Recent floods in Whatcom County have devastated area farms, homes, and communities. The recovery process is difficult, but as a community we are here to support and uplift one other. Listed below are opportunities to donate, as well as help available for farms and farmers. If you have additional resources to share, please pass them along to amy@sustainableconnections.org and we’ll do our best to include it here.
There is now an official website for all things flood relief related – Whatcom Strong. Visit their website for updates, resources, and ways to help.
The Whatcom County Library System has a robust Community Resources page including resources for homeowners.
WWU Small Business Development Center has a collection of Flood Relief Resources for Businesses here.
If you are a business, organization, or individual looking to support those affected by the floods, there are multiple different opportunities to donate.
- Skiyou Ranch, a fourth-generation family farm in Sedro Wooley that has been devastated by the historic major flooding on the Skagit River. All of their fencing and pasture land is destroyed. They are in need of funding to hire labor and equipment to clear the debris as well as fencing and seeding to bring the farm back to health. Donate to their GoFundMe campaign here.
- Terra Verde Farm, an Organic vegetable and berry farm, was finishing up farmers market and their CSA season and continuing to fill their wholesale orders to the Community Food Co-op — when the flooding hit their Everson home and nearby farm. In tallying the damage, loss and cost to repair and potentially replace equipment, their rough estimate is around $32,000. Donate to their GoFundMe campaign here.
- Vamos Outdoor Project, works to connect families to environmental education opportunities through fundraising, outreach, and partnerships with local organizations (primarily working with the Latinx and English Language Learner communities), has some relief donation opportunities: https://linktr.ee/vamos_outdoors_project
- If you’ve met Helen, owner of Sumas River Farm, you know she’s just the absolute best. The beautiful Organic fruit and veggie farm she’s been cultivating for 15 years suffered major flood damage (much of the farm, machinery, and buildings were under 4’ of water). Please consider donating if you have the means and sharing far and wide – the link is here!
- From Community to Community Development: “Climate change disproportionately impacts agricultural workers in Whatcom County. The weather events earlier this week led to many families evacuating their homes, losing pets, irreplaceable belongings, and vehicles. C2C Promotoras are working directly with families in Whatcom County to assess needs for support. In the coming days and weeks, many families will be faced with difficult decisions, costly repairs, or needing to find new homes. We have set up a Solidarity Relief Fund which will go directly to farmworker families impacted by this catastrophic event. You can mail a check or visa gift card donation to: Community to Community Development, 203 W. Holly St. No. 311, Bellingham, WA 98225.” Read more here.
- Liz and Joaquin of Mariposa Farm are incredible people and beloved by the Whatcom County farming community. Their farm and home were hit extremely hard by the floods. Please consider supporting them through this GoFundMe. All funds go to the family.
- A local farmworker family in Whatcom County was devastated by the recent flooding. Help them rebuild here.
- The Community Food Coop is taking donations at their register for their Farm Fund. Funds raised will be allocated to help area farmers recover.
- Riveters Collective is raising money to provide hot restaurant meals to people impacted by floods as they clean out homes and businesses and begin the exhausting tasks of recovering. Donate to their relief fund here.
Want to help by delivering meals to pick up locations? Click here to volunteer: https://tinyurl.com/8pdprme4
Interested in receiving a hot meal as you clean out? Enter your info here and we will update you with community pickup times and locations: https://tinyurl.com/2uyjds8w
Can your restaurant supply meals for families in your area? Click here to fill out our form. Remember that the cost of meals provided by your business will be promptly covered by donations to this project: https://tinyurl.com/yfbryef3 - Whatcom Community Foundation is accepting donations that will be matched up to $115,000 for local flood relief. Their Resilience Fund is investing in nonprofits working on the front lines of disaster response – whether local flood support or COVID-19 – getting emergency assistance, such as financial support, healthcare and childcare, to our community’s most vulnerable neighbors. Donate here.
- If you are interested in volunteering for flood response with Whatcom County, sign up here.
- If you are on individual Tribal trust land or are you a Nooksack Tribal member and own your own home, and need flood damage assistance, request it here.
- Spring Frog Farm suffered damage during the flood and needs your support! Link to the GoFundMe here.
- Flood damage inspectors from the Emergency Management Division of the Washington State Military Department will be in Whatcom’s impacted areas Monday to Wednesday, Nov. 22-24, according to a Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office news release. “This is the critical first step in the normal protocol of formally assessing the level of damage and the dollar impact. There will be two local/state teams made up of three individuals from the state and two from local governments. The teams will gather data to determine the level of impact to help justify the request for an Individual Assistance Declaration from Federal Emergency Management Agency,” according to the county statement. The inspectors will validate and confirm information collected by the communities and evaluate additional damages. For individuals impacted by the flood, debris is being collected daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3010 Halverstick Road, according to a Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office news release Sunday, Nov. 21.
- In the wake of last week’s historic and devastating flooding, residents, businesses and municipalities are working hard to clean up and begin recovery. To help those most impacted by the flooding, a public informational meeting has been scheduled for 6-8 p.m. this Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021, at Nooksack Valley High School, 3326 East Badger Road, Everson, WA. This meeting will also be live-streamed for remote attendance. Find out more here.
- Treasures Unknown located at 8101 Blaine Rd can help furnish your home again. If you were affected by the floods, you “qualify to receive free stuff” from their store. Call them if you would like help or if you would like to donate: 360-643-6787
If you are a farm or farmer affected by the recent floods in Whatcom County, there are resources available to help.
If a farm needs flood emergency or recovery assistance, they should contact Whatcom Emergency Management at 360-676-6681. If the need cannot be addressed locally, it is passed up to State Emergency Operations Center which has staff from the state Department of Agriculture (WSDA). Locally, the federal USDA Farm Services Agency (FSA) can be reached at 360-318-8121 or in person at:
Everson Service Center
914 Citadel Drive, Suite C
Everson WA 98247
This is located in Hinotes corner off East Pole Rd. FSA has three programs that might provide assistance to local farms depending upon their circumstances:
- ECP helps pay for fence replacement, cleaning debris off of fields, emergency loans.
- TAP help costs if plants (trees, berries) die from flooding. Pays cost-share on purchasing and replanting of new plants.
- ELAP helps with feed loss. Producers have to provide a way to document what they normally feed with the costs and how much was lost.
If you are a farm or farmer affected by the recent floods in Whatcom County – and you are a vendor with Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets, you are likely eligible to apply for somewhat immediate relief funds through their Good Farmer Fund:
https://seattlefarmersmarkets.org/good-farmer-fund