Growing for Good Week in Seattle Farmers Markets

Oct 1

2 min read

If you visited a Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Market in early September, you may have met our team tabling for Growing for Good Week! We visited six markets across Seattle and chatted with over 400 community members about the role of farms in hunger relief. Shoppers also met farmers in the program and won Farm Bucks by completing a market scavenger hunt.

Two girls wearing Growing for Good T-shirts standing behind an informational booth at a farmer's market in Seattle. — The GFG team tabling at the Lake City Farmers Market for 2026 Growing for Good Week

Growing for Good is powered by community donations, so we want people to see the farms they support and the impact of their giving on neighboring hunger relief organizations. Farmers markets are also a great chance to introduce new people to the program and explain how rounding up at the register at PCC makes a difference.

The Ripple Effects of Growing for Good

If you weren’t able to stop by during Growing for Good Week, a recent PCC Sound Consumer article by Rebekah Denn illustrates the ripple effects of farm to food bank contracts. Of the $1.3 million the program has distributed since 2020, 95% of funds came from PCC shoppers and individual donors. The article visits two farms to show what these funds look like in practice.

Kirsop Farm, one of the program’s first participants, shared that Growing for Good now accounts for about 20% of the business. Steady, up front payments each spring helped the farm build a processing facility for chicken, a valuable protein for hunger relief organizations.

Farmers Genine and Colin of Kirsop Farm stand in their field with a tractor in the background — Genine Bradwin and Colin Barricklow of Kirsop Farms

At OJ's Produce, owner Cania Lee shifted away from high-volume wholesale that was wearing out his soil and his crew. He now grows fewer crops, focuses on Asian greens, and knows who is eating his harvest. In his words, "My job as a farmer is to feed people."

Farmer Cania Lee tends tomato plants in a greenhouse — Cania Lee of OJ's Produce

The article also follows a Viva Farms delivery to White Center Food Bank. Growing for Good provides Viva’s beginning farmers a reliable customer, and the 96 bunches of carrots they delivered flew off the shelves within an hour.

A man unloads a farm delivery of produce with food bank volunteers — Viva Farms making a delivery at White Center Food Bank

Between Growing for Good week and farm tours, connecting community members, growers, and hunger relief organizations builds a more resilient, vibrant regional food system.

To learn more, read the full article at PCC’s Sound Consumer.