eats & interests seattle

Summer weather is finally rolling into Seattle! The sun has come around once or twice and, surprise, has hung out for a couple days at a time. The weather report is looking like sun should be the norm from here on out, so I want to delve into some more outdoor activities in Seattle — particularly the free ones!

Urban Farming with Alleycat Acres (www.alleycatacres.com)

When you’re living in the city it can sometimes seem like there just aren’t as many chances to garden. With city P-Patch waitlists at 1-3 years, and tons of people in the city living in apartments or condos, it’s difficult to have the space or chance to grow your own food. For some, gardening is something interesting they’d like to try their hand at; for others, gardening could provide their family & friends with amazing local, organic produce without the ridiculous costs of the supermarkets. No matter the purpose, urban farming has started to pop up in Seattle, and let me tell you, it can be the most fun you’ll have doing hard work.

Alleycat Acres is a fairly new organization that transforms vacant spaces in the city into urban farms with the purpose of cutting down the amount of “food deserts” in Seattle and eliminating food insecurity in many of our neighborhoods. Right now they have a farm they’re already harvesting on Beacon Hill, and another just in the planting stages in the Central District. Once produce is harvested, Alleycat Acres delivers it (via bike!) to people in the neighborhood for free.

But this isn’t a charity service, which is where you, me and everyone else come in. The goal of Alleycat Acres is to partner with other organizations and people in and around these neighborhoods to maintain their farms. They want these plots to become labors of love for those surrounding it and reaping its benefits. If there’s anything this world needs now, it’s stronger community. I bet you’d be hard pressed to tell me 5 of your neighbors names, much less any details about them. We isolate ourselves in the city, and it’s time we come out of our holes and get to the know the people who live around us on a daily basis. Urban farming — through Alleycat Acres or not — is a great way to do this!

Now that the weather is nice, wouldn’t it be fun spending a couple hours on a Sunday meeting new people and planting things that eventually you’ll be able to take home and chow down on? Whether or not you live in Beacon Hill or the Central District, you are always welcome to come out and help! Crop Mobs, as the work parties are typically called, happen most Sundays as well as Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Check out the updates on their website, get in touch with Tori, their volunteer coordinator, for specific days and times and/or drop by 22nd & Union or 3656 24th Ave S.

Alleycat Acres also does a lot of cool events, so be sure to keep in touch with what they’re doing on Twitter!