Image from Living Well Kent summer newsletter
Living Well Kent, Northwest Harvest, and King Conservation District are partnering to transform a dormant farm in the Auburn area into a thriving agriculture enterprise that will bring quality farm land and valuable farm infrastructure back into production.
The Living Well Kent Greenhouses and Farmland Project plans to expand training opportunities and land access for immigrant farmers and increase access to healthy, local produce for farmers markets, farm stands, food banks, and mobile markets in South King County.
This partnership project is providing land access, agronomic and marketing support to seven immigrant farmers at the farm. The Auburn Greenhouse and Farm project will reactivate eight commercial grade greenhouses featuring roughly 8,250 square feet of growing space and 15 acres of quality adjacent farmland.
Farmers from Kenya and Benin are currently using their unique agricultural skills to help bring inactive greenhouses back to life on their own time and with almost all donated materials. The farmers provide nutritious, diverse, and culturally favored foods, such as collard greens, okra, radishes and spider plant, also known as African cabbage, directly where the need is greatest.
Living Well Kent immigrant farmers are able to grow their produce and support the community by seeking volunteers and opportunities to sell in new markets and wholesale. In partnership with King Conservation District and Northwest Harvest, which leases the greenhouses from the Adventist Academy, produce is being donated to Northwest Harvest on weekly basis as well as being sold at the Kent East Hill Farmers Market each month.
Image from Living Well Kent summer newsletter
Want to stop by and take a tour of the Auburn Greenhouse and Farm Project? Contact info@livingwellkent.org to inquire.
Living Well Kent is a grassroots, volunteer collaborative led almost exclusively by immigrants, refugees and people of color that focuses on making healthy and affordable foods accessible to all residents. For more information about this partnership and project, visit http://livingwellkent.org/lwk-greenhouse-farm-project/.
Read more about the project in this Seattle Times story, and read in-depth interviews by the Seattle Medium of farmers and partners.