21 Acres Programs
The 21 Acres Farm
Demonstrates small scale, sustainable, organic farming practices. A bio-diverse farmstead showcasing the history of the land. The Farm showcases wildlife corridors, trails, apiary, orchard, gardens and trails in addition to the food production acreage. Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals - environmental health, economic profitability and social and economic equity.
The Demonstration Kitchen & Learning Center
Critical facilities to help create both informed demand and the products required to sustain the local farm economy. The Demonstration Kitchen is available at affordable rates to individuals and community groups for healthful cooking classes and to small farmers for the creation of value-added products to take to market. The green-built Center is home to classroom and meeting spaces available to the community at low-cost. The 21 Acres Education Program along with partnering educational institutions, offers classes in all areas of lifestyle enhancement and energy efficiency - from nutritional guidance to gardening, the business of small-scale farming to food preservation, green roofs and rain gardens to low-impact development.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
21 Acres & the Washington Veterans Agricultural Cooperative: The Veterans Agricultural Cooperative was designed to improve the functionality and help restore the physical and mental health of veterans' well-being, through the practice of farming. It is currently based on the 21 Acres Farm, supporting veterans, their dependents and the communities in which they live, by providing access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food.
Through hands-on opportunities in their farm plot at 21 Acres, and other educational opportunities, the agriculture cooperative provides outreach and technical assistance to veterans through the development of food systems that help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner.
One of the organization's current needs include the purchases of supplies and materials for the classrooms along with scholarships to those in need for parent/child education programs.