Eat Local First Olympic Peninsula

Photo Credit: Midori Farms

Eat Local First Olympic Peninsula is a collaboration of the WSU Extension Small Farms Program, Port Townsend Food Co-op, the Olympic Culinary Loop, Jefferson County Farmers Markets, The Local Food Trust and NODC to promote increased access to and consumption of locally-grown food. NODC acts as the fiscal and administrative sponsor for the project.

Goals of Eat Local First Olympic Peninsula:

• Grow and sustain sales for local farmers and food producers

• Grow sales for locally-owned food businesses like grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants, fisheries, and wine, cider and beer makers

• Minimize barriers for institutional food buyers such as hospitals, schools, retirement homes, and community organizations that want to purchase local and regionally- sourced food

• Increase access to local and regionally-sourced food for low-income and rural populations

• Serve as the trusted community resource for finding seasonal, local and regional foods from the Olympic Peninsula region

• Educate consumers on how to use local crops and when they are in season

In November, 2019, Eat Local First Olympic Peninsula hosted the Farm to Table Trade Expo to connect farmers and producers to local wholesale buyers such as restaurants and retailers. This successful event was attended by more than 75 people from across the region, split evenly between buyers and sellers. In post-event surveys, 91% of attendees rated the Expo as good or excellent and 79% made new market connections to buyers or sellers. 

In September, 2020, Eat Local First Olympic Peninsula launched its Eat Local First marketing campaign. Partners worked with over 35 farms, grocers, restaurants, farmers markets, wineries, ranchers and fish providers to engage the community in purchasing and eating local food.

Eat Local First Olympic Peninsula also acts as the steering committee for NODC’s USDA-funded project Developing Wholesale Markets for Farmers on the Olympic Peninsula.