On an island in the Puget Sound you will find a food bank rich in history, volunteer commitment and community support. The Vashon Food Bank serves up to 200 families each week, nearly 10% of the population, through a single distribution day. Two- thirds of Vashon food bank clients are either seniors or children, all of which benefit from the produce being delivered from farms only a few miles away.
A Pilot Farm project has been successfully underway for the past year, producing a variety of organic fruits and veggies to the food bank clients. All ages are invited to come volunteer cultivating the quarter acre farm located on the Maury Island. The benefits even spill over to other food banks as they write, “Our efforts have allowed us to not only provide food for our clients, but also to the White Center food bank. We are sending our truck filled with beets, spinach, and cabbage across the sound, feeding even more hungry families with our plentiful harvests”. The farm produces mainly throughout the summer and takes a rest during the winter.
Year round the food bank supports a small gardens located behind the distribution center. Plants such as kale, garlic, chard and some herbs are harvested in the off-season to ensure clients are receiving vital nutrients beyond the summer months.
“There’s a lot of empowerment in being able to grow your own,” she said. “For me, the vision of a garden has always been a way to bring people together and feel good in so many ways. I dreamed of someday being able to create something at the food bank site that could draw people together”- Yvonne Pitrof, Executive Director of Vashon Food Bank.
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