The Food Access Partnership Team

Merrilee has been working with VIGA's Food Access Partnership for ten years, intent on creating a more equitable food system that serves the entire Vashon community and our farmers.

Karen believes unequivocally that everyone should be able to have access to the freshest, most local food for their family.

Karen has been farming on Vashon since 1999. Cooking a meal for and with family and friends is her happiest joy, made more delicious when the food is from her farm or a neighbor’s.

Rob has been growing and selling organic produce, eggs and livestock on Vashon Island since 1999. He believes we need more farmers growing more sustainably (ecologically, economically, and socially) and that the food they grow should be available to everyone.

Tim has been working in local food systems for the past 15 years--as a student of organic agriculture in college, a Farm Manager in various Community Supported Agriculture endeavors, and as the Director of an agricultural education facility.  He's passionate about creating a more equitable food system for both growers and community members, and he's currently working with the Food Access Partnership towards that goal.

Jen has been farming on Vashon since 2009.  The land she farms is part owned by a Montessori school and sharing the knowledge of food systems with youth is a big part of her work.  She considers it a great privilege to provide food for her community and is committed to helping make fresh, local produce available to all.

Tobi is an avid gardener of medicinal, magical, and edible plants. She believes that food access is intricately linked to community care, liberation, and racial justice. She is in graduate school to become a school counselor.

Lisa is a certified organic produce and cut flower farmer at Forest Garden Farm on the north end of Vashon. As a mother and an attorney, she seeks to find and share wisdom and justice through growing. www.instagram.com/forestgardenfarm

Janie is a racial, social, and environmental activist. She seeks to support food equity on Vashon through the important work of the Food Access Partnership. She believes that empowering women, in particular, to feed their families locally grown healthy food raises the community as a whole, and reminds us of our connections to one another.

Dana is a long time advocate of local food and local farming.She dreams of (and works toward) a community where there is room at the table for everyone, to gather, break bread and share in the harvest of our island farms.

In addition to serving as VIGA’s bookkeeper, Jasper is a lifelong veggie grower, raised up amid bounteous vegetable gardens, fruit trees, chickens and rabbits. Her formal education includes degrees in Environmental Horticulture and Business Administration, and she is a frequent speaker and contributor to local publications on the subject of sustainable agriculture. She also operates Greenman farms. https://www.greenmanfarm.net