Ducks at the Grange!

The Grange garden location got some new residents this spring – five ducks donated by a garden neighbor have moved in!

It took a team of volunteers to first relocate the new duck home…

 

 

 

 

…And now these ladies are happily ridding our garden of unwanted slugs and snails!

It takes a team of volunteers to take care of the ducks, each morning the ducks are let out of their pen and fed and each evening they are put to bed back in their pen safe from predators.

Thank you to all who make this addition possible!

If you’re interested in learning more about the Food Bank Garden Project, any of the garden locations or would like to volunteer, please send an email to [email protected].

 

 

 

Economics of Happiness

The Food Bank Farm & Gardens will have a presence at the fantastic Economics of Happiness Conference tomorrow. If you’re planning to attend, don’t miss the Local Food Panel Discussion: Hear from a cross section of local food activists from Port Townsend, WA as they describe both their part in the system, and their connection to the others on the panel. The result will be awareness that access to and creation of a resilient local food system is greatly enhanced by the inter weavings of the people interested in the various elements of that system. What is represented by the panelists are community gardens, food bank gardens, school gardens, fruit tree and farm crop gleaning, a school food service that regularly uses local food in its menus, a web design that makes it possible for people to purchase garden produce from neighbors’ gardens, a highly collaborative effort at preservation of farms, and an entrepreneurial effort to create a strategic location for local farmers to sell their fare. All aspects play a key and integrative role in the expanding local food system of Port Townsend, Washington. Q and A will follow brief panel member contributions.

Find out more about the Conference at https://www.economicsofhappiness-pt.com/schedule/

Season Update

As of today the Food Bank Farm and Gardens have donated more than 2,000 lbs of local produce to the food bank and high school lunch program. This incredible feat is accomplished only after logging more than 500 volunteer hours. With September historically being the highest yielding month we look forward to another record year. Thank you to everyone that has put in time and energy this year!

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2017 Growing Season (in a nutshell)

A GIANT Thank You to the Jefferson County Community Foundation!

The Food Bank Farm and Gardens of Jefferson County, a nonprofit organization, has received a major donation from the Jefferson County Community Foundation. The $2,600 donation, made possible by the Martha and Libby TrolinAtkins donor-advised fund, will support the efforts of the Port Townsend High School Garden.

The PT High School Garden serves many purposes. During the school year, all ninth-grade students spend about an hour per week in the garden as part of their health classes. Lead by garden coordinator Zach Gayne and health teacher Jennifer Kruse, the students engage in every aspect of garden work including soil building, seeding, transplanting, irrigation systems and harvesting. Students develop and practice their gardening skills while also gaining a deeper understanding of the land and labor required to produce the food that they eat every day. Much of the food that is produced in the High School Garden is eaten during class periods or prepared in culinary-arts classes. Additionally, this past summer, food-services staff preserved beans, tomatoes and raspberries to be eaten in the high school cafeteria as part of school lunch. The focus of spring 2017 will be salad green production for the school’s lunchtime salad bar.

When preserving summer veggies is not possible, the harvests are delivered to the Port Townsend Food Bank each Wednesday and Saturday. To date, the High School Garden has already delivered several thousand pounds of fresh, organic produce to the food bank.

The High School Garden is one of several gardens in Port Townsend dedicated to growing food for our community members. Other locations include the Quimper Grange Food Bank Garden and the Mountain View You-Pick Garden. For more information on how to support this mission as a volunteer or donor, please contact our garden coordinators at [email protected].

The Jefferson County Community Foundation (JCFF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the quality of life in Jefferson County. JCCF provides flexible ways for donors to engage in improving their community through charitable giving. Community grants are awarded from funds based on the interest of the donor or an open competitive process that addresses the changing needs of the community. For more information about JCCF, visit jccfgives.org or call 360.385.1729.