by Davi Koszka of Olympia Power and Light

On April 25 over 80 people packed the Olympia City Council Chambers. Community members of all sorts had taken every last chair and the walls around the chambers were lined with those that could sit on the ground or stand, as TJ Johnson of Sustainable South Sound, and Jennifer Kenny, Associate City Planner of the City of Olympia, introduced themselves and the agenda for the evening.

Johnson’s organization and Kenny’s department teamed up to host a review of how the city approaches urban agriculture in its planning, ordinances, and comprehensive planning. Urban agriculture is the practice of growing, processing and distributing food in urban and peri-urban environments and can involve livestock, arboriculture, or aquaculture. The City of Olympia had sent out a call to seek community input into its efforts and to help Olympia catch up to the national trend.

Johnson and Kenny outlined the evening: discussion on additions and changes to the comprehensive plan, discussion of barriers to successful urban agricultural development in Olympia, and solutions and ideas to bring forward to the planning commission. The room divided into small breakout groups, in which greeners, peaceniks, local community volunteers, transition town-ers and dystopians all teamed up to discuss what is to be done with urban ag (as it was affectionately called at the meeting) in Oly.

Sample ideas were introduced from Philly, Baltimore, and Seattle – city supported farmer’s markets, achieving access to fresh and local food within 10 minutes of most peoples’ homes and farming vacant lots are among the policies being implemented across the US. The groups were set loose and the buzz filled the room and everyone set out to dream up the Olympia they want to farm…and harvest.

Olympia citizenry showed their no-holds-barred approach to getting fresh and local food into the hands of their neighbors, listing problems that limit their ability to grow and keep their food supply local. Most discussed administrative hassle: the single most important thing that the City of Olympia could do to address urban ag needs is make codes and regulation accessible and easy to understand. Beyond accessibility issues, there are challenges with setbacks – one woman pointed out that if she were to adhere to all property line setback regulations for her chicken coop it would have to be inside her house. Additionally, zoning laws prevent someone with agricultural zoning to sell veggies from their property, residentially zoned properties cannot grow food products that will be sold and cannot be sold from the property. All in all we, as a city are not set up for this.

As in all things Olympia, creativity flowed freely. When asked about his reaction to the meeting, Johnson commented on the energy of the 80 plus people in the room, “I am really excited! We can get a lot done if we put our minds to it.”

Participants listed many ideas: allowing vacant lots to be gardened without liability to the owner who may not live locally, incentivizing roof-top gardens on apartments, requiring food productions space in all new developments, and levying impact fees that would be set aside for farm land conservation inside the county. Others requested the city focus on Puget Sound as a viable food source and dedicate resources to regeneration of the toxic waters.

What seems required is that City of Olympia planners and developers think creatively about how to allow for increased food sovereignty in Thurston County. Johnson adds, “There are a couple categories of next steps. Some of these things will be quick and painless to implement. Some of these wont be able to be done in 2012. We need to do what we can in the short-term and keep the momentum up in the long-term.”

To that end, the next stop for most of the urban agriculture recommendations generated is the Land Use and Environment Committee. Anyone interested in urban agriculture and the development of city policy is welcome to attend the next committee meeting May 24^th at 5:30pm at City Hall.

If you are interested in getting email updates regarding the development of urban agriculture in Olympia, you can email Associate City Planner, Jennifer Kenny at jkenny@ci.olympia.wa.us or TJ Johnson at tjjohnson@scattercreek.com and be added to the distribution list for email announcements and updates.

Sustainable South Sound is now proud to be a new Business Alliance For Local Living Economies member (BALLE).  Since 2001 BALLE has been supporting local economies through helping to provide organizational support for it’s 80 community networks  representing over 22,000 member local businesses around the following principals:

BALLE’S Guiding Principles

• Think Local First: BALLE builds Local Living Economies by buying locally produced food, products and services, by putting our capital to work through local investments, and by supporting local arts and independent local media. Thinking local first improves the health of the environment, strengthens community, and contributes to functional democracy.
• Increase Self-Reliance: BALLE works to increase personal, community and regional security by building entrepreneurial capacity to produce basic needs like food, water and energy as close to home as possible. Self-reliance increases local resilience, saves energy and creates a foundation for world peace.
• Share Prosperity: BALLE shares prosperity, understanding that the fair and equitable distribution of resources is critical to the quality of life we seek. We provide meaningful living wage jobs, create opportunities for broad-based business ownership, engage in fair trade, and expect living returns from our capital.
• Build Community: BALLE builds community through local economic exchange, connecting producers with consumers, investors with entrepreneurs, and lenders with borrowers. Community life creates a sense of place and belonging that promotes security and happiness. Collaboration, cooperation, and fair trade between communities create a human-scale architecture for a sustainable global society.
• Work with Nature: BALLE seeks to integrate our activities with natural systems in order to create real and lasting prosperity. Every decision we make affects the vitality of our ecosystem, the health of all species and the availability of the resources that support life.
• Celebrate Diversity: BALLE celebrates and nurtures the natural diversity of the human family, ecosystems and economies. Diversity increases resilience, propels innovation, cultivates peace, and fosters beauty and joy.
• Measure What Matters: BALLE measures success by the things that really matter to us — knowledge, creativity, relationships, health, consciousness and happiness — rather than continuous material growth. We employ business metrics that support this philosophy such as Living Wages, Living Returns, and the Triple Bottom Line.

Sustainable South Sound is excited to take advantage of all the resources BALLE has to offer and to use the tools and network to create local resiliency here in the South Sound region.  Currently, our Buy Local Program director Marie Poland is attending the annual BALLE conference in Grand Rapids, MI and we are excited to give a full report back to our members on her return.

Friday, October 14 – Washington Center 5pm – 9pm, 512 Washington St. SE

As part of Come to the Table: The Food Summit, we are hosting a potluck in the streets of downtown Olympia. Building on the tradition of Table for Olympia, we are inviting people from all over the South Sound to have a seat. Following the meal, we invite you to join us inside the Washington Center to be inspired by the words of Mark Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty and Food Rebels, Guerilla Gardeners, and Smart Cookin’ Mamas: Fighting Back in an Age of Industrial Agriculture.

The potluck begins at 5pm on Washington Street between 5th and Legion. We’ll have a large tent, along with tables and chairs. Bring some food to share from our local bounty, a serving utensil, and a note that will describe your dish (including possible allergens: nuts, gluten, dairy, etc.). We ask that you bring your own plate and utensils to limit waste.

At 7pm, the speaking event will begin inside the Washington Center with an opening statement from the Mayor, followed by keynote speaker Mark Winne.

Visit our Facebook event page and see who’ll be attending, add comments and invite more friends—this event is free and open to all. So, come to the table, make some friends, and get inspired to participate in our local food system!

Saturday, September 17 – Kiwanis Capitol Food Bank Garden 4:30pm, 212 Maple Park

Slow Food Greater Olympia “Take Back the Value Meal – $5 Challenge” event following a 2- 4 pm work-party at the Kiwanis Capitol Campus Food Bank Garden. Feel free to attend just the work-party or just the meal or both, if your schedule permits. Please register for the meal.

You will receive information about what to bring including the approved recipes for our meal. We are asking each family to prepare one of the four menu items listed*, or if you prefer, bring low cost non-alcoholic drinks, homemade breads or offer assistance with set-up, serving and clean-up. Please let us know your preference before the day of the event.

For more information, visit our event website. The phone number for the event is: 360-786-9775

* If you select the gratin or casserole you can harvest the produce needed at the Kiwanis Garden on Thursday, Sept 15 at 7pm. Please bring your recipe so you can harvest the items you will need.

(Please bring your own plates, glasses, silverware and folding chairs.)

Friday, September 23 – Traditions Cafe 7pm, The Real Dirt on Farmer John

Join SSS in our support of The Community Sustaining Fund (CSF). Make plans to attend this wonderful film, share good food and meet a few more people in your community. View the event poster

Saturday, September 10 – Tumwater Timberland Library 12-1pm, for adults

Debra Daniels-Zeller author of The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook – Learn about local farms and farmers’ markets. View the event poster

Thursday, September 22 – Lacey Timberland Library 12-1pm, for adults

Local, Sustainable and Delicious – Enjoy a sampling of dishes showcasing food from the local area while learning about alternativesto industiralized food production systems. View the event poster.

Thursday, September 22 – Olympia Timberland Library 7:30-8:45pm, for adults

Explore 50 delicious wild foods that thrive along the Pacific Coast! You’ll discover how to sustainably harvest wild and weedy greens, trees, ferns, berries, flowers, mushrooms, seaweed and shellfish. Kayaking and foraging guide Jennifer Hahn’s slideshow is inspired by her new book “Pacific Feast: A Cook’s Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine.” A book signing will follow. View the event on the Timberland Regional Library site.

Wednesday, September 28 – Olympia Timberland Library 7:30-9pm, for adults

Join us for a discussion of “Food Rebels, Guerilla Gardeners, and Smart-Cookin’ Mamas.” Mark Winne, the book’s author, will join the discussion viea speaker phone! Register for this program in person at the Olympia Timberland Library Information Desk. View the event poster.