The original Picardo Farm occupied 12 acres of rich valley land in NE Seattle and supplied Pike Place Market with truckloads of fresh produce for more than 40 years. When the family retired from farming and Darlyn Del Boca and the students and parents from Wedgwood Elementary began gardening there, the produce went to feed the hungry through the local food distribution program, Neighbors in Need.

The giving garden tradition established in 1970 by Darlyn and her community continues today. Individual gardeners donate their excess produce or plant certain crops for donation. A team of volunteer gardeners stewards 22 raised beds and a hugelkulture specifically for donation. Another team of volunteers delivers the nearly two tons of food donated from the P-Patch annually. The gleaning team, a small group of volunteer gardeners, harvests produce for gardeners when their lives become too busy to keep up with the abundance of vegetables and fruit that the soil of Picardo inevitably creates in our gardens. Giving Garden Network and GROW, we continue to have a robust food bank donation program at Picardo.

The current Giving Garden Coordinator, Ava Clennon, wrote the following:

Every year, Picardo Gardeners and community members donate produce to the Sharing Shed for weekly deliveries.  That's the little red barn on the North Wall with the bees on top if you're not familiar!

We deliver our beautiful organic food directly to neighbors through community partnerships.  The goal is to build long-term relationships with our neighbors that provide feedback, mutual support and ultimately, expanded self-sufficiency.  This is how we're working toward meaningful, culturally appropriate food security together in our community.  

REMEMBER:  Everything is meaningful.  If you have a small offering, tuck it into another bag.  A handful of herbs, a few fresh strawberries or a single flower means the world to our neighbors who receive.  Please never think that what you have to share is "too small" - what matters is that we all do it together (see the final note for inspiration).

If you have any questions or would like an orientation, please contact:
Ava Clennon at phoenixqueen35@gmail.com