Groups in Western Washington cooperate to provide grants to help farmers recover from December floods -- UPDATED Feb. 1

Editor’s note – Organizations helping farmers include the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance, Washington Farmland Trust, FARMore, and Community Food Co-op in Bellingham. They need donations. Eat Local First has a nice list of organizations that are helping farmers and farmers who need help recovering from December’s floods.

Farmers need quick financial assistance to recover from December’s floods and they can get help from several organizations.

Nonprofits such as the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance and Washington Farmland Trust are coordinating and accepting grant applications from farms in Washington counties that sustained flood damage in December. Those grants will provide fast help for farmers trying to recover from the floods.

“What can we do to fill in the gaps,” questioned Lauren Silver-Turner, director of the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance. She said plans originally entailed focusing on helping farms in the Snoqualmie Valley. After talking and working with partner organizations, it was decided to use a micro-grant model and expand efforts to farms throughout King and Snohomish counties. “It made a lot of sense to collaborate.”

She added that larger assistance programs, such as help from the United States Department of Agriculture, take time to mobilize and there are hoops farmers have to jump through.

The SVPA grants are available to farms in King and Snohomish counties. “Big or small it doesn’t matter,” Silvers-Turner said. Grants, which can range between $1,000 and $10,000, will be based on severity of impact, and the urgency of need. Grants will be proportional to operational scale.

The Washington Farmland Trust has a grant program that will focus in counties that saw flood damage and lack a dedicated fundraising effort to help farmers recover. Melissa Campbell, executive director for the Washington Farmland Trust, said the grant will try to balance the need for rapid response and accessibility issues at the same time.

“We’re trying to make it as easy and low-barrier as possible while maintaining basic due diligence,” Campbell said.

Grant applications for the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance opened Jan. 16 and will be evaluated on a rolling basis. The first decision will be made Feb. 15, and applications can be submitted through March 1. The Washington Farmland Trust’s application first round goes from Jan. 20 through Feb. 6. Applications will be reviewed Feb. 9 with notification taking place Feb. 16.

Silvers-Turner said SVPA is looking for more funding sources, and Campbell said the Farmland Trust is using a grant fund for sustainability and organic practices to focus on farm relief programs.

“We have no idea on the number of applications we’ll receive,” Silver-Turner said.

There are other resources available to help farmers. Eat, Local, First compiled a comprehensive list of organizations that are supporting farmers as well as a list of farmers that are raising money to help pay for flood repairs.

Other organizations providing help include:

• Tilth Alliance will offer flood relief grants to help with farmers’ immediate needs. Grants are available for covering losses due to relocation, cleanup efforts, and repairs to equipment and infrastructure. Grants will depend on need and awards will be up to $10,000. Application open date will be announced. Tilth has also built out a list of flood and national disaster resources available on its Sustainable Ag Farmer Forum, and, during the early days of December’s floods, developed a list of resources.
• Community Food Co-op’s in Bellingham is directing its Farm Fund grant to support the clean-up and rebuilding efforts to farms in Whatcom County that have been damaged by December’s floods. A limited number of grants up to $5,000 are available for projects that address flood recovery and related immediate needs. Those need include farm infrastructure, repairing irrigation systems, replacing damaged equipment and money to offset lost crops, seeds, and sales, according to the Food Co-op’s website. Submission deadline is Feb. 8.
• The Whatcom Community Foundation is partnering with the Community Food Co-op to establish the Whatcom Food and Farms Fund, which supports Whatcom Food and Farms Fund as they repair, rebuild and replant following flood damage. Grantmaking will be informed by trusted relationships with farmers and coordinated with partners helping to ensure support and reach those most affected, said Janis Evans, vice president of impact for the Whatcom Community Foundation. Click here for information and make a donation.
• FARMore has a fund that aids farmers that have sustained damage that impacts agriculture production. Those disasters include fire, flood, drought, pandemics, broken supply chain and other emergencies. Farmers who sell at Ballard, Madrona, Wallingford, and Madison Park farmers markets are eligible.