Stories about Local Champions

The Local Champions Blog highlights some of the amazing work our community accomplishes and motivates us all to work better together. We are lucky to work with so many champions who are a model for positive behavior change and influence us to go the extra mile. Our local champions are building connections within the community every day. Filter our stories by categories listed below or browse them all. We hope you’re inspired by the local champions in our community, too! 

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Going Big

Going Big

By Mark Peterson “Wow.” Yes, that is what I said to myself as I have started to reflect a bit more intently on the occurrences of 2018. The turn of the seasons and the holidays ahead provide me an annual opportunity to take stock of the past 12 months and be thankful...

Seifert & Jones Wine Merchants

Seifert & Jones Wine Merchants

Over 50 years of food and wine experience   By Liz Hansen December 2018 If you’re anything like me, buying a bottle of wine for a special occasion consists of deliberating over the prettiest bottle on the sale rack. As you can imagine, I often get stuck with my...

Free Range Flowers

Free Range Flowers

Local flowers are just as beneficial as your local foods and other goods. Celeste Monke, farmer, florist, and owner of Free Range Flowers, is here to tell us exactly why local flowers are so important!

Two Nonprofits Join Forces to Strengthen Local Food Systems

Two Nonprofits Join Forces to Strengthen Local Food Systems

BELLINGHAM, WA, November 15, 2018 | Sustainable Connections and Cloud Mountain Farm Center today announced that they will be merging together into one nonprofit. Completion of the merger is expected to take place on December 31, 2018, when Cloud Mountain...

Stepping Down

Stepping Down

Stepping Downby Tom ThorntonIt was late September 1978 when I rolled up the driveway of an abandoned chicken farm on Goodwin Rd. The landscape contours of the fields then looked like cotton ready for harvest. The reality was a very dense stand of Canadian...

Making a Meal of It

Making a Meal of It

This past month I had the distinct pleasure of working with multiple groups and stellar individuals to support a community meal, while showcasing the recovered foods and highlighting the businesses supporting the Food Recovery Initiative. Together, around a table at the Van Zandt Community Center, a plan was hatched to test the feasibility of feeding 100 people with recovered foods.