During the pandemic our community and nation stepped up to help those hit hardest by lost wages. Between stimulus checks, increased unemployment, free meals for school-aged children, a temporary boost in food stamp benefits, new community networks, and the eviction moratorium, some of our regular shoppers were able to get by without needing the food … More How has the Covid pandemic impacted the food bank?
Whidbey Island’s own Eli Adadow of Ancient Earth Building built a cob oven for the Good Cheer Garden … More A Wood-Fired Pizza Oven
Hello everyone, my name is Dodi and I am the new AmeriCorps VISTA summer associate serving at the good cheer food bank. I graduated from South Whidbey high school and I have been living in Oregon for the past few years and going to school. Growing up my mother used to make a savory breakfast … More An Abundance of Fava Beans
Happy Spring everyone! Slowly but surely it’s starting to warm up, the nettles are sprouting, and it looks like the sun has returned. It’s still early though, and now is the time for pruning your fruit trees! Fruit Tree Pruning Pruning is an integral part of caring for your trees, and it can seem like … More Springing into 2020
An Interview with one of the Original Gleaners Part Two Could you give me a brief introduction as to who you are and how you joined The Gleaners? Well, I’m Nancy Hepp. I came into this because Margaret Moore and A.T. Birmingham Young were both very dear friends of mine and sometime maybe in February … More We wanted everyone to be smiling
“It was kind of an experiment that evolved” An Informal Interview With One of the Original Gleaners Part One The Gleeful Gleaners of South Whidbey is a living organism, brought to life by a group of determined and passionate humans with a shared ideology of sustainable food and healthy living. I have the title of … More How the Gleaners got so Gleeful
There’s no doubt that it’s been a strange and challenging year. According to the Seattle Weather Blog, we’re having an unusually wet July but the overall rainfall for the year is at around half the normal amount. We’ve been hearing from tree owners all around the island that their apples are falling, which means it’s … More Apples and Pears and Plums, Oh My!
Hi my name is Hannah, and I am your new AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate at the Good Cheer Food Bank. I am a part of the gleaning crew, an enthusiastic new community outreach team member, and another friendly face encouraging you to volunteer. Six years ago I traded in Clinton WA 98236 for Clinton Washington … More Always always always in Clinton Washington
I meant to have this newsletter/blog post/update out about two weeks ago, but then baby goats started hatching all over the island and I’ve been busy. Snuggling baby goats is a full time job while it lasts. But they’re big enough now to start climbing up on the walls and taunting any silly English knnnnighuts … More It’s Baby Goat Season Y’all!
Happy Spring Summer! Fruit trees are blooming (or just finishing) all over the island, so it’s time to talk about our least favorite creatures – pests! While there are plenty of beneficial insects, including some you may not even realize are helping around the garden, there are a few that will ruin your next apple … More Pest Control to Major Tom…
Good Cheer Food Bank Garden 