Building Food Justice with “Just Gardens” and A Large Helping of Community

<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } A:link { so-language: zxx } -->Narration: With Green Acre Radio this is Martha Baskin. There's some who can't get enough of volunteering. Take Jared Peck. At his day job he's an Americorp volunteer with King County Housing. And on a beautiful Saturday he's passing buckets of soil, assembly line style, for new raised garden beds to grow food for those in need. “ONE GOOD THING ABOUT AN ASSEMBLY LINE, WE CAN TALK, WE CAN HAVE FUN AND MOVE BUCKETS AT THE SAME TIME.” The garden beds are part of the “Just Garden Project”. Since the non-profit began two years ago when community members came together to throw a garden party, a woman named Stephanie Snyder made a pledge to party only of there was food justice. Since then seventy gardens have been built for those without accesss to high quality produce. Today's raised beds will grows greens for the Rainier Valley Food Bank and Full Life Care, a non-profit day care facility for seniors and the disabled. “THERE'S A GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS. REALLY SCARY THINGS ARE HAPPENING FOR KIDS AROUND NUTRITION AND AT THE JUST GARDEN PROJECT WHAT WE SEE IS WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED AS A COMMUNITY TO SOLVE THESE ISSUES TOGETHER.”Growing food is the foundation says Snyder. 'BECAUSE FOR a lot OF OUR FAMILIES YOU CAN'T AFFORD ORGANIC VEGETABLES. IT'S OUTSIDE YOUR BUDGET. YOU CAN SPEND A DOLLAR ON A RAMEN NOODLE OR YOU CAN SPEND A DOLLAR ON A HEAD OF NON-ORGANIC LETTUCE. YOU'RE GOING TO BUY THE RAMEN. BUT IF YOU'RE GROWING VEGETABLES IN YOUR YARD YOU'RE GOING TO PICK THOSE VEGETABLES, PUT THEM IN YOUR RAMEN NOODLE AND THEN YOUR CHILDREN HAVE NOURISHMENT.”

20% of all children in King County are without adequate nourishment. One in five is food insecure according to United Way statistics. And it's not just children. It's everyone forced to choose between housing, food and utilities. Sam Osborne directs the Rainier Valley Food Bank. Three of the raised beds being put in by volunteers with the Just Garden Project will grow food for his clients. ''WE'LL PROBABLY GROW MAINLY LEAFY GREENS, BOK CHOY, DIFFERENT KINDS OF CHARD AND KALE.” Produce is very popular but usually runs out. 60% of his guests, as Osborne calls them, are families with children. The Rainier Valley Food Bank, one of the busiest in Seattle, serves between ten and eleven thousand people a month. That's up from seven to eight thousand two years ago.' SO WE'VE SEEN A PRETTY STAGGERING INCREASE. THAT'S IN ADDITION TO THE 65% INCREASE THAT HAPPENED BETWEEN 2007 AND 2009 WHEN THE ECONOMY FIRST TANKED.” Just as volunteers build edible gardens with the Just Garden Project, they make things happen at the food bank. Wesley Hall volunteers five days a week. He wears a badge that says “Certified Grocery Rescue Representative”, a program of Food Lifeline. “COMES WITH A TITLE”. Hall laughs but is very concerned about the shrinking supply of food. A good amount used to come from supermarkets who bought in bulk – vegetables, dairy products, canned goods. The extra that wasn't immediately sold went to food banks. But with a weak economy, stores stopped the practice. “ON THE BOOKS IT'S A WASTE, BUT IN REALITY IT WAS GIVING TO THE FOOD BANKS WHAT THEY HAD LEFT OVER. NOW IF WE WANT TO OPERATE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND THE MONEY TO BUY THE BUIL OF FOOD WE NEED AND MOST OF THE STUFF HERE WE BUY. IT'S NOT ALL DONATIONS. PEOPLE MAKE A MISTAKE AND SAY, THEY DONATE STUFF HERE. NO. 75% IS BOUGHT.”

The food bank gets fresh produce from the Seattle Community Farm at Rainier Vista and the new, Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetland. Seeds and starts are supplied by Seattle Tilth and Lettuce Link. But there's never enough. In a park adjacent to the assembly line of volunteers building raised beds, teens with Ground Up Organics are partnering with the Just Garden Project. They prepare basil, tomato and lettuce starts for distribution. 'THEY DECIDED THEY WANT TO GIFT THESE PLANTS TO THE COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO MAKE THEM FULLY ACCESSIBLE.” Ground Up Organics staff member Barbara Jefferson. Why did the teens decide to give the plants away? Fourteen year old Lo'Tajah Coverson. 'TO GIVE BACK TO PEOPLE WITH LOW INCOME, BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD TO DO THEIR OWN GARDEN OR DON'T EVEN HAVE THE SPACE TO START DOING THAT.” It's teaching youth about the power of urban agriculture versus the standard industrial model says Jefferson. In this case, it's a power committed to food justice and a culture of growing food for all. Volunteers with the Just Garden's Spring into Bed project built ten gardens. The next garden build is scheduled for June 2^nd.

Green Acre Radio is brought to you with support from the Human Links Foundation. Engineering by CJ Lazenby. Find us on Facebook. You can hear us at 7:45am on Friday and again at 4:15pm. From the studios of Jack Straw Productions and KBS this is Martha Baskin.