Tilth Alliance is a beloved Petal+Bramble nonprofit. Tilth’s mission involves building community among Washington State farmers, gardeners, and eaters to help reduce food insecurity and mitigate climate change.
I discovered Tilth Alliance (formerly Seattle Tilth) when I was contemplating shedding my lawyer skin – giving up a 30-year professional career, a law firm, and an amazing law partner – in search of something new. What exactly I was searching for, I did not know. What I did know was I wanted to do meaningful, work, to serve. As part of my search process, I looked inward, considering everything I care deeply about outside my family and friends. The list is long and includes woman’s rights, child and family welfare, food insecurity, health, our environment, and criminal justice reform.
Urban farming caught my attention because it hits on food insecurity, the environment, health, and equity (a key to criminal justice reform). I envisioned converting an underused, forgotten, or abandoned urban space into a community farm, a verdant space for kids and families to grow healthy, sustainable food, and learn the nuts and bolts of agriculture. Healthy, delicious food begins on farms, which are in short supply in the city. I envisioned an educational resource and community space to help urban dwellers better understand where their food comes from. A key goal was to give city kids a chance to dig in the dirt, learn what worms do to regenerate soil and grow real food. Naively I thought this was a novel idea, but then I discovered Tilth Alliance, a well-established and well-loved organization doing exactly what I envisioned.
Jumping in with both feet, I joined Tilth’s board of directors several years ago only to find the organization suffering financially and in search of a new executive director. Fast forward to now, with those issues resolved, Tilth is a thriving organization, executing on its mission through a pandemic.
Last Spring in the midst of Covid-19, my daughter Flannery, came home (like every college student in the country) to finish her freshman year at Pitzer College online. She was naturally worried about the world’s ability to recover from the pandemic and closer to home, her own summer-job prospects.
Pitzer College offers grant money that allows students to explore unpaid opportunities, ensuring students have access to meaningful experiences without the concern of getting paid. Flannery applied and was awarded a Pitzer grant, which allowed her to serve as an unpaid summer intern with Tilth, and it supercharged her life.
Flannery spent her summer primarily at Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands (RBUFW) in South Seattle. During the pandemic, the work at RBUFW has been truncated, but it still fulfills my urban farm vision with learning gardens, a farm stand, and the “good-food-bag” (GFB) program. A missing piece, for now, is classroom learning and community meals.
I collaborated with Flannery to share her story about her summer internship experience to help highlight Tilth’s mission.
Mom Q: You spent much of your summer at RBUFW working in the fields, at the food stand, and helping run Tilth’s GFB program – what is the GFB program?
Flannery A: It’s a food outreach initiative focused on providing fresh and inexpensive/free fruits and vegetables to families and elders in need. Tilth generally gets its produce from local farms near the greater Seattle area, and throughout Washington. Tilth’s intent is to look for nearby farmers to ensure the freshest possible produce. Tilth prioritizes procuring from farmers of color and women farmers. On packing and distribution days, the GFB program volunteers, together with Tilth staff, fill bags with produce to distribute to food support programs such as Best Start For Kids, Meals on Wheels, and Seattle Public Pre-Schools. During non-pandemic times Tilth delivers GFBs directly to pre-schools. Each bag includes organic seasonal produce and a recipe card. Over the summer our team produced 14,886 GFBs. This year especially the produce has been a lifeline for many families.
Mom Q: Who at RBUFW are you most inspired by?
Flannery A: This is a tough question because while working at Tilth I had the opportunity to get to know many inspiring and talented people. If I had to pick the one person who inspired me the most, it would be my manager at RBUFW, Kerri. Kerri has worked with food outreach programs for much of her career and she shared her insights regarding food access and the value of supporting local farmers. Her stories fueled my interest in working to reduce food deserts and helping families’ access healthy food. Kerri’s consistent dedication to improving the health and well-being of people in need is incredibly inspiring both in terms of improving communities and individual families. Another big inspiration was Suze the head of Tilth’s farming and farm education program. Her work is inspiring as she is either tirelessly planting and harvesting vegetables or she is teaching the local youth about the importance of farming and the benefits of eating healthy fruits and vegetables.
Mom Q. You also helped run the Tilth Farm Stand – tell me about that.
Flannery A: This summer was the first-ever farm stand. Tilth’s intent was to provide access to local produce while at the same time integrating the community back into RBUFW. This was fascinating to experience, I had to rely on many diverse skills from implementing COVID-19 protocols, encouraging positive energy, and patience to setting-up and dismantling. As an organizational studies major, I learned so much watching Tilth’s process of running the farm stand and creating a fully operational business. I understand that the Farm Stand sold $74,000 worth of produce during this first season!
I love knowing how much Flannery learned and grew during her summer with Tilth. Check-out what Tilth is doing right now at http://www.tilthalliance.org.
Stephanie Daley-Watson is a retired corporate lawyer, spouse, and mother of two newly adult children. Stephanie spent nearly 30 years practicing law and is focusing (along with her husband Christopher) on making the world a better place over the next 30. She is a newly minted wellness coach focusing on healthy aging. Stephanie is an avid cyclist, lifelong learner, and novelty seeker.