Updated food bank accessibility makes it safer for volunteer staff and patrons. Click here to read the article.

Winter/Spring 2020
Careful planning provided fresh produce throughout the winter with a twice weekly harvest that included beets, garlic greens, kale, collards, carrots, lettuce and herbs. Jo, Barbara, and Kathy were the principle winter harvesters.
Herb and Kathy consulted with Doug V on the raspberry patch, and then thinned and doubled the length of the row with assistance from Sam, newly returned from international volunteer work. Stephen built a beautiful new trellis with an innovative design to train the vines into a ‘V’ shape and make  the summer harvest easier on Herb!
Jo and Thomas built a new front porch at the shed, expanding the footprint enough to get the lawnmower in and out with greater safety and ease. Thomas also rebuilt many of the raised beds which had decomposed.
Welcome to new volunteer Karen, who will be giving Emily a much needed hand with starting seeds. Also new to the garden are xxxxxx??? Doing ???
Alea continues to improve the worm bins that she designed and built. The worms did their jobs during the coldest months, allowing “black gold” to be harvested recently. Also, the compost bins so well tended in the summer and fall by Martha, produced many cubic feet of beautiful amendment.
The weeding trio of Beth, xx and xxare back in full swing, keeping noxious weeds at bay and the beds healthy and attractive.
Jo and Barbara just installed new row markers, just in time to sew the seeds of this season’s crops. 
As some vegetables are on their final harvests, others that overwintered are just coming into their own. Just yesterday we saw the first small heads of purple broccoli forming. The chard is beginning to perk up. And the next batch of carrots are nearly ready to harvest again.
Extra precautions have been taken by harvest volunteers. The Grange has offered their kitchen as a hygenic place for thorough handwashing and clean handling of the produce. Vegetables are being bundled into serving sizes so that food bank volunteers can easily pack the boxes for curbside pickups.
Volunteers are always needed at this garden. Principle needs currently include more raised bed construction, sanitizing equipment, and mulching, mulching, mulching! We are still able to be outside our homes as long as we keep our 6 foot distance from each other and follow all the prescribed precautions. Let this be a time of compassion.
Etc.

Despite the current difficult circumstances we are finding ourselves in we, as a community, nation and world, find ourselves in it is imperative that we let you know that the gardeners and gardens are continuing to work with our partners both at the local and county levels. We are continuing to provided food and support to all our neighbors in each of our communities.

Aside from the food banks there are numerous other resources available to assist all of us in coping with day to day issues during these trying times. The best ways to access these other resources is through the internet. Among the resources at our local level include: The Leader, the Peninsula Daily News, KPTZ Radio, Local 20/20, Jefferson Healthcare as well as your local school district.

And despite the dark clouds, we have a lot of good news to share. We have had a number of successful work parties recently. They’ve been doing plantings as well as harvesting for the local food banks. We have a new food bank garden. An eighth food bank garden has been added and it is located at Raincoast Farm on Rt. 19 in Port Townsend. We are looking forward to a growing partnership with them in the future. And we are also welcoming a new volunteer coordinator, Rachel Smith! So, yes! There are good things happening despite some of the other news.

So we wish you all the best of health. Take care of yourselves and check on your neighbors (from a safe distance), especially those in susceptible circumstances. These can be the best of times as well as the worst of times. We can make a difference.

In Health.

The Food Bank Farm & Gardens of Jefferson County, WA

Despite the current difficult circumstances we are finding ourselves in we, as a community, nation and world, find ourselves in it is imperative that we let you know that the gardeners and gardens are continuing to work with our partners both at the local and county levels. We are continuing to provided food and support to all our neighbors in each of our communities.

Aside from the food banks there are numerous other resources available to assist all of us in coping with day to day issues during these trying times. The best ways to access these other resources is through the internet. Among the resources at our local level include: The Leader, the Peninsula Daily News, KPTZ Radio, Local 20/20, Jefferson Healthcare as well as your local school district.

And despite the dark clouds, we have a lot of good news to share. We have had a number of successful work parties recently. They’ve been doing plantings as well as harvesting for the local food banks. We have a new food bank garden. An eighth food bank garden has been added and it is located at Raincoast Farm on Rt. 19 in Port Townsend. We are looking forward to a growing partnership with them in the future. And we are also welcoming a new volunteer coordinator, Rachel Smith! So, yes! There are good things happening despite some of the other news.

So we wish you all the best of health. Take care of yourselves and check on your neighbors (from a safe distance), especially those in susceptible circumstances. These can be the best of times as well as the worst of times. We can make a difference.

In Health.

The Food Bank Farm & Gardens of Jefferson County, WA

Go Fund Me Link

The Food Bank Farm and Gardens of Jefferson County are continuing a fund raising campaign to purchase two residential size freeze dryers. initially during a pilot project we will be freeze drying only produce grown locally and given to the food banks by grocery stores or other suppliers.

This pilot project will:

• Reduce Waste – The freeze dryer pilot project will help us reduce the amount of wasted food.  Hundreds of pounds of fresh produce and fruit come into food banks during the three months of peak harvest and not all can be given away before it spoils.
• Create a Food Reserve – A freeze dryer will allow us to create a supply of food for winter months, when very little fresh produce comes in.  If fresh produce or canned produce (which has a shorter shelf life than freeze dried) is not available, the freeze dried produce can be distributed.
• Assure a Supply of High Nutritional Value Food – Freeze drying preserves 96% of the original food value of the fresh food, a higher percentage than canning or dehydrating. Freeze drying can also produce a reconstituted product that is more attractive and closer to fresh than canning or dehydrating, or even frozen. Additionally, freeze dried food does not require special storage units or electricity.

Go Fund Me Link

The dryers we plan to purchase are large stainless models from HarvestRight, with a maximum annual capacity of 2,500 lbs. These are commercially rated models (required for placement in a licensed kitchen, a health department requirement). We will gather data during the 2-year pilot project and use this data to plan and implement phase 2, which includes further development of freeze drying locally. One goal of phase 2 is to establish and foster a small business based on freeze drying. Another is to acquire a mobile facility that would provide small batch processing capability (canning, dehydrating, and freeze drying) to small farmers, allowing them to create a value-added marketable product. The mobile facility would also serve as an educational platform for local schools and agricultural extension, demonstrating and teaching food preservation on location.

The cost of the pilot project will be $20,000. The final cost of phase 2 is yet to be determined, but will be in the neighborhood of $75,000.

Your donation will be 100% dedicated to this specific project.

Go Fund Me Link

Updated June 1, 2020