Conscious Choice Seattle: Coming “Full Circle”

November 2006 | Conscious Dining

Coming “Full Circle”

Ten years later, this CSA is still hogging, grogging and making a difference

By Andrew Mulholland

They cleaned out the barn, hired a band and opened their fields to more than 300 community-supported agriculture or CSA subscribers, chefs, community partners and fellow farmers for a bash fondly referred to each year as “Hog & Grog.”

This is Full Circle Farm’s way of saying thank you to customers and partners for their support. This thank-you party in Carnation included two 300-pound pigs from Growing Things Farm just down the road, kegs of beer from local brewer Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company, roasted corn just plucked from the field and,of course, a salad of Full Circle greens.

Party-goers were asked to each bring a dish and these ranged from pots of ratatouille to cupcakes to fresh peach salad. Not many “potlucks” are so lucky as to include contributions from chefs at some of the area’s finest restaurants including Lark, Rover’s, Palace Kitchen and La Medusa.

Yum.

A biodiesel-fueled tractor took dozens of kids and adults on a farm tour of fields flush with sweet Full Circle carrots and beets, frilly kale and bumpy dinosaur kale, rainbows of chard and a special heritage garden of heirloom and indigenous fruits and vegetables. The kids spotted an eagle’s nest and areas along the Snoqualmie River where Full Circle has teamed with the nonprofit Stewardship Partners to plant more than 1,000 native shrubs and trees to make it more salmon-friendly. Some lucky children even got to stomp in mud puddles that filled deep tractor ruts in the rich, dark earth. And others fed apples to a hungry cider press that squeezed out gallons of sweet-tart golden juice.

A decade strong

This year’s party marked the celebration of Full Circle Farm’s 10th anniversary. It represents a journey for owners Andrew Stout and Wendy Munroe that started with three rocky acres in 1996 and has grown to 250 fertile acres that provide food to 48 restaurants, 13 grocery stores and direct to consumers through its CSA subscription program.

At the party, Stout and Munroe shared some of their reflections on reaching this milestone,
“We started this adventure 10 years ago with a vision about providing healthy, delicious, organically-grown food for people and a belief that farms—and all businesses, really—have a vital role to play in the broader community,” says Stout.

Then Munroe chimed in: “Working together, we have made a difference —bringing fresh-picked organic food to local citizens in need; educating children and families about where their food comes from, training and supporting new farmers, restoring critical salmon habitat, providing year-round organic food to our community.”

Stout pointed to successful collaborations among farmers, government and nonprofit agencies, businesses and citizens. It has been no small task.

As the bluegrass band jammed and people savored the succulent pork roasted over a wood fire, one party-goer and CSA member remarked that the event and the farm itself truly represented a community nexus—bringing together urban and rural, farmer and consumer, nonprofits and local government officials, small business owners, chefs and food artisans.

You might call that coming Full Circle.

Andrew Mulholland is a regular contributor to Seattle Conscious Choice. He is a big fan of potluck dinners, especially when local farmers are involved.

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