Bellingham Food Bank Aims to Increase Consumption of Fresh Produce

For the approximately one-fourth of Bellingham residents who fall below the poverty line, access to fresh food and produce can be difficult due to cost and transportation issues, said Max Morange, Agricultural Program Coordinator of the Bellingham Food Bank. In an effort to combat this access issue the Bellingham Food Bank is starting the Bellingham Food Bank Garden Project this year in addition to accepting fresh produce donations.

Three other programs run by the Bellingham Food Bank aim to increase donations of fresh produce. These programs include the Food Bank Farm, Small Potatoes Gleaning Project, and Victory Gardens. The Bellingham Food Bank Garden Project differs from the other programs by supplying the tools needed to grow produce at home.

Funded by the Whatcom Community Foundation, the project is a partnership between the Bellingham Food Bank and Whatcom Volunteer Center to start gardens at low-income residencies throughout Bellingham. The Bellingham Food Bank is providing garden supplies and the Whatcom Volunteer Center is recruiting volunteers.


Community Sites Selected For Project

Ideally low-income homes will be garden sites in the future, but this year gardens will be built at community sites such as the YWCA and Sea Mar Visions, an in-patient treatment center for young women who struggle with chemical dependency. The staff at Sea Mar Visions has expressed excitement about the project, which they believe will benefit their facility by offsetting food expenses and as an exercise of responsibility for their residents.

“The girls will be able to literally see the fruits of their labors when harvesting and eating it,” Carl Ravencroft said, with Sea Mar Visions. “The whole process will be seen from the seeds to the dinner table and show that when you stick with something, it can be rewarding.”

Garden building is expected to begin on Tuesday at Sea Mar Visions. Some volunteers will build the 4-by-8 foot, raised bed garden plots. Another 20 volunteers will serve as mentors for the project, meeting with residents one or two hours a week to provide encouragement, resources, and knowledge to the individuals growing the gardens. The Bellingham Food Bank hopes that interaction with mentors will provide gardeners with a positive growing experience and enable them to become mentors themselves in following years.

“Mentors are people who enjoy gardening, are excited about it, and can share their enthusiasm with others who may not have had the opportunity to garden,” Dan Hammill with the Whatcom Volunteer Center said.

Providing Fresh-Food Resources

“One of the challenges of low income members of the community is access, the ability to buy the food and where it is if they don’t have access to a car or bus stop,” Morange said.

The Bellingham Food Bank aims to break down the barrier of access to fresh food. Providing people with the tools to have a garden and grow their own produce will grant immediate access from home to nutritious resources.

For each garden more seeds than needed to fill the plot will be provided. The variety of vegetable seeds will include peppers, tomatoes, kale, lettuce, and broccoli among others. The gardeners will have enough seeds to somewhat pick and choose what produce they want to grow, Morange said.

Twenty-five community locations will receive gardens this year. Next year the food bank plans to provide another 25 households with gardens.

“The main goal of the project is to increase consumption of fresh vegetables in the diets of low-income members of our community,” Morange said.



-Bellingham Food Bank Website