PORT TOWNSEND — It’s Aaron Carver who tills the ground, plants the seeds, tends the crop and harvests the bounty. But it is the community that benefits from his work.
Carver, the head gardener at the Port Townsend Food Co-Op, harvests part of the co-op garden every Wednesday morning and then delivers the vegetables to the Port Townsend Food Bank just before it opens.
Rainy morning harvest
This week, on a particularly rainy morning, Carver plucked large pea pods from vines, yanked kale from the ground and hacked off thick arms of rhubarb from the plants growing in the garden.
“It’s been a pretty good year in the garden so far,” Carver said. “It’s still early, but everything looks really good.”
Soon, Carver will be pulling more food from the garden.
Spinach, lettuce, chard, artichokes, beats and tomatoes are all on the menu for this summer.
The produce will be delivered to the food bank, which provides food to all comers.
Carver and the co-op are not the only ones in Port Townsend doing their part when it comes to fresh vegetables.
Local supermarkets and growers who sell in the Port Townsend Farmers Market also donate to the food bank, which receives about 1,000 pounds of produce every week.
Shirley Moss, director of the Port Townsend Food Bank, said that is one of the most important components of the bank’s supply.
“People don’t think we have stuff like fresh vegetables,” Moss said.
“They think of the food bank, and they think canned goods, but we have much more, and that is extremely important.
“Fresh produce is a staple. It’s the source for people’s health, and it’s the heart of a meal.”
In demand
Moss said that, even with the massive amount of produce coming in, it still disappears every week. So does the bread, the dairy and the canned goods.
“The only thing we are in need of is space,” Moss said.
“The place is full of food, but we are also full of people, so this is all going to disappear.”
The food bank has had a record number of clients, Moss said.
“The number of people using food banks has doubled in the last year and a half,” she said.
“We used to have between 120 and 140 families every Wednesday when we’re open. Now we always go over 200. Even seeing 250 isn’t uncommon.”
Moss said the record for the Port Townsend Food Bank was set the Wednesday before last Thanksgiving, when 282 families came for food.
“These are working people,” Moss said. “Right now, they just can’t make ends meet.
“To get something like fresh rhubarb, well, that’s just the best thing that can happen for some people.”
Carver, who has been a gardener with the co-op for nearly nine years, said he thought of delivering freshly picked food to the food bank about two years ago.
“We used to give the produce to the workers,” he said.
“But they get a lot from inside the store already, so I decided it would be good to deliver it to the food bank.
“It gets to them less than an hour after it has been harvested.”
Carver said rhubarb is a luxury item in a meal.
“But it grows great, and when it’s fresh like this, there is nothing better,” he said.
“Giving people the chance to have some fresh, organically grown produce like this is a good thing.”
Moss said she was grateful for all donations and added that everyone is welcome to visit or contact the food bank to get food, volunteer or donate food.
The Port Townsend Food Bank can be reached at 360-531-0275. It is open every Wednesday from noon to 3 p.m. at 731 W. Park Ave., Port Townsend.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
