Vashon Grown Is Better
Our Mission
The Vashon Island Growers Association (VIGA) promotes growing, farming, and food production on Vashon Maury Island, while working to build a local agricultural economy that is equitable, accessible, and sustainable.
Share
There is nothing more joyful than sharing nature’s abundance.
VIGA uses three primary means to get food from fields to tables: The Vashon Farmer’s Market, The Food Access Partnership, and the Farm Stand Map. Find out more below.
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Saturdays
A venue for local farmers to share their goods and grow their businesses. The Market also supports local artisans and musicians and builds Island community.
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Island Food for ALL
The Food Access Partnership collaborates with local agencies to ensure that EVERY islander has access to nutritious, Vashon-Grown food while supporting local agriculture.
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Find a Farm Stand
The Farm Stand Map is the best way to locate fresh Island food. This regularly-updated Google Map includes over 30 farm stands and is updated on a weekly basis.
Preserve
Nature is generous, but she gives in spurts. It’s not much use having a huge pile of fruit or vegetables or meat if you can’t preserve it for year-round consumption.
VIGA is dedicated to finding ways to preserve nature’s bounty. This is the path to food independence and vital to stopping food waste.
Food Preservation Initiative
VIGA's Food Preservation Initiative (FPI) aims to reduce food waste and increase equitable access to locally grown food on Vashon-Maury Island (Vashon). The FPI works to strengthen relationships with island non-profits, social services and island growers; as well as build a community larder for the people of Vashon. Participating island growers donate or allow excess food to be harvested (gleaned) by volunteers. The gleaned or donated food is distributed fresh through the Vashon-Maury Community Food Bank (Food Bank) or is freeze dried/preserved for equitable distribution via the community larder, Food Bank, or our many community partners.
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Want to lend a hand?
If you are interested in gleaning and/or preserving, fill out the form below.
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Have excess produce?
If you are interested in donating your produce, fill out the form below.
If you have any questions or want to get involved as a volunteer or a grower, you can also contact preservation@vigavashon.org to learn more about the program.
Grow
Growing food from the soil is an ancient practice but most modern people have lost touch with the art.
VIGA provides education so that everyone from the backyard gardener to the serious farmer can participate in the joy of sustainable agriculture and reap the benefits.
Get Growing
Educational programs include educational programs such as CRAFT (focusing on farmers and interns) and Get Growing (focusing on home growers) which share and build our knowledge about sustainable and regenerative agriculture through community-based, inclusive workshops.
VIGA's GET GROWING is a Garden Workshop series about growing food.
Designed for beginning vegetable gardeners and those with some experience who are looking to expand, Get Growing is a series of four, hands-on workshops held on Sundays throughout the growing season. Each of the workshops will be led by a group of experienced Island growers, and will combine fun presentations with discussion and in-the-dirt projects aimed at getting you growing your own vegetables and fruit at home. The 2 – 3 hour workshops will be held at different garden locations around the Island, with one class each in February, May, July and September. Workshops require a donation, or Membership at the SOIL and above levels, more about Membership here. You can follow the action on the Get Growing Facebook group. Ask your questions and get answers to other questions that you didn't know you had.
To watch videos from Get Growing, click below!
C.R.A.F.T
The Vashon Island Growers Association has run its C.R.A.F.T. program on Vashon since 2011. C.R.A.F.T. stands for Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training. CRAFT began in the Hudson Valley of New York in 1994 as a combined effort of local farmers to enhance educational opportunities for their farm apprentices by organizing regular events on participating farms. For years Vashon Island farms have hosted many beginning farmers through internship programs, apprenticeships, volunteer opportunities and the WWOOF program. A group of island farmers were looking for new ways to offer their farm interns more diverse and organized educational opportunities. When these desires were brought to the VIGA board, the CRAFT program was adopted to meet this need.
The goals of VIGA's CRAFT program are to:
Give a broader experience to beginning farmers than they can receive on their farm alone
Provide a peer base to help beginning farmers connect with others who share similar goals
Increase the knowledge and skill base in sustainable agriculture
For 2022 we are rearranging how CRAFT is run, programming to return in 2023
VIGA acknowledges that Vashon-Maury Islands are among the traditional homelands of the sx̌ʷəbabs who were forcibly removed onto reservations, including Puyallup, Nisqually, Squaxin Island, and Muckleshoot. To this day indigenous peoples continue to safeguard, and enhance these lands and waters that nourish us all. VIGA commits to honoring indigenous peoples, these lands and waters by protecting them, enriching them, and receiving from them with gratitude.