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What is Happening
this Month?
February 16 Sustainable Ballard Volunteer Orientation
February 27 Sustainable Ballard Monthly Gathering - Neighborhood Greenways
March 17 Ballard St. Patrick's Day Parade - A Benefit for Sustainable Ballard
Learn about what's going on at Sustainable Seattle on our calendar.
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Neighborly Love
February's Sustainable Neighborhood News
After Seattle emerged from the epic 2012 snowstorm, it feels like Spring could be right around the corner-but Sustainable Seattle still has plenty in store for Winter-including the launch of our neighborhood workshops! Right now, a community workshop featuring the West Seattle Tool Library - one of our award winners - is in the works for early April. More details about the workshop will be arriving in your inbox soon.
Beyond the workshops, there are some exciting plans for the Sustainable Rain program. In 2011, the Sustainable Rain program-funded by the Russell Family Foundation-constructed rain gardens in five different Seattle communities. In its second year, the program will distribute $1000 scholarships towards a rain garden in any of our target communities. Learn more about this opportunity here.
Building on the success of 2011, Sustainable Rain is also going to focus some efforts on the Ballard neighborhood. In the coming year, the program will seek a neighborhood advocate or rain garden "champion" to build support for construction of rain garden clusters. These clusters are more cost-effective, build community, and provide even greater water quality benefits than a single rain garden-and there are incentives from the Seattle Public Utilities for these in specific areas of Ballard. To take a step beyond being rain garden advocates, Sustainable Rain plans to take the idea of a "sustainable neighborhood," as seen in Sustainable Ballard's strong track record, to urge the community to take additional steps - including incentives-based energy audits and retrofits. Read more about the plans for Sustainable Rain on our blog later this week.
In this Valentine Day's edition of Sustainable Neighborhood News, we are featuring a project by Sustainable Ballard. This thriving organization has programs covering all aspects of sustainability, from community building opportunities to education around reducing energy consumption to support for urban gardening. Read the article below to learn about their successful effort to connect local food systems with the neighborhood food bank. Check out the sidebar for some of Sustainable Ballard's upcoming events!
Enjoy!
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Sharing the Bounty in Ballard
Strolling along the historic Ballard Ave on a Sunday afternoon, a radiating display of colorful banners announces the entrance to the Ballard Farmer's Market. Vendors, local farmers, artisans, musicians, and more line the block with their local wares and produce. Piles of purple, red, and golden potatoes are displayed next to collections of carrots and bushels of kale.
This bounty of crops provides a treat for the eye as well as the appetite. With so much and with such a variety of food available, a question can soon enter the mind- what happens to the unsold, perishable produce from the market at the end of the day? This was a question that occurred to members of the Food and Health Guild, a subset of the organization Sustainable Ballard, early last year. At the Grand Opening of the Ballard Food Bank's new location on Leary Way, the group discovered that no one was collecting donations for them from the farmer's market. With Sustainable Ballard's mission of building an inclusive, joyful, and sustainable neighborhood for all, the Food and Health Guild decided to fill in this vacancy by starting a Gleaning Project to transport leftover produce from the farmer's market to the food bank, providing fresh food to their neighbors in need. The relationship that the Food and Health Guild had built with the organizers of the Ballard Farmer's Market over the years through local food initiatives like Eat Local Now! helped the project take shape. The group "learned what types and quality of foods the Food Bank would like to receive and what sorts of things they could not use," says Jennifer Mundee, the leader of the Food and Health Guild. "We then approached the Market staff and set up a system, such as the time to be there or who to call if we cannot make it; and a plan to collaborate and share with other gleaning groups to make the most of what was donated." A typical day involves two volunteers arriving at the farmer's market at closing time and dropping off reusable wax boxes at consenting farmer's stands. By speaking with farmers in the early months of the year, the Gleaning group determined which farmers were interested in donating their leftover produce before the routine was set for the more productive seasons. When they arrive, the volunteers check in with the market staff to find out which other gleaning groups will be attending the market that day. These groups can include soup kitchens, shelters, and high school culinary classes. The donated food is then divided up among the groups depending on what types of produce would best be used for each cause. For example, a soup kitchen could cook bruised tomatoes in their prepared meals right away, but the food bank needs its produce to be in better condition. After divvying up the food, the crates are placed in a station wagon or a cart pulled behind a bicycle to the food bank. The vegetables are then transferred to the refrigerator and any bread is stored in the freezer. Sometimes, at peak season, multiple trips are needed for all of the produce. However, in winter months where many vegetables, such as potatoes, can last until the next week, less food is collected. Sustainable Ballard's Gleaning Project also expanded to collect donations at the Interbay Farmer's Market on Thursdays as well. With eight volunteers on the project, they could split into teams of two and rotate the responsibility. This project was an incredible success, fulfilling a need in the community while reducing food waste, collecting approximately two tons of produce for the Ballard Food Bank in 2011! If you are interested in gleaning leftover produce from your neighborhood's farmer's market for a local food bank or another cause, contact a sustainable neighborhood group in your area or talk with the organizers of your market-and let us know about it! For more information or insights into Sustainable Ballard's Gleaning Project contact
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