Pizza outreach helps farmers access mental health resources
Pizza for Producers is to bring education and reduce stigma around mental health problems. Farmers are taught to keep a stiff upper lip and focused with getting a job done, he added.
A WSU Extension Skagit County program uses wood-fired pizza to offer a tasty meal, foster a sense of community, and help inform agriculture workers about mental health resources they may need.
Pizza for Producers is organized through WSU Extension in Skagit County, and the pizza oven shows up at existing events with farmers and farm workers, said Don McMoran, director for WSU Skagit County Extension who set up the program.
The pizza program recently visited a farmer stress assistance event last month in Wahkiakum County, and the Skagit Ag Summit last February. Pizza for Producers is scheduled to be at an event this week at the Skagit County Historical Museum.
He added that employees who travel with the pizza decides on the menu. One of the most popular pizzas is pickle and others will use locally grown ingredients in addition to traditional standards like pepperoni or sausage. “I really like the local angle,” McMoran said.
