FAQs  |  More Information  |  How to Reach Us

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Lettuce Link (an innovative food and gardening program growing and giving since 1988) creates access to fresh, nutritious and organic produce, seeds, and gardening information for low-income families in Seattle. We work to educate the community about food security and sustainable food production.

 

 Photo by Ben Feigert

What We Do:

• We encourage people to grow food for their families. To promote self-sufficiency, we distribute seeds, plant starts and gardening information to low-income gardeners all over the city.
• We educate children about nutrition and sustainable food production. Also at Marra farm, we facilitate experiential learning programs so elementary students learn about healthy food and how to grow it.
• We coordinate with over 30 P-Patch community gardens. We link P-Patch gardeners with food banks and meals programs. In 2006, over 30,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce was grown and given to over two dozen providers, feeding hundreds of people. To download various P-Patch signs to use in your garden, see “More Information” below.
• We harvest fruit from neighborhood backyards. Lettuce Link's Community Fruit Tree Harvest project engages volunteers to pick fruit from neighborhood trees and deliver hundreds of pounds of locally grown, unsprayed fruit to meals programs and food banks.
• We garden and donate our organic produce to food banks. At Marra Farm, we cultivate 1/2-acre of historic, urban farmland and donate harvests to a food bank in South Seattle. Read more about our Giving Garden at Marra Farm.

Interested in Volunteering with Lettuce Link?
Lettuce Link relies on dedicated volunteers to make our programs a success. Here are just a few ways you can contribute:

• Help grow fresh, organic produce to donate at local food banks. Spend part of your day getting your hands dirty at the Giving Garden at Marra Farm.
• Share your gardening knowledge with food bank clients and children. Spend part of your day distributing seeds at food banks or helping with the children's program at Marra Farm.
• Help pick fruit trees. Spend part of your day picking fruit trees with other volunteers. The season runs from approximately July to September.
• Bilingual? Help translate at Lettuce Link events. We are always looking for skilled translators, especially Spanish and Russian.

FAQs:

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How do I sign up to volunteer for Lettuce Link?
Download the Solid Ground Lettuce Link Volunteer Application (in MS Word format), fill it out and email it to lettucelink@solid-ground.org or or call 206.694.6754.

Where can I donate my extra organic produce?
Home gardeners with surplus produce can donate to local food banks. Here's a listing of local food banks that will accept your veggies right now, including locations and hours.

Can I donate my extra fruit?
Seattle residents with healthy fruit trees can donate to Lettuce Link's Community Fruit Tree Harvest project, a partnership between Lettuce Link and Seattle Tilth, which connects your surplus fruit to food banks. To register your trees, call the Garden Hotline at 206.633.0224 or email them at info@lawnandgardenhotline.org. Volunteers will come and do the rest of the leg- and ladder-work! See “More Information” below for details.

How else can I support Lettuce Link?

• Order a Lettuce Link Tote Bag! $20 each, and roomy enough to hold a large bag of groceries. Supply is limited; contact us to order yours today at lettucelink@solid-ground.org or 206.694.6754.
• Make a donation! This link allows you to designate a gift directly to Lettuce Link.
• Subscribe to Edible Seattle, a quarterly magazine, and you can designate Lettuce Link as one of three optional beneficiaries of an $8 donation taken from the subscription cost (for new subscribers).

More Information:

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Lettuce Ink Newsletters

• Fall 2008 Lettuce Ink
• Spring 2008 Lettuce Ink
• Fall 2007 Lettuce Ink
• Spring/Summer 2007 Lettuce Ink
• Winter 2006/2007 Lettuce Ink
• Summer/Fall 2006 Lettuce Ink
• Spring 2006 Lettuce Ink
• Winter 2005 Lettuce Ink
• Spring 2005 Lettuce Ink

Other Print Resources

• Lettuce Link brochure
• Gardening for Good Nutrition: A Guide to Growing Your Own Healthy Food: We created this useful guide to help people grow their own organic food and take control of their health needs. It offers simple-to-follow gardening and food preparation advice, basic nutrition information on over two-dozen crops, steps a beginning gardener can follow to set up container gardens or yard gardens, composting advice and a list of community resources. For a free printed copy of the full 32-page guide, please call 206.694.6761 (donations to Lettuce Link are happily accepted).
• US Conference of Mayors 2004 Status Report on Hunger & Homelessness in America's Cities: Lettuce Link is featured on page 42.

Downloadable P-Patch Signs to Use in Your Garden (MS Word format):

• Generic sign identifying a Giving Garden. Post in the Giving plot at your P-Patch.
• Produce donation tips. Post this on community boards or food bank sheds.
• Encourage others to donate. Post this on community boards or food bank sheds.

Lettuce Link in the News

• When it's harvest time, you offer the tree and volunteers pick the fruit (Seattle P-I, 8/19/07)
• Your trees ripe for the picking? (Seattle Times, 9/5/07)
• Growing in Seattle (Seattle P-I, 6/3/08)
• Lettuce gather to honor a productive plot in Seattle's South Park (Seattle Times, 8/9/08)

How to Reach Us:

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Phone:      206.694.6754
Email:       lettucelink@solid-ground.org
FAX:         206.694.6777
Address:   Lettuce Link
                Solid Ground 
                1501 North 45th Street 
                Seattle, WA 98103-6708