P-Patch Food Bank Program

Gardeners may tend special designated plots dedicated to growing items for local food banks. Additionally, gardeners are encouraged to contribute part of their crops to to the food bank program. Magnuson’s food bank donations go to the Lake City Food Bank and to the transitional housing program located in the park. In 2014, Magnuson gardeners donated 3,300 pounds of produce, making Magnuson #3 in the city for donations. In 2015, Magnuson ranked #1 in the city with a donation total of 4,739 pounds! For more details, download the Giving Gardens 2015 Report.

One of Magnuson’s Food Bank Garden plots

Overview

The Seattle P-Patch Program grows organic produce for donation to food banks and other meal programs. P-Patch gardens city wide grow and donate over 28,000 pounds of organic produce every year to those in need.

The Magnuson Park Community Garden is one of the largest in the Seattle P-Patch system with 11 food bank plots (also known as Giving Gardens) that are planted and harvested by Magnuson P-Patch volunteer gardeners specifically for donation. Gardeners also donate from their own P-Patch gardens. Organic produce donations are made to the Lake City Food Bank and to the programs of Transitional Housing for families and singles located in nearby Magnuson Park Housing. The organic produce is greatly appreciated by those who receive the donations.

The food bank plots are planted with starts and seeds provided by the p-patch’s gardeners, as well as with seeds provided by Lettuce Link of Seattle’s Solid Ground organization. (Solid Ground oversees the transitional housing in Magnuson Park, as well as providing many other good services in Seattle.)

Vegetable starts are provided by the Seattle Giving Garden Network. The starts are a variety of vegetables that are started in greenhouses staffed by volunteers. Volunteers pick up the starts from a greenhouse located in Ballard throughout the Spring and early Summer.

In May, the Magnuson Community Garden Food Bank Program receives donation starts from the nearby Nathan Hale High School Horticulture program, the most extensive high school horticulture program city wide.

Magnuson’s newest contributor of produce to the food bank program is the Magnuson Children’s Garden, overseen by Emily Bishton. In 2014, they started growing food for the Food Banks in the shiny new feeding troughs located in SW part of the garden. It’s great to have the children contributing to the p-patch’s produce donations while learning about gardening.

Key Players and How the Program Works

Food Bank Coordinator

The coordinator ensures that the Food Bank gardens have volunteers working the gardens, and helps troubleshoot issues that may arise. The coordinator also acts as the liaison with Lettuce Link, the Giving Garden Network, and Nathan Hale H.S. Horticulture program. This includes organizing pick-up, and delivery of the plant starts to the garden.

Food Bank Gardeners

In most cases volunteer gardeners work on a specific Food Bank (FB) plot, usually a few core people to a plot. Gardeners can also help in a more general way by watering, weeding and harvesting plots as back up to gardeners who are out of town. They may also assist with plots that can use extra help at times. While gardeners who work a specific FB plot do harvest their own plots, Sunday and Thursday helper harvesters are always welcome.

Gardeners are encouraged to donate extra produce from their own P-Patch gardens or gardens and fruit trees from at home. You can “Grow a Row” for the Food Bank in your P-Patch garden.

Delivery of produce to Food Bank and Magnuson Housing

The current Delivery Coordinator is Judy Foley. She has a group of volunteers and oversees the scheduling of drivers to Magnuson Housing (Mondays) and Lake City Food Bank (Fridays). The regular weekly deliveries are made starting in May as early crops becomes harvestable, through Fall. If you’re interested in helping with the deliveries, please contact Judy. She can always use drivers to add to her list and it’s another way to get volunteer hours. Contact her at: [email protected]

Food Bank End of Shed

Harvested produce from the food bank gardens are placed inside the North End of the Mag Garden Green Shed. There are baskets and shelves to put the bagged donations. This is done on Sunday, for the Monday morning delivery to Magnuson Housing, and on Thursday, for the Friday morning delivery to the Lake City Food Bank. There is some informational signage in the FB shed. Do not weigh the produce or record information in the log. The driver delivery folks do that.

A few years ago we were asked by the Seattle P-Patch Office to keep track of food donations made from gardeners “Own” P-patch as opposed to the gardens we have designated for food bank growing. This hasn’t been difficult to do. There are 2 white baskets on the left side of the food bank shed that are labeled “Own Garden”. If you are donating from your own P-Patch, just put your produce in these baskets.

On delivery day, the driver weighs and records the number of pounds of produce into our Food Bank record books. Notations of type of produce may also be made. Over the past 5 years our garden has been one of the top donators with an average of 3000 lbs. The yearly total number of pounds donated is submitted to the City P-Patch program which tracks produce donations from all Seattle P-Patches. As mentioned above, Magnuson ranked #1 in the city for 2015, with a donation total of 4,739 pounds.