It feels good to be able to make a difference in your local community. I raised this money for my local food bank, because I randomly met their farm manager while I was swimming at Venus Pools on Maui.
Even on days off in Maui, fate seemed to have a way to manifest itself. I met Mara, who is the farm manager for the White Center Food Bank, while I was cliff diving on Maui. We got to talking about what we each were doing in Maui, and she was excited to hear I was down there learning about. She asked me if I would be interested in helping out with designing a new garden setup for the upcoming expansion she has been planning.
What an honor, and how lucky I am! I wasn’t even half way through my course, and I was able to land my first project. We have a very diverse community here in White Center, with people literally from all over the world. We are a neighborhood comprised of a lot of 1st generation families. Most of the parents of the children in my neighborhood were not born in the US, and that makes for a great opportunity to come together through food. Our food bank serves over 60% of the White Center community. Everybody has to eat!
I’m excited to grow culturally appropriate foods for members of the community that may not have access to the food they have been used to until recently. For a community that has been plagued by violence and crime, I am hopeful to see a bright and collaborative future.
The design has yet to be completed, but I have already began thinking of ways to make the garden, and it’s food, fun for the entire community. I look forward to working with this wonderful group on volunteers and staff members that are dedicated to not letting the families in need be subject to mail-delivered frozen garbage.
Care of the Earth, Care of the People, Devotion of time and resources to helping the community prosper!