The 210th recipients are Kelsey Richards and Trevor Gearhart of Bright Thread Farm @brightthreadfarm in Burlington, WA.
They write, “Our backgrounds, including education in social and environmental science and careers in the restaurant industry and biology, have culminated in a shared passion for local, sustainable, excellent food. The joy of having our hands in the dirt, as well as the opportunity to provide fresh food to people in our community, encouraged us to make the leap into small-scale, sustainable farming in 2020. We believe building lively local food systems and tight-knit communities are small but vital steps in the movements toward healing our environment and alleviating social injustice.
Between working at full capacity to keep up with the demands of the farm, experimenting with ways to make our farm more sustainable and planning how to make the food we grow more accessible, we are often exhausted. Though the growing season is devoted to the success of our farm, we have found that making a concerted effort to weave self-care into our schedules makes a huge difference in our mental and physical health. That can look like making time to see family and friends, scheduling light days on the farm when possible, and taking care of our bodies through physical activity outside of farm chores.
We are supported by our communities in a number of ways: our CSA members have literally bought shares of the farm, sharing in both its successes and failures; various local restaurants have been excited to buy and feature our produce on their menus; farmers markets have welcomed and supported our growing business, expanding our customer base and helping us create a vital network with other farmers and makers; friends and family have volunteered their time on the farm for large projects. This amount of support is amazing, and we are hopeful that the trend towards supporting farmers, financially and otherwise, continues to grow as we all navigate this demanding and changing career.”
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