King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks Blog
As the City of Seattle celebrates 50 years of the P-Patch program, it’s important to recognize a key partner since the early years: GROW.Continue readingGROW is growing: from Friends of the P-Patch to a regional community gardening leader
A new business incubator is coming to King County’s local food scene this spring. The Food Business Resource Center’s incubator program was created specifically for small food and farm producers using locally grown ingredients to develop and test value-added and packaged food products.Continue readingFood Business Resource Center launches new food and farm business incubator
In Spring 1970, amidst an economic downturn and the beginnings of the environmental movement, Darlyn Rundberg proposed an idea that would change Seattle forever. Continue reading50 years of growth: Seattle’s P-Patch Program celebrates half a century of community gardening
Plant propagation is a cost-effective way to increase the number of plants in your home. It also allows growers to create new varieties of plants with unique characteristics resistant to disease. All together plant propagations support the continuation of particular plant species and ensures access to your favorite plants.
Chris Homanics, a local plant breeder that grows in the Snoqualmie Valley, recently sat down with the Local Food Initiative team to discuss the importance and impact of plant breeding and preservation.Continue readingChris Homanics: Using plant breeding and preservation to increase access to plant variants
The Food Sovereignty symposium was held in June 2022 in a collaboration between Feed Seven Generations, a non-profit organization that works in tribal communities to build food sovereignty through education, advocacy, and hosting community events; and Tahoma Peaks Solutions, an organization that empowers native communities through storytelling and building food sovereigntyContinue readingFood sovereignty symposium: Bringing experts together to rebuild native food systems in Washington state and beyond
Vibrant flower bouquets are one of the beloved farmer’s market items in King County, but in March 2020 as farmer’s markets temporarily closed due to the emerging coronavirus pandemic and the statewide “Stay Home Stay Healthy” order, flower growers across the region had no place to sell their bouquets.
According to the Washington Hmong Farmers Cooperative, about 80% of the flower stands at Pike Place Market and other farmer’s markets throughout the region are owned by Hmong farmers.Continue readingHmong Association of Washington seeks to support farmers with development of new cooperative
King County farms and related businesses will soon have professional support to boost their operations through Business Impact NW, an organization dedicated to supporting local entrepreneurs through coaching, classes, and access to capital.
As the new King County Farm Business Support Specialist, Devra Gartenstein will provide direct one-on-one navigation and coaching for King County farm and food business owners through the Business Impact NW’s Food Business Resource Center (FBRC), which is expanding with the support of King Conservation District.Continue readingBusiness Impact NW: Introducing Devra Gartenstein as the new King County Farm Business Support Specialist
Farmers markets across King County are at their most vibrant as we head into the last push of summer and
Continue readingCelebrate Farmers Market Week and find variety at King County farmers markets
It was April 2020 when EastWest Food Rescue main founder George Ahearn learned that onion and potato farmers in his hometown of Othello, Wash. were struggling to sell their crops because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Worried that the produce would go to waste while thousands of Washingtonians struggled to put food on the table, George posted on Facebook looking for folks to support him in diverting food from going to waste to people who were experiencing food insecurity.Continue readingEastWest Food Rescue: Reflecting on two successful years of working with farmers to feed Washingtonians experiencing food insecurity
Nearly one-third of households in Washington reported they were food insecure in 2021, according to the Washington State Food Security Survey. Hunger relief organization such as NorthWest Share work to address this ongoing issue.
Harry Terhanian, founder of NorthWest Share, recently sat down with the Local Food Initiative team to discuss how food trucks serving free meals came about, and the importance of providing free vegetarian meals via food trucks.Continue readingNorthWest Share: A new approach to increasing access to free vegetarian meals