GRuB

 

Where does the food from the GRuB Farm go?
by Billie Edwards, Youth Program Alum and Current Food Distribution Coordinator

At GRuB, growing food for our community is imperative to our mission and vision of an equitable world and resilient community. We want to see foods in our diets that are important and healthy for us! Eating a beautiful head of lettuce, picking up some raspberries, or finding that one culturally relevant crop for you isn't always possible, with food deserts, inflation, and higher prices for organic food, even if you're making a pretty penny! That's why we need to create those spaces for our community members to access more produce at your local food bank, buy local produce, support small farming, share food, and come together as a community. 

GRuB has had many important food partnerships over the years, and many different ways of distributing our farm produce to the community. We've donated food (produce, starts, seeds), sold food at our Market stand, sold Community Supported Agriculture boxes (CSA), and cooked many meals together. Many folks have known GRuB as "the place to get a Farm CSA," and people have asked why we have switched to no CSA at the GRuB Farm. Many different things factor into it, and the main reason we had to let go of our CSA boxes was to create more space for others we donate to, making an equitable space for our community members and local partners!

Our partnerships are crucial to serving the community. This year, in 2024, we will work with many external partners regarding food distribution, especially gearing more towards donating produce to folks who find it hard to get that lovely produce in these financially challenging times. GRuB has worked with the Thurston County Food Bank for many years and plans to continue our work together. We will also work with CIELO (Centro Integral Educativo Latino de Olympia), a food bank satellite site in Olympia and Shelton that hosts a monthly food pickup for the immigrant and refugee communities in Thurston, Lewis, and Mason County. We are thankful for these incredible partnerships and are excited to see what it looks like to spread more healthy food across the community!

Check out our 2023 Youth Program Annual Report! Learn about our amazing Farm Team and the 41 young adults in our Youth Program who helped grow 7575 lbs of food, 80% of which was donated!

More about GRuB's Programs:

We have many exciting initiatives for 2024, including:

• Creating work-based learning experiences for 40+ youth at GRuB and leveraging opportunities for hundreds of additional youth from schools and partners in our region.

• Expanding opportunities for leadership training and gatherings for GRuB's Growing Home Collective, programming for and by the Black Community.

• Establishing a Veteran-run apiary at the GRuB Farm with bee certification programs and community building.

• Building 35 food-producing, hunger-reducing backyard gardens for individuals and families with limited income and supporting them with mentoring and supplies.

So many helping hands, minds, and hearts have brought us along, and we feel so rooted in the soil of the Farm and this place. Its rich relationships, ecosystems, and cultures teach us about reciprocal partnerships, and we acknowledge that it is a privilege to have been able to carry this work forward for so many years. 

We would like to invite you to join us in this work by donating at a level that is the right match for you! 
 We wouldn't be GRuB without "u"!

More from our Program Participants:

"Thank you so much for the gift of being able to garden. I have wanted to get a raised bed for years, but we have never been able to afford it. My parents used to garden when I was young, and now my kids can have memories of growing their own food as well. "
 –GRuB Garden Project Participant

"These resources and classes have been the basis for creating an entire tribal garden education program that has allowed so many people to reconnect. Working with this curriculum has also helped me develop so much as a person and become comfortable with myself and with teaching."–Tribal Educator

“I’ve become a more confident person, able to speak up for myself more instead of pushing people out. I feel like I have many more tools to be successful, express myself better, lead others, notice more, etc.” -YP Participant

We hope to see you on the Farm soon!! Visit our website to learn about upcoming Events and Workshops!