As Jefferson County celebrates another year of local agriculture and the upcoming Jefferson County Farm Tour, it’s a good time to recognize what it takes to sustain a thriving local food system, not just today, but for the next generation.

Our farmers work amid changing economic and environmental conditions, rising costs, tight margins, and an increasingly uncertain food system. We can support them by buying directly from local farms, shopping at businesses that carry locally grown food, protecting working lands, and helping young people understand where their food comes from and how to grow it themselves.

The new Food for the Future Fund at Jefferson Community Foundation is designed to strengthen that last piece.

Building on more than 20 years of farm-to-school work across the Port Townsend, Chimacum, Quilcene, and Brinnon school districts, the fund will support the teachers and farmers who bring hands-on food education into K–12 classrooms. Students are learning to grow, harvest, preserve, cook, and enjoy fresh food—skills that build personal resilience while strengthening the connection between our schools, farms, families, and local food economy.

By supporting the Food for the Future Fund, donors can help preserve the people, knowledge, and programs that make this work possible and help ensure locally grown food remains part of school and community life for generations to come.

Help us grow the next generation of Jefferson County’s local food system by giving to the Food for the Future Fund. Reach out to Nichol at Nichol@JCFgives.org to learn more.