||| FROM ROGER ELLISON for SAN JUAN ISLAND GRANGE |||
San Juan Island Grange enthusiastically endorses a yes vote to renew the Land Bank.
Starting our own farm has been a dream of the Grange for quite some time, and we are grateful to the Land Bank for helping us make this dream a reality. The Grange can now offer land for growing food at Overmarsh Farm Commons on Land Bank land along Roche Harbor Road near town. We offer small plots of land in a community garden, larger plots for commercial food production, and livestock grazing opportunities, along with educational guidance on practices that use water sparingly and improve soil health. Thanks to the Land Bank we can offer land to those who would be priced out of a strictly private real estate market.
San Juan Island Grange is a membership organization of 250 growers, makers and keepers with the mission to foster a more resilient local community and economy, especially concerning food. We offer public apple juice pressings, and we loan out equipment such as dehydrators and egg hatchers. We have conducted workshops on mason bees, food preservation, bokashi composting, fruit tree grafting, and seed saving. Our booth at the farmers market has been a source for local produce, brought in by Grange member growers.
With the help of the Land Bank, we expect the farmers market to offer more produce, for more families to have gardens, and for the island to be more resilient and food secure in case of emergencies.
Please, for the sake of local farms and food, vote yes to renew the Land Bank.
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