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Resource Report 12 - GRuB (Garden Raised Bounty) · Resource Report

0:20
Hello and welcome to Resource Report, where we
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share with you important information about local
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nonprofits and resource organizations that support
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the community we share, produced by Pathways
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to Agency. I am your host, Rainmaker. Today's
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featured organization is GRUB, Garden Raised
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Bounty. I sat with Veterans Program Manager Jenna
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Kemp in the GRUB farmhouse to find out all there
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is to know about it. Here's Jenna. I am here
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at GRUB, and GRUB is Garden Raised Bounty, and
1:00
the U in GRUB. We just say there would be no
1:05
GRUB without you. That's right. It doesn't actually
1:07
stand for anything. Yeah, and I'm here with Jenna,
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Jenna Kemp, and would you like to introduce yourself,
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Jenna? How did you come to GRUB, and what is
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your position here? Yeah, sure. My name is Jenna
1:21
Kemp, and I started here at Grubb in 2019, like
1:26
in January 2019. And I am currently the manager
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of the veterans program here at Grubb. It's one
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of our newer programs. When I started here, I
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actually started in our garden program, building
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the backyard gardens that we do. And then over
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time, over the last few years, we've kind of
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developed the veterans program. But I started
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here through an internship with the Veteran Conservation
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Corps, which is through the WDVA. And they have
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internships for veterans that want to get into
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any kind of conservation or agricultural -focused
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work. And so GRUB is a host site for those interns,
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and so that's how I started here as an intern
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and helped develop the veterans program into
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what it is now. I've been the manager of that
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program for a little over a year now. That's
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awesome. And for those who are not familiar,
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tell us about GRUB, what it is, and where are
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we? Yeah, Grubb. I know a lot of people at Evergreen
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probably are familiar with Grubb because we're
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really close. And we've had a relationship with
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Evergreen for many years. But we're just a small
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nonprofit here in West Olympia, right on Elliott
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and Harrison. So not far at all. And we have
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a small urban farm here, about three and a half
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acre farm. where we do programming just around
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growing and eating food. So really all our programs
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are kind of focused on building people, food,
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and community. And so, yeah, we have a small
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farm. We grow food. We also have a farmhouse
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where we have like a big kitchen so we can prepare
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meals together, have community gatherings, events
3:27
throughout the year. And we really focus on working
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with populations like disaffected youth or low
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-income families, veterans, black and BIPOC community
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members, tribal communities, things like that.
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But, yeah, we do a lot here. So we'll delve more
3:53
into that, I'm sure. Yes, definitely. Yeah. Yeah,
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speaking of that, Going on your website, it's
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so full of all this information, so let's break
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it down. Let's begin with the community programs.
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Yeah, so like I said, I started here in the garden
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program, so the Grub Garden Project, GTP is how
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we refer to it, but it's one of the first programs
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we had here at Grub. We've been around since
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2001. So we've been here for a while. And from
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the beginning, we started building free backyard
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gardens for low to no income families around
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our area. We do about like an hour radius around
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Grubb is how far we'll go out. And to date, we've
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built, you know, over 3 ,000 gardens. We've kind
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of lost count, but something around that. Generally,
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we build between 35 to 60 gardens a year. Wow
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that's incredible and so um I'd like to to go
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a little more into that you know um what what
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does that all entail like like walk me through
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the process like I I would like to have a garden
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in my backyard Jenna how do we do it? Yeah um
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so usually the applications to get a garden open
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up at the very beginning of the year and like
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January 1st and um You can apply on our website,
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and about a month later is when we'll close the
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application and then start reviewing the applications.
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And we usually, depending on our budget for the
5:34
year and just our schedule for the year, we'll
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determine how many gardens we're actually going
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to be able to build that year and then select
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the gardeners. There are a few things to qualify.
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You have to be below a certain level of income.
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And then beyond that, you need to be within an
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hour of grub. You need to either have permission
5:56
from the landowner or be the landowner to be
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able to build like our raised garden beds. We
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do have an option for container gardens as well
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if you live like in an apartment or if you can't
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get permission from the landowner. And so once
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we've done the selection, we also have like an
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event here. where the selected gardeners can
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come and learn more about the process, get scheduled
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for their garden, and then we'll just go out
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and start building gardens. We usually do it
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throughout the spring, so we kind of start in
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March all the way through end of May, sometimes
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into June, depending on how many we're building.
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And then beyond that, throughout the year, we
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also have workshops so that gardeners... both
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from that year and previous years, can come and
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learn about what to do with the stuff they're
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growing, how to cook it, how to prepare it, how
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to can, or just basics on gardening and companion
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planting, things like that. So it really depends,
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and we try to make them very... appropriate for
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the season and appropriate for like what people
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are most interested in learning about um so yeah
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throughout the year in our application we're
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also asking people like what do you want to learn
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about what are you curious about what would you
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want to see in a workshop and so we kind of base
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those around that as well cool i have a question
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about um the the getting permission thing is
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that like an informal thing or is it like do
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you have to like have your landlord sign something
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or sign something being the owner. Right. No,
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it's pretty informal. Okay. We really just ask
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that the landlord at least reaches out to us
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and can even just give us verbal consent, like
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saying, I'm fine with so -and -so building a
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garden here. Okay. Or send us an email. And then
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if, you know, if the... The gardener doesn't
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feel comfortable. We can also help, like, reach
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out to the landowners as well and get that permission
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from them. Oh, that's so good to know. That's
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so good to know. Yeah, there's so many different
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situations that people have with their landlords,
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property managers, whatever. And, yeah, it could
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be a little, yeah. It's interesting sometimes
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the resistance that you get, you know. Really?
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Yeah, and I think sometimes people have, like,
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misconceptions about what about. about what it
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means to have a garden on your land or just think
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it's going to be an eyesore. And so it's just
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a matter of talking to them and kind of going
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over exactly what we're bringing and what we're
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providing. And so to those landlords, what would
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you say then? I mean, it's just so much more
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than just a garden bed. You're giving people
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access to food, but it also builds community.
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Most of the time when we build a garden, you're
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going to get all the neighbors coming together
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as well and people sharing food. It brings families
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together, and they're beautiful. I think they
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add value to any home, but of course everybody
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has their own opinions. I wonder if some property
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owners feel like it might lessen the property
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value or something like that. I would think it
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would raise the property value myself. Yeah,
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I would think so. I think, you know, the biggest
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worry is, like, who's going to maintain it long
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term? Right. You know. Right. If this tenant
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is gone, what are the next people going to do
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with it? Is this now my responsibility? Right.
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You know, and what happens in those cases? Do
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you stay in touch with that situation? It's like
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a garden bed that y 'all put in. We don't really
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offer to, like, dismantle them, you know, if
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a resident moves. So, yeah, it really is up to
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the property manager what they want to do with
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it. I think in general they usually leave them,
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and most people are happy that there's garden
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beds on their property. But, you know, it is
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up to them ultimately what they want to do with
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it. All right. Right on. Let's see. Now there's
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the veterans program. That's your program. Let's
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talk about that. Yeah. So I'm a veteran. I'm
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a Navy veteran. We have found just over the years
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there's a huge need for veterans to, or just
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really a big interest with veterans in gardening
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and growing food and being self -sustaining and
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also finding ways to be of service to their community
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in a different way when they get out of the military.
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And a lot of veterans face a lot of challenges
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when they get out of the military. And so our
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main priority with the Veterans Program is to
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be there to support them as they're transitioning
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out, reintegrating with their community, looking
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for a new purpose or a new career path. And so
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we have two programs with the Veterans Program,
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primarily around supporting veterans that want
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to get into farming or beekeeping. And so we
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have a number of partners that we work with.
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We have a federal USDA grant that supports our
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Healing Through Hives program. And so our Healing
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Through Hives project supports veterans to start
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a beekeeping business or to learn about beekeeping.
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And so through that project, we're able to support
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veterans through getting them certified. beginning
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all the way up to apprentice beekeepers. We've
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partnered with the Washington State Beekeepers
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Association, WASBA. And so they provide a lot
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of the training and it's free for veterans. So
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we can reimburse folks for any of that training
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and get them signed up, get them registered.
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And then even if they want to keep going and
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go into like journeymen, we can help support
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them through that. And then we also have apiary
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sites that we've set up throughout the state
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because it's a western Washington -wide project.
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So we can support these apiary sites that are
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kind of like community sites for veterans where
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they can go and get hands -on experience working
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with bees before investing in buying their own
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bees and equipment and everything, which can
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be... daunting and expensive yeah and then what
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happens your bees die because you are still learning
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exactly yeah a lot of people just have they feel
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like they have to just jump right in and yeah
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get bees right away and then they have an unsuccessful
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year because it is there's a lot that goes into
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beekeeping successfully especially around here
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in our very wet and cold winters um you know
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it can be really hard to overwinter your bees
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here And so that can be really disheartening,
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you know, especially after you've invested so
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much time and money into it. So having opportunities
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to kind of get that experience first before investing
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in your own bees can be really, really helpful.
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And then those sites also function as like community
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space. So where folks can meet other beekeepers
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and also get connected with really experienced
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beekeepers. And so a big part of our projects
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is also helping to connect beginners with mentors,
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folks that have been farming or beekeeping for
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years and have so much knowledge. And being able
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to learn through their experience instead of
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having to make all your own mistakes can be a
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lifesaver for a lot of people. Yeah, that's kind
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of the gist of our project. So the Healing Through
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Hives one is around beekeeping, and then our
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Shepherds Project is just agriculture -wide.
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So if there's a veteran that just wants to start
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a farm or just learn about farming, they can
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reach out to us, and we kind of work with them
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around their goals, their interests, help connect
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them with resources and education, whatever it
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is they're looking for. and mentorship, and just
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kind of help them along that path. That's awesome.
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Yeah. I'm Rainmaker, and you are listening to
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Resource Report. After a brief message, we will
14:46
be back to hear more from Jenna Kemp, Veterans
14:49
Program Manager at GRUB. or emailing farm at
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goodgrub .org. Welcome back to Resource Report.
15:23
Let's return to my interview with Jenna Kemp,
15:26
Veterans Program Manager at GRUB. I had been
15:36
on this tour with you, and it was the Veterans
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V Tour, and there was something mentioned about
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bee training workshops coming up in May. We are
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now in May. What's up with that? Yeah, so all
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of our APRE sites also host workshops throughout
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the year. So these are opportunities for veterans,
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and most of them are also open to other community
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members, but they're free for veterans, where
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they can get kind of focused education around
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a certain skill or a certain part of beekeeping.
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We have an apiary site here at Grubb on our farm.
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So we just released our workshop schedule for
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the year, starting in May all the way up through
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November, monthly every third Sunday of every
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month. We'll have a beekeeping workshop. So the
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very first one will be May 17th, and we're going
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to be talking about just different... Types of
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hives, different types of beekeeping, how to
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set up your equipment, your supplies, like what
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you need, what a hive consists of, things like
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that. So very basic to start the year off. And
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then, yeah, we have, you know, workshops throughout
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the year that, you know, are seasonal, that make
17:05
sense during that time of year. Okay, and where
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do we find out about those? They are on our website,
17:13
on our, I don't know, we post them on our social
17:17
media. The calendar, the newsletter. Yeah, they
17:21
should be, like, all over the place. Okay. Yeah,
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and people can always reach out directly to us.
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So the veterans program is managed by me, and
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then we also have a veteran projects coordinator
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who's, like, the other half of our team. Alex,
17:39
and you can reach out to either of us. And we're
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just Jenna at goodgrub .org and Alex at goodgrub
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.org. Awesome. You mentioned that the bee training
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program was free for veterans. What is it for
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other community members? We haven't really figured
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that out yet. Okay. Probably a sliding scale.
18:08
Sliding scale? Yeah. Cool. Yeah, payment system.
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And so we just need to stay on top of looking
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out for that information to be posted. Yeah,
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it'll be on our website. Cool. Let's see, and
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then we have the Growing Home Collective. Yeah,
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the Growing Home Collective is one of our newer
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programs here at GRUB. It's a black community
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affinity group. They meet monthly here at Grub,
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and it's really focused on just creating a space
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for Black community members to get together to
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celebrate Black culture and traditions. They
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grow food together. They make and share meals
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together here in the Grub kitchen. kind of field
18:56
trips out in the community, learning about history,
19:00
learning about cultural things. And yeah, it's
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just like a way to celebrate their heritage,
19:08
their culture together in a really safe environment.
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It's multi -generational. It's open to all ages.
19:15
And they do a lot of really awesome events throughout
19:18
the year. The biggest one is probably our Juneteenth
19:22
celebration. And that's actually, One of the
19:26
few events they do that's open to the public,
19:28
it's open to anybody. It'll be here at Grub on
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June 19th, and this is, I think, the third annual
19:37
Juneteenth we'll have here, and they're always
19:40
just incredible. That's awesome. Yes. Cool. And
19:45
then support for educators. Yeah, we actually
19:50
have a lot of resources that we've developed
19:53
over the years to support educators, especially
19:56
folks working with other marginalized youth or
20:01
youth in an outdoor setting or around connecting
20:05
with the land, connecting with food, things like
20:08
that. So we have one of our previous programs
20:12
here. It's called the Wild Food and Medicines
20:15
Program. They started here at Grub. Many years
20:19
ago, they actually moved on from Grub just last
20:22
year. But we still hold the curriculum that they've
20:26
developed, which is the 10 Gather and Grow curriculum
20:29
here. And so we still use that curriculum and
20:33
teach it and host workshops here around wild
20:37
edible plants, medicinal plants, traditional
20:41
teachings around native plants, things like that.
20:45
and kind of like the social -emotional aspect
20:47
of connecting with the land and with the food
20:50
around us and the plants around us. So we have
20:55
a lot of those resources available to other educators
20:58
that want to use that. They can find that here
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at GRUB. This is more of an indigenous kind of...
21:06
Yeah, so while they were developing that curriculum,
21:10
they partnered with a lot of... like elders and
21:14
educators, tribal communities, and, like, plant
21:18
specialists to develop that, all the trainings
21:22
that they provide, the curriculum. And so they
21:26
provide education to other educators around how
21:30
to, like, incorporate those teachings into their
21:34
classrooms or their workshops, things like that.
21:36
That's wonderful. I love it whenever I see, you
21:41
know, indigenous communities sharing knowledge
21:45
it's like that's how the indigenous peoples are
21:49
helping to heal the world is by like bringing
21:53
bringing the rest of us in to that that understanding
21:58
and trying to change people's understandings
22:02
of how we work with the land that we're not separate
22:05
we're part of it yeah yeah a lot of the the trainings
22:08
kind of focus on on that and building a personal
22:12
relationship with the land that's really respectful
22:15
and um yeah we consulted i know the wild food
22:20
and medicines um team consulted with you know
22:24
native elders and and um native tribal communities
22:28
to make sure like they were only sharing you
22:32
know, what was appropriate to share as well.
22:34
So, you know, there's a lot of traditional knowledge
22:36
that they don't want to share. And so we were
22:39
also very respectful of, like, this is stuff
22:43
that we have consent to share with the broader
22:46
community as well. And, you know, they still
22:50
have their sacred, you know, knowledge that they
22:53
keep a little closer, you know, to their communities.
22:58
They keep it safe. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. They
23:02
should keep it safe. Yeah. Not all of us. Right,
23:07
yeah. Non -Indigenous people can handle that.
23:10
Yeah. But the Wild Food and Medicines team, they
23:16
moved on. They're now with another group called
23:18
Tahoma Peak Solutions. And so they still provide
23:24
these trainings as well throughout the state.
23:29
But they also do come to Grubb occasionally and
23:32
offer workshops here as well. In fact, we just
23:36
had one last week. So we still have a partnership
23:40
with them, which is really wonderful. And those
23:42
trainings are incredible if you ever have a chance
23:45
to take some. I recommend it. I've taken a few.
23:50
Cool. Let's see. And then we've got the youth
23:54
programs, Career Pathways. Yeah, so youth programs
24:00
is another one of our really foundational programs
24:03
here at Grubb. At the very beginning, our focus
24:08
was working with young people, specifically youth
24:14
that might have barriers to success or who aren't
24:21
thriving in a traditional school system or have
24:23
dropped out of school or you name it. and are
24:29
just looking for an alternative environment to
24:33
learn and to grow and learn skills, build relationships,
24:38
things like that. And so it's changed a lot over
24:42
the years. This year, we have partnered with
24:47
Pack Mountain, and we are mostly providing career
24:52
support for youth. the ages of 16 to 24, and
25:00
especially youth experiencing barriers to success.
25:05
And we help them either like access paid work
25:10
experiences, which can be at GRUB or with other
25:15
partners in the community. And then just... We
25:20
help them with career development, so we'll work
25:23
with them one -on -one to work on their resumes
25:26
or build a cover letter or interview skills,
25:33
things like that, to just help them along the
25:37
path to meeting their career goals or even helping
25:42
them find their career goals. If they choose
25:47
to get that paid work experience here at the
25:50
Grub, they can work out on the farm and learn
25:54
about growing food, learn other really awesome
25:57
skills about working with other people and things
26:02
that can translate into another career that they're
26:06
interested in. Yeah, that's mainly it. What are
26:12
the age ranges? In general for the youth programs?
26:16
Do you have younger kids? This year, for the
26:21
Pack Mountain work that we're doing, that is
26:25
for between 16 to 24. Okay. So, yeah, younger
26:29
adults almost. But we prioritize working with
26:35
youth who either, like, left high school before
26:39
they graduated or have disability or are low
26:42
income faced homelessness or have been or are
26:48
currently in like the foster care system. Those
26:52
are primarily the youth that we work with here.
26:55
Do you work with any disabled or like if you're
27:01
in school but it wasn't working out so you're
27:04
homeschooling and you know you have like kind
27:08
of a learning disability kind of thing? processing
27:12
issues, anything like that? Do you work with
27:14
that? Yeah, yeah, I think that absolutely would
27:18
qualify, yeah. Cool, good to know. And then that's
27:22
the career pathway, it's the grounded program?
27:26
So grounded, we're not doing grounded this year,
27:31
but in the past few years that was another program
27:35
essentially working with youth on the farm. Okay.
27:38
Just a different. way that we were doing that,
27:42
yeah. Okay, that's still on the website. Yeah,
27:44
with the Thurston County School District. Okay.
27:50
Yeah. So it's not right now, though? Not this
27:53
year. Okay, but it might be. But hopefully it
27:55
will come back. Oh, that's why it's still on
27:57
the website, because you're hoping it will come
27:58
back. Probably. Good, okay. You have food access
28:08
education. Yeah, so as I mentioned, like in addition
28:16
to like the backyard gardens, we also provide
28:19
workshops throughout the year, education throughout
28:22
the year for like our gardener, our garden recipients
28:26
and other community members to learn about gardening,
28:32
about food, you know, cooking, things like that.
28:37
And is that like an organized group? activity
28:40
kind of thing or is that a one -on -one type
28:43
of thing with like individual families or people
28:46
those are usually in a group they're like group
28:49
workshops okay they're monthly um but our garden
28:55
project um does provide like one -on -one support
28:59
as well so say you got a garden this year and
29:03
if you're having issues with like bunnies keep
29:07
eating all my lettuce you know you can call the
29:10
garden project coordinator and say like do you
29:16
have any advice around this and you know if we
29:19
don't have the answers we'll find somebody who
29:21
can help support you know you with that so that's
29:26
something we offer as well throughout the year
29:29
that we're always available. If, if, uh, if somebody
29:33
did not receive a garden bed from you guys, um,
29:38
but like randomly issues growing Brussels sprouts
29:42
or something, you know, people just can call
29:45
you and say, Hey, do you have any advice on how
29:48
I can grow my Brussels sprouts better? People
29:51
do. Yeah. I mean, I would say we're not gardening
29:55
experts either you know we offer um these workshops
30:00
and things like that but um none of us are like
30:03
master gardeners okay sometimes we'll partner
30:06
with you know master gardeners that will come
30:10
and also give workshops or help with that aspect
30:13
um but Yeah, people can always call. You never
30:19
know. But there are probably better resources
30:22
out there as well if you want more expertise
30:25
advice around gardening. Oh, yep, you have a
30:34
community seed shed. Yeah. Talk about that. Yeah,
30:37
so right next to our farm gate, we have a little
30:41
seed shed. We've had it for many, many years.
30:45
We get boxes and boxes of seeds donated to us
30:50
every year from either like big box stores like
30:54
Lowe's, Home Depot, some of the smaller companies
30:58
like Hume Seeds donates a ton of seeds to us.
31:03
Basically, you know, a lot of these stores are
31:06
not able to sell seeds past the first year, even
31:11
though they're still perfectly good and viable.
31:15
they would prefer to at least donate them. We
31:19
keep it nice and stocked, organized. We sort
31:24
all the seeds every spring and restock our shed.
31:30
And yeah, that seed shed is open to the public
31:33
24 -7. You know, the grub farm will be closed,
31:38
but the seed shed is always open, so people can
31:41
stop by any time. Is there, like, maybe a donation
31:44
box if you want to leave a little slip -a -dollar
31:47
bill in there or something? Or if you have a
31:50
ton of seeds that you're not going to use, you
31:52
can also donate those. Awesome. Yeah. Yeah, good
31:56
to know. The market stand, you'll have a market
31:59
stand. Is that the farmer's market? No, so we
32:02
actually do a little market stand right here
32:04
at Grub on the corner of Elliott and Bing, which
32:09
is our little side street here. And we'll set
32:13
up a little market stand most years. And this
32:18
year we are still, I think, planning on it, although
32:20
I don't think the details have been worked out
32:23
quite yet exactly when or what. The big thing
32:27
this year and the big change is that we're actually
32:30
planning on giving almost all our food away this
32:33
year instead of selling it. So most of our food,
32:38
flour, everything will be available for free
32:42
to the community. That's awesome. The free resources
32:46
list, I looked at that free resources list. It
32:49
looks pretty good. Talk about that. Yeah, a lot
32:52
of those are based on the 10 Gather Grow curriculum
32:55
that I talked about earlier. So there are some
33:00
resources developed through that that are available
33:03
for free on our website. Most of those resources
33:08
are for other educators, essentially, that want
33:14
to use some of the educational tools that we
33:16
use here at Grub. The Wild Food and Medicines,
33:20
the curriculum portal is over there. Oh, okay,
33:23
okay. So on that resource list, there is a link
33:25
to the Wild Foods and Medicines. Yeah. And then
33:28
there's also, like, tools around, like, Youth
33:32
Connection Toolkit, so how we connect and work
33:35
with youth here at GRUB. Some of, like, the immune
33:39
and respiratory herb, like, you know, guidance
33:42
on how to teach some of those things. The information
33:49
about the seed shed is there. Yeah. Cool. So
33:55
tell me about your news and events, where and
33:58
how people can keep up with what's going on at
34:00
Grubb. You have a blog, a newsletter, a calendar,
34:03
upcoming events. Yeah, there's so many ways.
34:06
There's so many ways. To learn about what's going
34:09
on at Grubb. Yeah. Yeah, I would say, obviously,
34:12
the best way to keep. Up to date with what we
34:17
have going on is our website. So we have our
34:21
upcoming events page on there that will have
34:25
all our upcoming workshops and events and things
34:29
on there. But we also have like a calendar on
34:33
the website so you can see it more like throughout
34:36
the year. We also have a newsletter and a blog
34:40
on the website. Or, well, you can sign up for
34:43
our newsletter through our website, and that's
34:46
a monthly e -news that goes out. What's the difference
34:50
between the newsletter and the blog? The newsletter
34:54
is probably more up -to -date and more regular.
35:00
It's every month, whereas the blog is... Just
35:05
whenever we decide to make a blog post. So it's
35:08
not on any kind of schedule. Okay. They both
35:13
have different information on them. Yeah. The
35:16
blog is more about, like, highlighting some,
35:21
you know, an event or highlighting a story, you
35:26
know, a success story or something like that.
35:30
So that's more of a way to kind of see, like,
35:33
the outcomes of what we do here at CREB. Newsletters
35:37
is really more to see, like, what we have going
35:40
on month to month. Yeah, like a shout out to
35:45
the community, what's coming up next. Yeah, or
35:48
to celebrate, you know, a board member or, you
35:52
know, highlight someone who's been a great, you
35:56
know, supporter or amazing community member or
35:58
something like that. And then we also have, social
36:03
media pages. So we have Facebook pages, we have
36:07
Instagram. Okay. Those are also great ways to
36:10
stay in touch with what's going on here at Grub.
36:14
Do people ever reach out to y 'all on Facebook
36:18
or Instagram, like a message or a post? Yeah,
36:21
yeah. People either can comment on our posts
36:25
or send us messages through social media and
36:30
ask us questions. Cool. And then you have farm
36:35
tours. I've been on a couple of farm tours, but
36:39
tell me about the farm tours and what do people
36:41
need to know about visiting GRuB? So GRuB is
36:48
open to the public pretty much Monday through
36:53
Friday, 10 to 4 every day. So people can always...
37:01
drop by if you're curious about grub you can
37:03
just drop by but if you want like a more structured
37:08
like farm tour or to learn like more about a
37:13
specific program I would say reach out if you're
37:17
interested in a specific program reach out directly
37:20
to that the contact person on the website to
37:25
get that information for farm tours we do those
37:30
We have our Wednesdays on the farm here, and
37:34
those are every third Wednesday throughout the
37:37
summer. And those are great times to come just
37:42
drop by GRuB. Usually they're in the evening,
37:47
so between like 4 and 7, and you can come and
37:50
drop by. They'll be doing farm tours here. Usually
37:55
we'll have like... Like a workshop or something
37:58
going on that's open to the community on those
38:01
days as well. And more like activities. It's
38:07
more structured. So those are great times to
38:11
come by. You know, if you're just curious about
38:13
learning more about GRuB, the Wednesdays on the
38:15
farm are great. We also just have our drop -in
38:19
volunteer days here every Wednesday from 4 to
38:25
7. and all the way through September. And those
38:32
are times that it's like no barrier, so anybody
38:35
can just stop by if you're interested, can get
38:39
your hands dirty, work out on the farm, and learn
38:43
a little bit more about GRuB and meet the community
38:46
here as well. Cool. I wonder, do you work with
38:54
homeless people at all? It seems like this would
38:58
be a great resource. Yeah, I mean, we're open
39:03
and accessible to anyone. We are on the bus line,
39:07
so we're accessible if you don't have a car.
39:11
I think bus number 41. Okay. We have a bus stop
39:15
just like a block down or right on the corner.
39:21
And we also, in addition to like the backyard
39:25
gardens that we build, we also do support community
39:28
gardens and build community garden spaces. So
39:31
like last year, we actually built community gardens
39:34
at the tiny home villages downtown. So three
39:39
of them. And so, yeah, that's a way to kind of
39:46
support that community that are like. Getting
39:49
out of that, you know, homelessness or wanting
39:53
to still grow food and build that community.
39:57
That's wonderful. That's wonderful. Yeah, and
40:00
they do workshops there throughout the year.
40:04
Cool. But, yeah, anyone is welcome here pretty
40:07
much. That's lovely. That's lovely. Some people
40:12
have companion animals. Are they welcome service
40:17
animals or emotional support? We have a form
40:23
that you can fill out when you get here. So if
40:27
you do want to bring a companion animal on site,
40:31
we just ask that you would fill out that form
40:33
and submit it. And then you should be fine to
40:39
bring your companion animal with you. I know
40:43
on the website you asked that people respect
40:47
that this is a drug -free environment, you know,
40:49
but is it like you have to, if you're going to
40:53
come and work here or volunteer here, is there
40:55
like a drug test or anything like that? No, no,
40:58
not at all. There's no drug test for beyond
41:03
the drop -in volunteer, So that's a no -barrier
41:07
volunteer opportunity. Some of our other volunteer
41:11
opportunities, we do require a background check.
41:17
And so that's a more formal way of volunteering.
41:22
We have an application on our website if you
41:25
wanted to become a volunteer beyond those drop
41:30
-in hours. But that's really... the only requirement
41:35
as some some people um have like medical cannabis
41:40
needs you know for anxiety or pain things like
41:44
that and so they're not using re-creationally
41:47
how would that fit in this scope yeah um so we
41:52
don't really um We're not going to drug test
41:55
or anything like that. It's more about, like,
41:58
using on our site. Okay. Primarily because we
42:02
have youth, young people here on site. And so
42:05
we do require that there's no drug use happening
42:10
on site while you're here. Okay. But beyond that,
42:13
what you do in your home or, yeah, is... So the
42:24
online shop, the online store, and the Bouquet
42:30
Shares. We've talked about the market stand,
42:32
but talk about the online shop there. Yeah, we
42:37
have a small online store on our website. It's
42:41
not a ton on there right now, but there are a
42:45
few things that we kind of sell all the time.
42:48
Some resources like our gardening guide. Yeah,
42:54
some of the like wild food and medicines, like
42:58
books and educational tools are on there. The
43:04
plant teaching book, which is an amazing resource.
43:09
Yeah, like toolkits, educational material. That's
43:13
primarily what's on our online store. And then
43:18
like we have a manual if you wanted to start
43:21
your own. garden building project. Um, we teach
43:25
about like how we build our gardens and the process
43:28
that we go through. Are those your publications
43:31
or those books by others that you sell? Those
43:34
are ours. Oh, cool. Cool. And that's the only
43:38
place to find those. Okay. Yeah. The garden project
43:43
stuff is, I think, um, Wild Food and Medicines,
43:46
they sell their materials, um, through their
43:50
own website as well and probably in other stores.
44:00
And what are Bouquet Shares? So for the past
44:06
few years, instead of doing a produce CSA at
44:11
the farm, we do bouquet shares. And so folks
44:16
have been able to buy a share and get a weekly
44:22
bouquet throughout the summer, a flower bouquet.
44:26
And so that's been... Oh, it's like buying into
44:29
something. So when we say share, we're talking
44:32
the financial kind of term of share rather than
44:35
we're passing bouquets around to each other.
44:40
No, yeah, so that refers to the CSA, so Community
44:45
Supported Agriculture. So anybody that's not
44:49
familiar with that, it's basically any small
44:52
local farm. Most of them will have a CSA that
44:56
you can purchase, and they call it a farm share.
44:59
And you purchase them early on in the season,
45:03
and then you'll get either weekly or biweekly
45:07
a share of the produce that's been harvested
45:12
throughout the summer. And it's really based
45:16
on just what they happen to be harvesting or
45:19
have growing. So it changes throughout the season.
45:26
kind of makes me think of i get these ads in
45:28
my mailbox um it's it's it's a food box thing
45:32
and yeah you know you you sign up for this subscription
45:35
and you get a box of food delivered that's essentially
45:38
what it is it's a subscription okay okay um yeah
45:42
and so we were doing that for several years on
45:46
our farm um the produce CSA's um but we found
45:50
that it actually was just a lot of pressure,
45:54
especially on the youth that were working on
45:56
the farm. We really want this space to be more
45:59
like an educational space. And so we decided
46:04
to stop doing the produce CSA, but we still,
46:08
we instead started the bouquet CSA. And so people
46:14
could sign up for that and get a bouquet every
46:18
week in the summer. So they're beautiful. There's
46:21
usually one or two of the youth or the farm crew
46:25
that, like, make that kind of their passion project.
46:30
And they learn about how to make beautiful bouquets,
46:34
flower arrangements. And they, you know, harvest
46:38
the flowers, arrange them, and will have them
46:45
ready for pickup weekly. People can come and
46:48
get them. They're really beautiful. We grow great
46:51
flowers here at GRuB. So I don't know if it's
46:54
been decided if that will still be available
46:56
this year or not. We're a little late in the
46:59
season kind of, now. We just hired a farm manager,
47:04
our new farm manager here. So we're a little
47:07
behind in the season this year. We really need
47:12
help on the farm. But it might be. So, yeah,
47:18
keep an eye out if you look at our website or
47:21
get our newsletter if those become available.
47:25
Speaking of needing some help here at GRuB, talk
47:28
about how people can get involved, volunteering,
47:31
having a job, donating. Yeah, there's tons of
47:35
ways. Obviously, volunteering is a super important.
47:42
um, aspect of how we engage with the community
47:44
here. Um, like I said, we have those volunteer
47:47
drop -in days every Wednesday from 4 to 7
47:50
throughout the summer. Um, that's a great way
47:54
if you're just curious, that's no barrier. You
47:57
can just drop in, stay as long as you want, um,
48:00
get a feel for the farm. What are some things
48:03
that volunteers can do like specifically? Usually
48:07
I think every week, um, there's, you know, kind
48:11
of two or three tasks that, you know, are most
48:14
important for that week that folks can choose
48:18
from. But yeah, there's always weeding. That
48:22
never ends. Always weeding tasks often might
48:29
need help, like sorting seeds or seeding or planting
48:35
starts or harvesting, when we get to that point
48:40
and then sometimes we'll have bigger projects
48:43
like preparing a site for like a shed, or we had
48:52
a huge like volunteer group that came out and
48:54
helped us build a trail like throughout the farm
48:57
like a nice paved trail to make it more accessible
49:02
so throughout the year we usually have like projects
49:05
like that to kind of make the farm more accessible
49:09
or just beautify it. Managing the compost? Yeah,
49:15
managing the compost is a big one too. We have
49:17
a really awesome composting site here. And then
49:23
in addition to that, like I said, we have our
49:26
volunteer application on our website, so if you want to
49:33
do something more specific like we also rely
49:36
on volunteers to help with like a lot of our
49:38
events or even in the farmhouse like doing admin
49:42
work or helping with like our computers or you
49:47
know whatever people.. skills people have like
49:50
there's always a way that you can fit into GRuB
49:55
we have folks that are amazing cooks and want
49:58
to prepare a meal for an event here, or for the
50:03
youth when they're here. So there's, yeah, just
50:07
a million ways that you could get involved at
50:10
GRuB. That's cool. Can you explain to me more
50:13
about the accessibility you mentioned putting
50:15
in a path? Yeah, we've been working over the
50:19
years to make GRuB more accessible for folks.
50:23
So, yeah, we had an amazing group of volunteers
50:27
come and build, like, a pathway throughout the
50:31
farm, so even folks using a wheelchair could
50:35
easily access different parts of the farm. And
50:43
we built a ramp to get up into the farmhouse
50:46
last year. So those have been really awesome
50:50
to give people easier access to us. And we really
50:56
try to accommodate people here as well. So if
50:59
you have a specific need, let us know and we
51:04
will find ways to accommodate you. That's good
51:08
to know. Yeah. That's good to know. We want to
51:11
make it as accessible as possible. Awesome. And
51:14
if you see that things are missing, we want to
51:17
hear about that as well. Thank you. And what
51:21
jobs are currently available? I don't think we
51:25
have any openings currently. Okay. Just need
51:29
a lot of volunteers right now. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
51:33
And then how can people donate? And what can
51:36
they donate? Yeah. We accept all kinds of donations.
51:40
Our website is probably the best way to donate.
51:45
So, yeah, money. Right now we're actually having
51:48
a big auction. That's opening on the 9th and
51:53
goes through the 16th. It's kind of the biggest
51:56
auction of the year to help us fundraise. And
51:59
we get local artists and business owners and
52:03
community members that donate all kinds of things,
52:07
like awesome experiences or works of art or cool,
52:12
like, toolkits or, you know, you name it. You
52:15
can find pretty much anything on there. Donating
52:19
cool experiences? Yeah, like one of the things
52:23
I saw was donated this year was like a kayaking
52:26
trip. Oh, wow. You know, stays at like a dome
52:32
house out in Hoodsport. Okay. Yeah, so things
52:37
like that are available. I think one of the things
52:40
we're going to offer this year is also like a
52:42
group dinner at Grub. That was prepared by the
52:46
GRuB staff. And, yeah, that will work with you
52:50
to plan and schedule and will help, like, facilitate
52:54
the whole thing. Wow. Yeah. So there's lots of
52:58
things like that. So that's opening this Friday.
53:03
Okay, cool. Yeah. What are some other upcoming
53:08
events that you have right now? We have so much
53:11
coming up. Like I said, the auction, that's this
53:16
coming week. We have a cool games training coming
53:21
up just next week. So a big part of GRuB, like
53:26
when we have events or gatherings here, we like
53:29
to play games. They're just great ways to make
53:32
people feel a little looser, and you know, ready to interact
53:38
more and engage more with each other. It's a
53:41
great way to get to know each other. And so we
53:45
host a games training every year for educators
53:49
or people that work in other nonprofits or in
53:52
organizations and want to incorporate games into
53:55
their work. We kind of teach how we incorporate
54:01
games here at GRuB. That's cool. It's really
54:05
fun. It is. So that's coming up. That's next
54:08
Friday. Other big events that we have coming
54:11
up, the Wednesdays on the farms are starting
54:15
now, or pretty soon. Like I said, the third Wednesday
54:18
of every month throughout the summer. And then
54:25
we have our Juneteenth event, which is on Juneteenth,
54:29
on the 19th of June. In the summer, in July,
54:34
we'll have our carnival. which is an annual event
54:37
we have here. It's literally just a ball of laughs.
54:44
It's just we have performers come, and we'll
54:50
have food and face painting, and it's more geared
54:53
for families. Kind of like a little fair. Yeah,
54:56
it's like a little mini fair right here at the
54:58
GRuB Farm. Cool. So that's really fun. And then
55:03
our big kind of fundraising event in the fall
55:07
is our soiree, our harvest soiree, that's in
55:11
September, September 9th this year. And those
55:16
always sell out early, so if you're interested.
55:19
But we always have an amazing chef that comes
55:22
and prepares a delicious meal with food from
55:26
the farm, usually. Yeah, it's kind of our fancy
55:31
dinner of the year, event of the year. So those
55:35
are the big ones. But, yeah, looking on our website,
55:38
there's... And the bee trainings are coming up
55:40
on May 17th, you said? Yeah. Cool. Cool. The
55:44
third Sundays of every month until all the way
55:48
up to November. Wow. Wow, yeah. Yeah. Cool. Is
55:53
there anything else you would like to share?
55:57
Gosh. Really just, we'd love to have people come
56:02
and learn more about GRuB from us. There's no
56:05
better way to learn about GRuB than just come
56:08
and see it for yourself. Check us out, meet us,
56:12
see the farmhouse, see the farm, get your hands
56:16
dirty, get some food, get some seeds, or eat
56:21
a raspberry from a raspberry patch. So yeah,
56:25
just reach out, drop by. People are always welcome.
56:31
Yeah. And we just love to see people here. That's
56:35
the most important thing. Yeah. Well, thank you,
56:39
Jenna. Yeah, you're welcome. Thanks for having
56:42
me. I really enjoyed meeting with Jenna and going
56:51
over all the things to do with GRuB. To get involved,
56:54
visit www .goodgrub .org. and you can sign up
57:00
for the newsletter. You can also call 360 -753
57:05
-5522 or drop by 2016 Elliott Avenue NW, located
57:13
in Westside Olympia. That's it for today's resource
57:16
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57:21
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