FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PCC Farmland Trust "Ames Creek Challenge Grant" surpasses goal by 53 percent!
$81,000 raised to pay off organic farmland loan.
Seattle, Wash. (November 7, 2007) — The PCC Farmland Trust (Trust), a Seattle-based nonprofit, has succeeded in raising $81,000 for the benefit of Ames Creek Farm, a 178.3-acre organic farm located in Carnation, Wash.
The Ames Creek Challenge Grant was initiated by 24 individuals who pledged to match, at fifty percent, donations to the PCC Farmland Trust between July 1 and November 1, 2007, up to $40,000. That goal was exceeded by $21,000, resulting contributions totaling $81,000.
According to David Ahlers, one the pledge supporters, "Our family visits one or two organic farms a year during the harvest season, and it's wonderful being able to buy healthy food grown locally. When we heard about the PCC Farmland Trust, it seemed like a great opportunity to keep that local connection alive."
The Trust purchased the Ames Creek Farm in 2006 and has secured organic agricultural conservation and entitlement easements on the property. Since it was founded in 1999, the Trust has saved four threatened farms in Washington state, totaling 532 acres.
The Trust's executive director, Kathryn Gardow, says, "Donor response to the Ames Creek Challenge Grant is very gratifying and a clear indication that consumer demand for organically grown agriculture is on the rise. Funding generated by this effort secures the future of Ames Creek Farm and allows us to pursue the acquisition of additional Washington state farms, assuring their operation using organic, sustainable growing methods."
About the PCC Farmland Trust: The PCC Farmland Trust is an independent, community-supported 501(c)(3) land trust, founded in 1999 as a separate, non-profit organization by PCC Natural Markets, a certified organic retailer headquartered in Seattle, WA. www.pccfarmlandtrust.org
About Ames Creek Farm: Located in Carnation, WA, the 178.5 acre Ames Creek Farm is farmed by three separate farm families:
Michaele Blakely, operating as Growing Things Farm, leases 31.3 acres and grows fruits, vegetables and small livestock for sale through her CSA (Community Supported Agriculture program) and at local farmers markets.
Fong Cha and Ma Thao, members of the Hmong immigrant community, lease 20 acres of the farm and are known for the flowers and produce they grow on Shong Chaos, or "Children's Garden Farm," named for the education it provides their children.
Andrew Stout and Wendy Munroe, known for organic produce grown at their Full Circle Farm, also in Carnation, own 127.2 acres of the Ames Creek Farm, and grow a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables on the property.