A shovel and the Rotary Auction & Rummage Sale. What comes next is inspiration.
Imagine John Chang, of Bainbridge Island, at the Rotary Auction start line each year. Ready, set, go. John walks as fast as he can, racing to buy the best tools the Auction offers, which in turn are used on leased land prepared for sustainable farming. That land helps feed individuals and families in need in the Bainbridge and Kitsap County communities. Kale, tomatoes, garlic, basil, squash, raspberries, strawberries, and more are all fresh and all organic.
Peaceful Morning Farm, started by Chang, is a Bainbridge Island endeavor, supported in part by a 2023 Community Grant from the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island. The $6,566 grant funded a tool shed kit and supplies. Bainbridge High School student, Winston Brown, used the kit as his Eagle Scout project, creating a shed for tools purchased from the Rotary Auction.
Volunteer numbers have grown from one to more than 50 since Peaceful Morning Farm began in 2005. Together they donate 2,000 hours annually, working as much as three times each week. Chang hopes the volunteer number grows to 100. Chang also hopes the future includes a larger greenhouse to propagate more plants. The current green house is in Chang’s home, where the trees outside have grown tall and now block the sunlight.
Together, volunteers ranging from little kids to high school interns to retired persons, harvest nearly 4,000 pounds of organic fresh produce annually. Valued at $15,000, this is delivered to Helpline House and other Kitsap food banks who served 1,525 individuals in 2023. In turn, volunteers learn soil management, efficient irrigation, crop rotation, no-till cultivating and salmon safe practices that support sustainable farming. Interns use their experience on college applications, develop friendships, build lifelong skills and generate positivity. Being outdoors and working with friends further supports social and mental health.
Chang notes, “Both my parents were community minded,” and modeled community service. Chang expanded on that model and graduated from Stanford University where he later ran the first year of Stanford’s Community Composting program and sold food at the Palo Alto Farmer’s Market nearby. Chang is the father of two adult children both of whom have participated at Peaceful Morning Farm.
Chang explained that kids today are growing up with a lot of anxiety. Volunteering at Peaceful Morning Farm is work but low stress, he said. “People come together to grow food helping neighbors who come up short.” Achievement and peace are the result and inspired the name Peaceful Morning Farm. Morning, Chang adds, is his favorite time to work outside.
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by Lauren Groves