Counties to celebrate Puget Sound Fresh ‘Partners’ for 2004 harvest season

2004 Archived News

King County Executive Ron Sims and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, along with members of the local agricultural community, will celebrate the local harvest on Thursday, August 5, at 12:30 p.m. at the South 47 Farm, at the corner of NE 124th and the Woodinville-Redmond Road in Redmond.

The two executives will announce this year's "Puget Sound Fresh Partners" – eight local retailers and restaurants who have committed their firms to support local agriculture by actively buying and offering locally grown products to their customers.

The eight "Partners" for this year are: Safeway Stores, PCC Natural Markets, Larry's Markets, Haggen's/Top Foods, The Herbfarm, Metropolitan Market, Madison Market and Culinary Communion.

"We are extremely supportive of our local Puget Sound Fresh Partners, retailers and restaurants offering locally-grown products, and our farmers markets," said Executive Sims who, with the King County Agriculture Commission, helped establish Puget Sound Fresh in 1998. "This event offers all of us a positive way to be reminded of the quality of food and life that local agriculture contributes to our communities. These products, from vegetables and fruits, to dairy products, flowers, meats and poultry, provide a wonderful link between our urban, suburban and rural communities. Local products offer all of us healthy food choices. It is a pleasure to recognize the efforts of these businesses to help keep our farmers farming by promoting their products."

"Each of these organizations deserves our thanks and public support," said Executive Reardon. "They have made a commitment to finding local products that can be offered to their customers, helping to ensure that our local farmers have a market for their products. As a region, agriculture is a vital economic and community contributor. Maintaining our local food supply is a critical need for the region. Puget Sound Fresh Partners are wonderful examples of the good that can come from the joint efforts of our farmers, retailers, restaurants and consumers."

A short advertising campaign promoting local agriculture and the efforts of the Puget Sound Fresh Partners will begin August 5 in Snohomish and King county newspapers.

Also at the presentation event on Thursday, representatives from local farmers markets and some of our active local farmers will discuss the impact of Puget Sound Fresh on local farming.

With these partners, Puget Sound Fresh products are available at over 100 retail and restaurant locations throughout the region. Consumers are encouraged to look for the Puget Sound Fresh logo at these establishments, and to ask for local products at their grocery stores, restaurants and farmers markets.

Puget Sound Fresh is an identity program begun in 1998 to help consumers find locally grown products. It is administered as a program of the Cascade Harvest Coalition.

In addition to the Puget Sound Fresh Partners program, Puget Sound Fresh publishes the annual Farm Guide to help consumers find local farms, including U-pick farms, organic products, recipes, agricultural activities and more. Complete information is available at: www.pugetsoundfresh.org.

For more information on Puget Sound Fresh, Cascade Harvest Coalition or local agriculture, call: 206-632-0606.