Last Thursday, we (a group of food bank volunteers and gardeners) took a little field trip over to the Good Cheer Food Bank Garden on South Whidbey. Our little garden in Port Townsend is hugely inspired by the garden at Good Cheer and by Carey, their amazing garden coordinator.

Good Cheer Garden Coordinator Carey Peterson explains her garden systems…

She does lots of intensive plant rotations over the course of the season, thanks to rich compost from the worm bins–fed by the food bank  food waste!

Good Cheer has a spiffy commercial kitchen where they can prep and freeze the summer bounty…zucchini anyone?

 

 

 

The layout of the Good Cheer Food Bank looks a lot like a grocery store. Check out that produce! A lot of it comes from the garden, but also from home gardeners and farms.

The staff and volunteers at Good Cheer have done a lot of educational outreach regarding how to prepare and cook less popular but super healthy veggies. Now the kale and chard just flies off the shelf! We liked these nutrition/recipe posters for bok choy and beets.

Thanks Carey and Kathy at Good Cheer for taking the time to teach us! We are so inspired by your work!