YAY: Olympia Urban Farms

The growing local food movement got a boost from the City of Olympia last week when City Council passed the Urban Agriculture ordinance. Residents can now raise ducks and female chickens (no crowing roosters!), rabbits and miniature goats.

Dear Friends of Sustainability,

Sustainable South Sound is seeking a dynamic leader to direct the organization for the next year, and potentially longer, by announcing the position of Director. The position is now open for applications through January 14.

Please help us attract the best candidates for this work by forwarding the attached position description to people who you think could excel in moving the work of SSS forward – leading in the fulfillment of our mission to create sustainable community through education, advocacy, action and celebration, supporting successful programs, and building capacity to do even more in the future.

We see this excellent opportunity with Sustainable South Sound as a major advancement for the work of creating sustainability in our community.

Thank you for your support.

See job posting on craigslist or in PDF form.

You’ll Love This Eclectic Festival

Love Our Local Fest is a celebration of what Olympia has to offer: music, food, flowers and produce, handmade goods, gardens, organizations working for community betterment and – in true Olympia style – all things quirky and do-it-yourself. Read More:

Meeting Draws Urban Agriculture Advocates

by David Koszka 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.

Read More

Community Food Summit Promotes Growing, Eating Locally

John Dodge, Staff writer
Published August 19, 2011

Olympia – The cucumber harvest is in full swing at Sunbreak Farm at Overhulse Road and 17th Avenue Northwest. Aaron Varadi does most of the harvesting. Then his wife, Kandi Bauman-Varadi, takes over to do the pickling, adding garlic, dill and peppers also grown at the farm to create a locally grown food product available at the two Olympia Food Co-op stores.

Read more: http://www.theolympian.com/2011/08/19/1765577/to-grow-and-eat-locally.html#ixzz1VZt22qoY

Community Dreams of Feeding Itself - Activist learns helpful lessons from community garden

By Steve Brown
January 27, 2011

OLYMPIA — Many communities across the West are dealing with food-related hardships: agricultural land under pressure from urban growth, increasing numbers of people looking to food banks for help, farmers struggling to pay their bills.

In Thurston County, Wash., food activists are gaining momentum in their efforts to develop urban agriculture to defuse these crises and become more self-sufficient in their food supply. READ THE FULL ARTICLE