P-Patch community gardens in Seattle’s parks are more than a hobby — they’re a resource for feeding some of the city’s hungriest people. Last year, gardeners donated tens of thousands of pounds of organic crops and vegetables to food banks.
It’s a chilly February afternoon, but the sun is shining and other people are scrambling to paint in their gardens at Beacon Food Forest.
The Forest is a giant organization of P-Patches in Jefferson Park in Seattle’s Beacon Hill community. The gardens are terraced on a west-facing hill so that gardeners kneeling on the ground have a clear view of the downtown skyline and the Space Needle.
“Food is everywhere,” says Khalil Griffith, program director at Beacon Food Forest. It shows the 3. 5 acres of gardens that stretch along the hillside to the road.
Gardeners grow so much food here that, according to the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, Beacon Food Forest donated 3540 pounds of produce to food banks in 2023.
Griffith suspects that number is higher since the gardens are open to the public year-round for harvest.
“People can go in and choose food, medicinal herbs, pieces to make, or just hang out in the network space,” he says.
They grow in the forest: raspberries, bok choy, corn. . .
“Tomatoes. We donated tomatoes to the Rainier Valley Food Bank,” Griffith says. “The first drop-off was 135 pounds, and these aren’t the big tomatoes —these are like the little cherry and grape tomatoes.”
Seattle’s P-Patch program has existed for 50 years now with about 90 locations throughout the city. Altogether, P-Patch gardeners donated 33,438 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables to food banks and meal programs in 2023. Many food banks receive a lot of canned food donations, so fresh, local produce is a plus.
“Everyone deserves smart eating,” Griffith says. “We all deserve to have powerful products. We all deserve to be networked and healthy: it’s our right as human beings.
It’s possible that Beacon Food Forest will produce even more food next year. Griffith says they’re in the process of expanding the gardens to more than four acres on the hillside.
KUOW is the number one radio station in the Puget Sound area. Our independent, nonprofit room produces award-winning stories, podcasts, and events.