Fig & Strawberry Jam!
Mountain Ash Preserves Fig & Strawberry Jam is back! I recently received an e-mail from Anne Hutchings to let me know that her students had a batch of the coveted Fig & Strawberry Jam ready. This is one of my favourite jams and many customers have asked us to let them know when it’s back in stock. It tastes fantastic and it is also wonderful because of the educational collaboration that produces it.
Elaine and Max Steiger owned and operated Mountain Ash Farm from 1967 until last Spring. They raised five children on their Powell River farm and over the years raised beef, pork, lamb and chevon (goat), as well as dairy cows and almost every kind of poultry – from chickens to pheasants to emus. They maintained a small store and a market garden to produce as many fruits and vegetables as possible for the preserves produced on the farm. Since last year Elaine’s legacy of amazing preserves has been continued by the students of Brooks Secondary School as part of an ongoing partnership between the Board of Education of School District 47 (Powell River) and the Powell River Educational Services Society (PRESS)!
This fantastic initiative was recently profiled by Paul Galinski in the Powell River Peak. The students run Mountain Ash Preserves under the guidance of Michael Austin, a Red Seal chef, and Anne Hutchings, business instructor at Brooks. Students are involved in all aspects of the business, including cooking, labelling, delivering, invoicing and contacting wholesale customers. The course operates out of the state‐of‐the‐art kitchen at the school.
“It’s a linear program, which means it runs all year,” Hutchings said. “Right now, we’re working Tuesdays after school…The students are involved here on Tuesdays in production, but on other days of the week, they may be involved in delivering, filling orders, making labels and different business components that are involved in production.”
In addition to the fantastic Fig & Strawberry Jam they also sent:
- Blueberry Jam
- Best Ever Marmalade
- Sunday in a Jar
- Blackberry Lemonade
- Apricot Jam
- Best Ever Salsa
Come and get it while it lasts!