Miles Farmers Market Jekyll’s Kitchen Moxie Touch Supper Club Parallax L’Albatros Chinato Crop Bistro North End Hyde Park AMP 150 Muse (The Ritz-Carlton) The Chocolate Bar Michaelangelo’s John Q’s Steakhouse Melange Bistro on Lincoln Park.

So who was the lucky winner? Congratulations to Suzie Martens. She was chosen via Random.org. You are going to be eating very, very well for quite some time and are the envy of a lot of Clevelanders (including me!).

As of now, I believe Miles Market is the only retailer in our area to carry Jeni’s (though I hear Heinen’s is a possibility). And it’s a perfect fit for them. Miles carries a lot of local products, supports area farmers and offers a nice range of hard-to-find items. Plus they are less than two miles from my house.

If you haven’t been to Miles, picking up some Jeni’s is the perfect excuse to check them out. I remember Miles when they had dirt floors and garage doors for walls. They’ve come along way and really are an impressive operation.

If you do go, consider yourself forewarned – you need to pack your patience along with your tote. The lines are often long and the aisles are quite narrow. Saturdays are crazy as is after work. And on occasion, though not too often, I’ve found questionable produce or items out past their date. But if you get there at the right time, you’ll enjoy perusing the store and all there is to discover (be sure to visit the olive oil bar and wine/cheese selection).

During our three trips this week alone for Jeni’s and other items, I’ve found myself telling the story of this ice cream to plenty of strangers. It’s amazing how many people asked me if the pint was properly marked at $9.99, and if there really is corn in there. Yes and yes. And each time I’ve explained that you’d go out to dinner and pay $10 if not more for a drink and wouldn’t think twice. And then I give the elevator speech of their local roots and commitment to local farmers.

I think so far I’ve sold 3 pints while in line and earned a commitment from one woman to try on her next visit.