This past year brought a wide variety of challenges to the Pierce County Gleaning Project. The pandemic indelibly changed the way we gather in groups, and with some adaptations and strict social distancing, gleaning became a relatively safe outdoor activity. The challenges didn’t stop there, however; a late summer windstorm also brought wildfire smoke to our area from other states, as well as fires right here in Pierce County, making outdoor air dangerous during peak Gleaning season. But through it all, the fruit in our County never stopped growing, nor did hunger and food insecurity in our community.

Usually this time of year, we would be preparing for our Annual Seed Swap and Story Share Potluck, one of our favorite events of the year. Though we may not be able to gather, we recognize that during these uncertain times saving seeds and the stories that go with them is as important as ever, so we are going to reimagine the Seed Swap in order to keep the momentum going all year long!

We’re doing this as an alternative to an in-person event, but we were also inspired to do this because 2020 revealed weaknesses in our local food system; seed companies sold out last year faster than ever before, some even selling out of this year’s stock, too. But together, we know there’s a lot we can do right here in Pierce County.

This year, we are building a Pierce County Seed Library by storing, cataloguing, and documenting seed donations. Ideal seeds for the seed library are Open Pollinated seeds, especially those that you’ve saved from your own garden, but any seeds can be donated to the library this first year.

In efforts to continue to provide a program centered around full circle gardening we have opted to create a Facebook group to kick off our exchange of knowledge and build a network of seed savers. We will post educational content, seed exchange information share seed saving stories, and announce events/happenings here for the time being. We highly encourage you to share with us as well!

If you’d like to join our Facebook group Seed Savers and Seed Sharers of Pierce County please follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/593342158030579.