Growing Together

Mountain Community Co-op is open to all

Story and photos by Rick Stedman

Mountain Community Co-op has been part of Eatonville’s fabric for 20 years. The co-op brings together like-minded individuals who care about sustainable agriculture and supporting local food systems.

According to co-op board president Jeff Illman, the co-op provides naturally grown produce and supports local farms.

“The co-op also promotes volunteering, and there are lots of ways for the public to contribute,” he says. “You don’t necessarily have to have a green thumb to volunteer, as evident from the numerous options to participate.”

A few of those options include serving as a cashier or office assistant, stocking shelves, produce share packaging, outside grounds maintenance, and assisting with
sales, marketing or advertising, among other opportunities.

“The Mountain Community Co-op operates with working members donating their time,” Jeff says. “At present, we have just one paid employee: Kris Trout is our store manager. Although membership is encouraged, all are welcome to shop here. One of the great things about this co-op is that members go out of their way to educate others interested in learning more about the co-op.”

Barbara Samora, a Washington State University master gardener, has been involved with the co-op since its inception in 2004.

“Before it became a co-op, it was a buying club,” she says.

Mountain Community Co-op is member-owned and a not-for-profit organization. Members own the co-op’s properties on Washington and Carter streets. Members also contribute by volunteering to help operate the co-op, shopping at the store and buying items through the co-op’s buying club.

Barbara leads the co-op’s planting efforts in its Mountain Community Garden along with Debra Grant, who also manages the co-op membership.

“Educational seminars are offered to the public throughout the growing year and include composting, drip irrigation and other relevant topics,” Debra says.

The garden was established in 2012, originally where Mill Haus Cider Co. is today. The garden moved to its current Rainier Avenue location in 2017, a 1-acre plot loaned by the Van Eaton family.

According to Barbara, the Mountain Community Garden was established by co-op members after the membership pursued this as a way to contribute back to the community. The focus was to grow healthy organic food for the food bank and teach and demonstrate to the community how to grow using environmentally sustainable practices.

“We work with school groups, Club Pierce and provide community service opportunities for high school students, and we also welcome volunteers from the community,” Barbara says.

The garden is survives by holding fundraisers. These efforts include selling Uprising Seed packets in the co-op store, selling plants and starts in the early summer, holding rummage sales, and donations are accepted from the public.

“Most recently, we’ve benefited from our local Mill Haus market event,” Barbara says. “We are also fortunate to have received grants from the Pierce County Master Gardeners Sharon Ballard Community Garden grant program. This includes a greenhouse completion, a new compost bin and deer fencing.”

Barbara points out a few more bountiful gif al entities, including:

• The Nisqually Tribes in funding the garden’s extensive drip irrigation water conservation efforts.
• Pierce County Solid Waste provided a compost grant for the materials used for building raised beds and compost bins.

The garden is part of MCC’s education and community outreach programs and is open to all area residents. For those who want to garden, 4-foot-by-8-foot raised beds are available. The beds cost $50 for a season and $60 for the year.

“This includes advice on growing, composting and mulch materials for use,” Debra says. “We also offer free beds to low-income families.”

“In addition to encouraging healthy, organic gardening practices, much of the garden is dedicated to growing healthy organic produce for our local food bank,” Barbara says.

According to Debra, between 600 and 1,000 pounds of organic produce are grown annually in the garden and subsequently donated to the Eatonville Family Agency food bank.

“Come and join us, as we always are looking for more members,” Debra says.

To get involved with the garden, either to rent
a plot or assist, contact Debra at 253-302-
7748 or Barbara at 253-677-1868. Membership
applications are also available at Mountain
Community Co-op