Update: 21 Acres

When the  opens its new building in August, it will be the culmination of an initial vision that started in 2001 as a home for a farmers market. That vision has evolved into a regional center for sustainable agriculture and education.

21 Acres has three main missions, to educate the public and potential farmers on sustainable food production, to have a model farm and to offer a year-round local food co-op, according to Brenda Vanderloop, communications director of the non-profit organization.

So how did 21 Acres go from a permanent home for a farmers market to the sweeping vision of a regional sustainable agricultural center? It all started with the purchase of the land. The land at NE 171st Street near downtown Woodinville is officially part of King County’s Farmland Preservation Program.

“The property offered many additional opportunities,” said Vanderloop. “To not only grow food for the community and sell it in a retail market type-setting, but to educate and demonstrate the principles of sustainability; not only on the land but in everyday life.”

The new 21 Acres Center for Local Food and Sustainable Living r; it will not only offer a sales outlet for small scale agriculture producers (the new co-op), it will support the needs of those producers, from delivery to prep, to storage, to the opportunity to create value-added products, such as jam or ketchup, in the commercial kitchen, she added.

Products available in the Co-op will be sourced within a 300 mile radius and both wholesale and consignment options will be developed for producers. Some of the food sold will be grown at 21 Acres 18-acre farm.

When the Co-op is up and running, Vanderloop said it will complement the Saturday .

“Programs and goals are very different and both offer a unique experience to the community,” she explained. “21 Acres provides an additional outlet to the small farmer (wholesale and consignment) not otherwise available in a traditional farmers market setting, or who don’t have the resources to staff lengthy market days.”