PCC Community Markets Commits $1M to PCC Farmland Trust

2018 News

(October 2, 2018) – PCC Community Markets (PCC), Seattle’s locally grown and community-owned food market, today announced a $1 million gift to PCC Farmland Trust, an organization it founded nearly 20 years ago. The gift comes at a time when rising land costs and sprawling development — with more people moving to Pierce and Snohomish counties than anywhere else in the country — are impacting the future of local farming.

PCC’s leadership gift to the Trust’s Our Farms, Our Future fundraising campaign will further protect some of the most fertile land in the nation and a significant source of local healthy food.

“The local fields and farms that supply our stores with fresh carrots, snap peas, microgreens and melons, and the relationships we’ve built with generations of farmers, are the heart of our co-op,” said Cate Hardy, PCC Community Markets CEO. “That was true in 1999 when our members created PCC Farmland Trust, and it is even more so today. The Trust is doing important work to preserve one of our region’s most precious natural resources, and we hope that our commitment will inspire others to support this important effort.”

PCC Farmland Trust, an independent 501(c)(3), conserved its first farm in 1999 in response to a call from master organic farmer Nash Huber. His fields were threatened by a development project on the Olympic Peninsula, and the PCC community stepped up to raise the funds necessary to protect the land. Today, Nash’s produce continues to line the shelves of PCC stores and at farmers markets throughout the region. Nash’s is among the 23 sustainable and organic farms and 2,553 acres that have been conserved to-date as a result of the Trust’s efforts.

“We would not be where we are today without the vision and dedication of our founder, PCC Community Markets,” said PCC Farmland Trust Executive Director Rebecca Sadinsky. “From protecting land and supporting farmers to highlighting our region’s bounty in delicious, local products — the collaboration between PCC and the Farmland Trust is a model public-private partnership that is having an impact across our food system. We are grateful to be able to mark our decades-long partnership with this generous gift.”

PCC Farmland Trust is the only statewide land trust in Washington State focused exclusively on farmland preservation, and one of the few with programs centered on sustainable practices, community engagement and farmland access. The organization uses conservation tools to remove development potential from farmland, making it more affordable for future farmers and preserving its agricultural value forever.

PCC Farmland Trust has already raised $18.5 million through the Our Farms, Our Future campaign. In addition to its $1 million gift, PCC Community Markets partners with the PCC Farmland Trust in a variety of ways, from in-store fundraising drives and special PCC Cooks classes, to a new PCC private label baguette, specially crafted for the co-op by Macrina Bakery. Available this November, the baguette is made from organic whole wheat from Williams Hudson Bay Farm in Touchet, Wash., a Salmon-Safe and Trust-conserved farm.

To learn more about PCC Farmland Trust and to contribute, please visit: www.pccfarmlandtrust.org/ourfarmsourfuture

About PCC Community Markets

Founded in Seattle in 1953, PCC Community Markets (PCC) is the nation’s largest community-owned food market with an unmatched enthusiasm for making food from scratch. Celebrating its 65th anniversary in 2018, PCC is a haven for those who share a dedication to fresh, organic seasonal food that is sustainably sourced from local producers, farmers, ranchers and fishers. With an active membership of more than 60,000 households, PCC operates 11 stores in the Puget Sound area, including the cities of Bothell, Burien, Edmonds, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond and Seattle. Seattle stores are in the neighborhoods of Columbia City, Fremont, Green Lake, View Ridge and West Seattle, which will reopen in 2019. The co-op also plans to open new stores in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood in 2019 and Bellevue, Madison Valley and Downtown Seattle in 2020.

In 2017, PCC returned 57 percent of its profit to members and contributed an additional 11 percent to the communities it serves, including schools and nonprofits around the Puget Sound area, such as the PCC Farmland Trust and FareStart.

About PCC Farmland Trust

PCC Farmland Trust works to secure, protect and steward farmland in Washington so that it can do what it does best: promote soil health, water conservation, habitat protection and climate resilience. Through conservation and stewardship, PCC Farmland Trust works to promote sustainable and organic growing practices and make land more affordable for future generations of farmers. To date, PCC Farmland Trust has protected 23 farms, totaling 2,553 acres. PCC Farmland Trust was founded in 1999 by PCC Community Markets and is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

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