Organizers of a new unique week focused on local food say the Snoqualmie Valley has a rich history of providing food to its inhabitants, including the Snoqualmie People who gathered camas, lilies, bracken fern, wild carrot and a succession of berries on the open prairie valley floor and early settlers who grew hops, eventually establishing “The World’s largest hop Farm” in the Snoqualmie Valley.
In the 20th century farmers took advantage of the lush river bottom to establish dairy farms. By 1940, 23 dairy farms were situated between Duvall and Carnation alone. In the late 1970’s and 80’s many Hmong families established farms in the Valley, bringing their traditional practice of “row cropping” vegetables and flowers.
Today, the tradition of farming in the Valley continues, with close to 100 small family farms producing meat, dairy, eggs, vegetables, fruit, flowers, honey and fiber.
To celebrate that tradition, this Friday begins a week of celebrating Valley-grown food! From August 19th to 25th , 15 restaurants will serve locally grown food patrons:
- Carnation Cafe
- Duvall Grill and Taproom
- Fall City Bistro
- Fall City Roadhouse and Inn
- Ixtapa Carnation
- Lazy K’s
- Longevity Foods
- North Bend Bar and Grill
- Pete’s Club Grill
- Riverbend Cafe
- Snoqualmie Brewery Taproom
- The Bindlestick
- The Duvall Coffeehouse
- The Grange Cafe
- Zazynia
Bounty Week is brought to you by a coalition of local Cities, Chambers of Commerce, businesses, and individuals working to promote the local food and restaurants of the Snoqualmie Valley to residents and tourists alike. Food purchasing and distribution for Bounty Week is coordinated through the Snoqualmie Valley Farmers Cooperative.
Mark your calendars and make sure you come out to enjoy good food, celebrate the bounty of the beautiful Snoqualmie Valley, and support hard-working farmers and restaurateurs.
About Snoqualmie Valley Farmers Cooperative:
The Snoqualmie Valley Farmers Cooperative (SVFC) is an organization of more than 20 small, local farms working together to bring residents fresh produce. Farmers run the show! Our member farms initiated and built the co-op so that they could spend less time on logistics and more time growing your food. In exchange, you get more diversity while supporting the entire local food shed, not just one farm. All of our member farms use responsible environmental and food production practices.
During the 2016 growing season, SVFC is offering a 15 week Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program as well as bulk sales to schools, hospitals, cafeterias, restaurants
Comments
Too bad local growers and backyard gardeners can’t participate in the local Farmers Market.