Food items in a typical U.S. meal have traveled an average of 1,500 miles.

“Our dream is that the community will feed itself. The only question people will ask about their food is which of their neighbors’ farms it came from.”
~ Henning Sehmsdorf, S&S Homestead Farm

Lopezians are fortunate to have an abundance of fresh, healthy, local food.  To celebrate our farmers and thank them for their hard work and delicious food we have published a book!   BOUNTY – Lopez Island Farmers, Food, and Community tells our local food story through beautiful photographs, oral history, and recipes.  

In 2014 twenty-eight Lopez Island farms agreed to participate  in this community funded three-year project sponsored by the Lopez Community Land Trust (LCLT) and Lopez Locavores.

In the project’s first year, photographers Steve Horn, Summer Moon Scriver and Robert S. Harrison documented the farmers, their land, and the food they produce.  These stunning photographs premiered in a color slide show celebrating LCLT’s 25^th anniversary at the Harvest Dinner on October 25, 2014.  A DVD of the slide show featuring music by Stanley Greenthal is available at the Lopez Book Shop.

In October of 2015 the Bounty “Know Your Farmer” photography exhibit opened at the Lopez Community Center.  Stunning color images from each farm were accompanied by  a story panel with farmer portraits and intriguing farm profiles written by Iris Graville.  These beautiful photos are available for a donation of $300 to support the Bounty book project.  View them on the “Know Your Farmer” Photo Exhibit page.

The book, BOUNTY – Lopez Island Farmers, Food, and Community, is finished!  Beautiful photographs of Lopez farms, farmers, and food by Steve, Summer and Robert will fill the pages along with a feast of stories by written by Iris and 28 scrumptious recipes created by Chef Kim Bast. Book designer Jane Jeszeck of Jigsaw Design in Seattle elegantly put all the pieces together.  Bookmobile Craft Digital printed the book in the USA.  The BOUNTY Book Release Party was October 2, 2016 at the Lopez Center for Community and the Arts.  BOUNTY is for sale at Lopez Bookshop, Darvill’s Book Store on Orcas Island, and Griffin Bay Bookstore on San Juan Island.  

If the spirit of BOUNTY resonates with you, we ask you to join the Lopez Community Land Trust and the Lopez Locavores in support of this community funded project to honor the farmers who produce our food.  Donations and proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Lopez Island Farm Education (L.I.F.E.) Program at Lopez School.  The school garden produces 8,500 lbs of fresh organic food for Lopez School Cafeteria every year.  Lopez kids are healthy and learn better thanks to this nationally recognized program!  You can donate by clicking the button below and choosing Lopez BOUNTY Book Project as the program you would like to support.