I was knocking back wheatgrass shots with an orange juice chaser at seven. We lived in a vegan commune. A stones throw from the Santa Barbara coast.
For a kid in the eighties used to Twinkies and Skippy peanut butter, it was quite a shock.
Still, I grew to love the freedom of running around the beach, unfettered and learning to help grow, cook and eat food in a communal environment.
Everyday, fruits and vegetables would be sorted, washed and reborn into steaming pots of vegetable soup left to simmer on an old cast-iron stove. On the butcher block wheat burritos would be rolled and stuffed with brown rice and beans.
In retrospect, the only major downfall of the commune-life was the lunatic guru.
These days I’m not a traditional hippie or even a moderate one. I shop locally for my fruit and vegetables at Top of the Hill Market in the Highlands. If I have a hankerin’ for a wheatgrass shot in Renton, I’m outta luck.
I still have an affinity for the sensory details of my commune experience. Things like Birkenstocks, hemp tunics, Volvos, patchouli — in moderation. But mostly the wholesome food we would grow, cook and eat together.
How else to explain my desire to create an community farm in Renton — acreage where kids and adults could enjoy nature and a community garden —without the power-hungry guru!
My husband Paul was horrified. “Where are you going to get the land?”
“I’ll find someone to donate it,” I chirped.
He lifted his eyebrows.
“People do wacky-good deeds all the time.”
“Who’s going to run this farm? We have four kids and your writing?” My husband has always been my No. 1 supporter.
I cleared my throat, his wild eyes darting around piles of laundry as high as desert termite mounds around our house.
“Mom will be the onsite coordinator … ” I reasoned.
But even my mom wasn’t too crazy about the idea of living in a mud hut made from cow dung.
Fortunately, my mom discovered The Just Garden Project. If I couldn’t own a farm, I could write about it.
So I invited Stephanie Seliga, the creator and coordinator of The Just Garden Project, to meet me at Liberty Café in downtown Renton.
“The comment was made that we keep everything cool in Seattle,” Stephanie said.
“So this spring the Just Garden program will build 10 free gardens for low- income families and communities as well as organize more than 500 volunteers at more than 30 sites throughout King County.
Three of the free gardens will be built in Renton. I offered to host one of them at my house. Come summer time these beds will yield highly nutritious organic food for local families.
“March 12th is your build day,” Stephanie said. “Encourage friends and neighbors to come. …These celebrations create a sense of community. Pulling weeds together is a great equalizer.”
I was saying goodbye to Stephanie when Mike, the owner of Liberty Café, waltzed in. He was sporting his signature pony-tail dreads and Sinatra inspired hat.
Mike told us about an organization called Sustainable Renton and a neighborhood association that’s in the process of organizing a community garden. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one yearning for community gardens in Renton.
I love suggestions! If you know of people or places in Renton that surprise, delight and inspire the community, drop me a line at carolyn@pippimamma.com. Also follow Carolyn on her blog, www.pippimamma.com.
Here’s more
Seattle University is developing a Sustainable Urban Agricultural Project in Renton. An information meeting is at 10 a.m. today (March 11) at Metro’s wastewater treatment plant on Monster Road in Renton. Food raised will go to food banks.
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