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The local food team shares articles, exclusive interviews, and project updates that tell the story of how we are building a stronger, more resilient local food system. To measure the success of local food programs, we have identified 10 indicators of success that measure how well we are doing in our efforts to create a stronger, more affordable food system. Each article is directly connected to one or more of our 10 indicators of success which are shown below and will also be shown in each article. Click on the indicator icons for more information about our initiative!
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Many people are familiar with Fresh Bucks, which gives SNAP/EBT recipients and other eligible Seattle residents easier access to fresh fruits and vegetables at local farmers markets, but have you heard about Fresh Bucks to Go?
Fresh Bucks to Go (FBtG) provides free bags of local fruits and vegetables delivered to Seattle Preschool Program sites, so families can pick up healthy groceries at the same time they pick up their children.
Each bag contains enough locally sourced fresh fruits and vegetables to provide two to three servings per person for a family of four for three to four days. The bags contain between 5 and 10 pounds of produce, depending on the type of produce available that season. Each bag also contains easy recipes adults and children can prepare together using the produce provided.
FBtG provides an opportunity to deliver services holistically, delivering preschool, nutrition, and food security services together.
Read DNRP's blog post for the full story. Image courtesy of Tilth Alliance.
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Enumclaw Plateau Farmers’ Market opened on June 6, 2019, providing plateau area residents with farm fresh, local products for the first time in over 20 years. The Local Food team spoke with Liz Clark, Enumclaw Plateau Farmers Market manager, about how the market was created and the successes and challenges her and her team of volunteers have experienced along the way.
Keep an eye out for announcements about Edible Enumclaw, a fundraising event for the market that provides locally sourced and prepared food for attendees and the annual pig raffle, which is an opportunity to win a whole pig! A date for the event has not been set yet, so keep your eye out for tickets to go on sale soon on their website.
Visit DNRP's blog post for the full story. Image courtesy of Enumclaw Plateau Farmers Market.
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Rising land costs have made finding affordable farmland a significant challenge to starting a new farm business in King County. In order to help new farmers overcome this land access challenge, SnoValley Tilth created the Experience Farming Project (EFP), which leases farmland and infrastructure to farmers looking to start sustainable businesses and offers easy access to resources, education and community through SnoValley Tilth’s Farm Services.
Thanks to a strategic partnership between SnoValley Tilth and King County, EFP will continue to expand and offer its programming to more farmers.
Please visit DNRP's blog post to read the full story.
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Spend the weekend at Carnation Farms to celebrate their first harvest of organic wheat and barley. The evening begins with a multi-course farm dinner, created by Guest Chef Ryan Donaldson of Gather and The Stone House, who will be designing a grain-centric menu featuring produce and ingredients grown at Carnation Farms. Each course will be paired with specially selected beers from Pike Brewing and whiskeys from Westland Distillery.
After dinner enjoy live music with late night treats and beverages around the bonfire. A good night sleep awaits in the cozy guest lodges followed by Sunday morning on the farm. To complement a hearty farm breakfast prepared by Carnation Farm's culinary team, Grand Central Bakery will serve their golden, flaky, buttery croissants! Cap off your stay with a historical tour of this beautiful, productive farm.
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Click here to learn more information about this event and reserve your spot! |
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A new online tool can help farmers and ranchers find information on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm loans that may best fit their operations. USDA has launched the new Farm Loan Discovery Tool as the newest feature on farmers.gov, the Department’s self-service website for farmers.
Farmers who are looking for financing options to operate a farm or buy land can go to farmers.gov/funds to access the tool and answer a few simple questions about what they are looking to fund and how much money they need to borrow. After submitting their answers, farmers will be provided information on farm loans that best fit their specific needs. The loan application and additional resources also will be provided.
USDA is building farmers.gov for farmers, by farmers. In addition to the interactive farm loan features, the site also offers a Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool. Farmers can visit farmers.gov/recover/disaster-assistance-tool#step-1 to find disaster assistance programs that can help their operation recover from natural disasters.
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For more information or to locate your USDA Service Center, visit farmers.gov. |
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