Non-Profit Teaching Farm

Non-Profit Teaching Farm

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

The Pine Meadow Farm Center, located between the cities of Spokane and Cheney, is a fairly new non-profit 32 acre educational farm. Chrys Ostrander, Executive Director and Farm Manager of the Pine Meadow Farm Center, talks about the Center’s main objective.

OSTRANDER: We’ve been doing this for a couple of years - just getting educational programs happening for people of all ages in a farm setting. We’re dealing with issues of gardening, small scale agriculture, food policy issues, simple living skills. We’re also working with the school systems in trying to help by assisting children coming to the farm to experience on farm educational activities - field trips, and we’re even talking about trying to take the farm into the classroom in the form of bringing farmers in to talk to students in classrooms.

Ostrander explains that the Center is a sponsored project of the Seattle based Cascade Harvest Coalition, which operates numerous sustainable agriculture and food programs throughout the state, but they partner with local entities.

OSTRANDER: Right now we’re kind of partnering with the Cheney School District. It’s a very forward thinking school district. They changed over to making all their school food from scratch. They recently received a USDA Farm to School Planning Grant and we’re assisting them with developing some of the educational aspects of their plan for the Farm to School Program in Cheney.

Monday Ostrander will talk more about Pine Meadow Farm Center’s educational opportunities for people of all ages, as well as the Center’s upcoming Open House June 22nd.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Ag Information Network.