Crops for commuters

Ferry commuter Chris Hanacek has found a new fast food stop on his way home from work.

“It’s awesome,” the island resident said, holding sacks of fresh snap peas and broccoli. “This stuff was picked today and I’m going to take it home and eat it in 10 minutes. And the whole thing took 20 seconds.”

Faster than a supermarket stop and healthier than the offerings on a drive thru menu, the new Wednesday evening ferry farm stand at the Winslow ferry terminal furnished hundreds of commuters with the makings of a locally grown dinner.

“We want to get more people introduced to the idea of what’s growing right here, right now,” said Sallie Maron, who wore a yellow apron and hawked vegetables along with a half dozen other volunteers from Sound Food, a Bainbridge group promoting local farms. “The more we connect people to the local economy and farms, the more we connect them to the Bainbridge story, which is about people who care about the land and living sustainability.”

The stand features a different farm each week, with every dollar going directly to the growers. On Wednesday, vegetables from Poulsbo’s Farmhouse Organics were on display, along with purple garlic and strawberries from island growers.

“This works great for us,” said Farmhouse’s owner Anne Webber as she watched the action at the stand. “This is such a good community, and to have people volunteering to do this…the concept is amazing. Honestly, only on Bainbridge.”

Ferry riders crowded in after disembarking the 4:40 p.m. boat to snatch up bagged stir fry and salad mixes, garlic scapes, carrots and strawberries boasting a tenderness that can’t be matched by the more sturdy, hard-traveling kind.

“Have you tried a farm-fresh strawberry?” said Sound Food volunteer Els Heyne, offering a berry to a customer. “There’s nothing else like it.”

The stand provides “stuff that’s good all-around,” Hanacek said, listing healthy food, support for farmers, fewer environmental impacts and stronger community connections. It’s stuff he supports, but sometimes a trip to the farmers market doesn’t fit his schedule.
“This is easy for me,” he said. “All I do is walk off the boat.”

The stand aims to bring local foods to people, rather than wait for them to come to growers, Maron said.

“This is for people who may not be regular farmers market shoppers,” she said.

The stand’s first day late last month sold out in 15 minutes.

“The boat wasn’t even completely offloaded when we sold out,” said Sound Food’s Carolyn Goodwin.

On Wednesday, Sound Food came ready with double the produce, and had sold over100 bags of produce after one offloading.

Packed with commuters from all over the region, the Bainbridge ferries helped Sound Food link local edibles to tables in Kingston, Poulsbo and Port Ludlow.

“This brings the whole Kitsap community together and ties us together with something everybody needs and loves, which is food,” Goodwin said.

Ferry farm stand
Sound Food’s Winslow ferry terminal farm stand is open every Wednesday starting at 5 p.m. The stand offers locally grown produce sold in $5 bags. Visit www.soundfood.org for more information.