Seventeen members of Alpha Study Club met at the Methodist Church in Gladbrook for the April 23, 2024 meeting. Bonnie Murty was hostess for the group. Avriel had a reading on May Day. The Secretary’s and Treasurer’s reports were read and approved. Correspondence from Pat Clausen was read asking for a leave of absence.

Avriel Koester reported that she will be having knee surgery on April 29. Officers for the next two years are as follows: President, Deb Wentzien; Vice President, Karen Handorf; Secretary, Jo Anne Sash; Treasurer, Sue Storjohann and Historian, Pam Thomas. Our May meeting will be at the home of Marcia Koester on May 28.

Marcia Plett reviewed the book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, A Year of Food Life” by Barbara Kingsolver. The book is partly a memoir about the author’s family’s adventure of eating only locally grown food for a year, partly informational facts concerning America’s eating habits and the effects caused by shifts in agriculture as well as a collection of recipes.

Kingsolver and her family move from suburban Arizona to rural Appalachia to realign their lives with their local food sources.The story recalls their experiences and shares about others who are trying to turn the tide to protect our foods against extinction and return us to a way of life that is better for our health, our wallets, and our environment. America has long been a nation of farmers but within the past several decades, our food supply is becoming less nutritious and with increasingly fewer varieties of vegetables and animals. In a single generation, most Americans have lost their knowledge of agriculture and the natural processes that are a part of our food chain.

After the close of the meeting, Bonnie served a lunch of chicken salad croissants with carrots and celery in keeping with the theme of the book.