By Tom Rohrer
Thanks to the efforts of a host of organizations, the Thurston County area has the resources to provide those in need with healthy and sustainable food throughout the year.
According to the Thurston County Food Bank’s quarterly newsletter, published last September, 13,000 new individuals used Food Bank resources in the previous 12 months. An average of 4,000 families visited the Food Bank in the first half of the year.
Thurston County Food Bank Director Robert Coit believes there are more healthy options for the surrounding community thanks in large part to the Food Bank’s capacity. Partnering with local growers and community service groups, the Food Bank is able to access fresh fruits and vegetables and make those available to its customers.
“Our capacity is to provide more food and therefore reduce food insecurity,” Coit said. “We haven’t reduced poverty. We’ve reduced the impact of poverty on households. There is an increased nutritional output. More meat and dairy, that’s fresh and local, is in far greater demands than we’ve ever had.”
Since 1990, the Kiwanis Club of Olympia has been a partner with the Thurston County Food Bank. Kiwanis donates all their produce from four area gardens (the Olympia Kiwanis Food Bank Gardens) to the TCFB. Don Leaf, the Chair of the Olympia Kiwanis Food Bank Garden’s Project, estimated that the donated produce from those gardens reached over 30,000 pounds in 2012, all in all, providing healthy, yet readily available food to those in need.
“I think just as important as the (produce being provided) is the fact that the youth in the area is seeing what it means to have a healthy diet and how important that is,” Leaf said. “Kiwanis International has a major goal of supporting children, and that’s a large percentage of people who rely on the (Food Bank), it’s families with young children. By allowing them the opportunity to eat healthy produce, it’s a benefit for the future health of the community.”
Both Kiwanis and the Thurston County Food Bank have been involved in school garden and nutrition programs within the community.
Derek Valley overseen a project that allows local grade schools students grow produce on the Capitol Campus (among many other youth projects through Kiwanis), while the Thurston County Food Bank has seen their School Garden’s Initiative help benefit the Olympia, Tumwater, North Thurston and Griffin School Districts, along with 15 school gardens in the community, which teaches children the benefits of fresh produce through hands on experience and an accompanying curriculum.
“I think you’re seeing the community at all levels become more active,” Valley said. “There are endless benefits from educating the youth in the area, and it shows.”
“A child is more likely to eat veggies that they grow,” Coit said. ”A kid sometimes will try something because they are part of the growing/tending process. By having these programs, we touch the kids of (Food Bank) households.”
The Thurston County Food Bank is also seeing out of area companies put forth resources and time toward bettering community nutrition. Stu Vannerson, an employee at Intel in DuPont, has been the driving force behind the Intel DuPont Community Garden, which in 2012 generated around 5,000 lbs. of fresh produce, sixty percent of which went to the Thurston County Food Bank.
The creation of the project stems from the companies effort, as part of their 40th anniversary celebration in 2008, to connect with and help surrounding communities. Vanenrson and his department at Intel came up with idea of the community garden in 2009, and would install five initial raised beds. Now, there are over 55 (5’ X 25’)raised beds, and two fully operation greenhouses, that Vannerson hopes will soon have the ability to grow produce all year round, thanks to a circulated hot water system that was installed in the second greenhouse. In 2011, Intel invited the surrounding community to purchase raised beds and become involved in the growing process for the local foods.
“The mission for overall community garden was to feed the hungry, connect with community and provide an incubator to implement ideas for sustainable agriculture,” Vannerson said. “I think we’ve done well on all three missions.”
“This project has done a great job allowing the community to interact with (Intel),” Vannerson continued. “Families bring kids here. The Girl Scouts volunteer and there is a program which brings returning soldiers to help with the garden and they find this very therapeutic. It’s been beneficial in lots of ways.”
Vannerson’s wife, Carol, who volunteers about ten hours a week for the Thurston County Food Bank, sees how great the community’s support of sustainable and healthy agriculture really is.
“The support of the (Food Bank) is really incredible compared to other food banks across the country,” Carol Vannerson said. “There are so many organic producers, community shared agriculture projects, pay up front vendors….. who make a lot of this possible. With all the local organic produce, there is no reason anyone should go hungry in this town.”
