Local Produce Farmers

The Co-op is committed to buying local produce from farmers in the area when it is seasonally available. We purchase produce from about 40 local farmers, helping to build and sustain local and organic agriculture. Read about our local suppliers and learn about some of their favorites.

Brent Harrison
The Growing Garden, Bellingham
Established more than 20 years ago

Brent Harrison initially supplied the Co-op with tomatoes and basil and then branched out into other culinary herbs and more vegetables. Now Brent grows our culinary herbs, some of our herb starts, arrugula, dandelion greens, and radishes, some of our spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, and savoy cabbage.

Favorite thing about farming: He has always been drawn to the magic of growing things. He loves working outdoors, watching his plants grow, and eating fresh vegetables. He thrives on the connection between farmer and customer—what he calls a humane counterpoint to a corporate lifestyle that is so commonplace now.

Least favorite thing about farming: To be out there when it's miserably cold and wet.

Favorite vegetable and how to eat it: Sliced tomatoes in sandwiches, but he actually likes all vegetables.

Nicholas Guilford
Sunseed, Acme
Established: 8th year farming, 6th year at this location

Nick grows cucumbers, garlic, shallots, berries, and tomatoes. He has been growing certified organic vegetables for the Co-op for all of his 8 years of farming. We also carry his certified organic plant starts each spring. He shares that item with fellow local farmer Brent Harrison.

Favorite thing about farming: "It meets all my needs. It's a meaningful job that connects me with the community and nature. If this weren't my job I would be gardening and growing food as a hobby."

Least favorite thing about farming: "I don't get off work at 5 and leave my job behind. It's hard to separate myself as the farmer from myself as the person. And, then to remember to have a life outside the farm."

Favorite vegetable and how to eat it: Winter squash—just cut it in half and bake it with tamari and nutrition yeast. In the spring his favorite is tender young nettle shoots.

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Harris Brooks
Brooks Family Orchard, Royal City (Grant County near the Gorge)
Established: 1974, Certified Organic since 1996

What they grow for the Co-op: Rainier, Brooch, and Bing cherries, Gala apples, and red flame grapes (new in 2004).

Favorite thing about farming: Having my grandkids come help out on the farm, and seeing people eat my cherries. It's nice to get the money, of course, but I love to see the enjoyment of people eating really good fruit.

Least favorite thing about farming: The weather. Everything is subject to Mother Nature. A late frost when the flowers are blooming, bugs, and rain when it's time to harvest. You have no control.

Favorite fruit: Cherries and watermelon.

Dusty and Jessie Williams
Broadleaf Farm, Everson
Established: Dusty began farming in 1990—growing peas, field corn, and grain.

Six years later he started growing sweet corn for Cascadian Farms. Two years later his son Jessie began growing organic vegetables for Farmers Markets and the Co-op. Actually, Jessie's first venture into farming was growing and selling mini-pumpkins to the Co-op at age 14.

They grow a wide variety of vegetables from asparagus to zucchini. For the Co-op, they grow asparagus, summer squash (zucchini and other varieties), strawberries, all varieties of kale, Swiss chard, bunched beets, bulk beets, green beans, and snow and snap peas.

Favorite thing about farming: For Dusty, it is being outdoors and working with the soil. He likes hoeing when the weeds are small.

Least favorite thing about farming: Trying to determine what to sell and at what price—the whole business and marketing aspect of farming is the least desirable part for him.

Favorite vegetable and how to eat it: Snap peas and blueberries, because they are both great for snacking. Okay, blueberries are not a vegetable, but you have to admit, they are pretty darn tasty.

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Nancy Van De Hey
Harmony Farm, Everson
Established: 1997, and winter 2004 moved to a new location in the Everson area.

What they grow for the Co-op: Certified organic, bulk baby arugula, bagged baby arugula, assorted sweet peppers, assorted hot peppers, eggplant, winter cutting squash, and Brussels sprouts.

Favorite thing about farming: Growing food for people and being out in nature.

Least favorite thing about farming: Weeding—the new farm has lots of weeds.

Favorite vegetable and how to eat it: Salad of baby arugula, spinach, and tender black kale with Parmesan cheese and a vinaigrette dressing.

Pete and Doreen Dykstra
Hopewell Farm, Everson
Established: Pete established his own farm in 1982.

They grew vegetables for Bellingham Frozen Foods and then began growing organic sweet corn for Cascadian Farms. They've been growing carrots and corn for the Co-op for about 5 years. Now Pete and Doreen grow carrots, broccoli, Yukon and Red potatoes, corn, and jack-o-lanterns for the Co-op.

Favorite thing about farming: Pete enjoys growing food for other people, working outdoors, and having his work close to home. He also likes family involvement in his work, and getting positive feedback from consumers who appreciate the food they grow.

Least favorite thing about farming: Being tied down seven days a week, not being able to get away for the weekend, and dealing with the cows and the dairy end of his farm.

Favorite vegetable and how to eat it: He says eating snap peas fresh off the vine is his favorite vegetable.

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John and Dorie Belisle
Bellewood Acres, Ten Mile Road, Lynden
Established: John and Dorie moved to Whatcom County in 1995 and planted their first trees in 1996.

Bellewood carries the Food Alliance seal of approval—a non-profit organization that provides an independent third-party certification for farmers who reduce, if not eliminate their use of pesticides, conserve soil and water resources, and provide safe and fair working conditions. What they grow: Apples—early-season varieties: Sansa, Sunrise, Gravenstine, Akane, Zestar, Tsugaru; mid-season varieties: Jonamac, Honey Crisp, Gala, Boskoop, Golden Supreme; and late-season varieties: Fuji, Idared, Sonata, Orin, and Red Clap pears.

Favorite thing about farming: Coaching food from the soil. Growing good food for people from the wonderfully fertile soil we have in this area.

Least favorite thing about farming: The challenges you face that are out of your control. Farming is like legalized gambling—you never know what nature is going to bring you.

Favorite fruit and how to eat it: Any apple fresh from the tree. I never get sick of them. It's the best thing I've ever tasted.

Grant Gibbs
Gibbs Organic Produce, Leavenworth
Established: 1977

Grant began his farming career as a child laborer in California. At age 19, he moved to Washington State working in apple and pear orchards while getting a degree in forestry. He purchased both timber and agricultural land and put in an apple, pear, and cherry orchard and began managing his own timber by selective logging. His farm has become a showcase example of how to ecologically maintain forestland. Grant's goal is to be totally self-sustaining as a farm in the next few years.

What they grow: Heirloom apples, raspberries, strawberries, pears, cherries, peaches, walnuts, Christmas trees, herbs, and a wide variety of vegetables. Organic livestock: cattle, both beef and dairy, laying and meat chickens and hogs.

Favorite thing about farming: The challenge and risks—every year is a new experiment from start to finish in learning to work with nature. What he loves most is meeting the people who eat what he grows.

Least favorite thing about farming: Mechanical breakdowns. Taxation issues are another sore spot for him. Grant believes farmers should be compensated for helping to preserve open space and not punished by higher taxes.

Favorite vegetable and how to eat it: Corn on the cob. It is at its very best eaten raw, in the field. He is also a carrot juice aficionado. Juicing is a daily ritual.

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Steve Powers
Big Sky, Van Zant
Established: Steve started farming in 1993 in the Happy Valley neighborhood of Bellingham. He soon outgrew that location and moved to Bow in Skagit Valley where he farmed until 2002, when he and his family moved the farm to Van Zant.

Steve has been growing fresh organic vegetables for the Co-op for 11 years. Big Sky is best known for their seasonal salad greens mix. Other items they grow for the Co-op include bulk baby spinach leaves, curly endive, radicchio, green bell peppers, and winter squashes—acorn, delicata, carnival, and spaghetti.

Favorite thing about farming: Eating fresh vegetables.

Least favorite thing about farming: Broken-down machinery.

Favorite vegetable and how to eat it: Braised Swiss chard with sautéed leeks and garlic served on a bed of fresh pasta.

Kristen and Mike Neuroth
K&M; Farm, Southwest of Ferndale near the Lummi Reservation
Established: 1997 on an out-of-commission 3/4 acre dairy farm as their first-year experiment. They have grown to 10 acres on this same farm

What they grow for the Co-op: Salad mix (bulk and in bags), bagged spinach leaves, bagged russet potatoes, and all varieties of onions—sweet, red, yellow, and white, delicata and kabocha squash, pie pumpkins, and horseradish root.

Favorite thing about farming: Being their own bosses, being outside all of the time, and best of all, feeding people and having favorable responses to new food items they grow. They currently have a 50-person Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. They enjoy telling people about veggies and offering easy recipes on how to prepare them.

Least favorite thing about farming: Not knowing if they are going to make it through the winter financially.

Favorite vegetable and how to eat it: Kristen likes the sweet nutty taste of kale and the fact that you can enjoy it year round. Simply steamed is her favorite method of preparation. Mike likes parsnips—their sweet smell and taste makes his mouth water. He especially likes them cut into 1/2-inch rounds on an oiled pan, dot them with butter, add tamari and nutritional yeast, and bake in the oven until soft.

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