Brandywine Kitchen, a beloved restaurant in downtown Bellingham, has always brought local food to the community in delicious and thoughtful ways. Now under the sole ownership of Azizi Tookas, and after the challenges of the pandemic, Brandywine is exploring creative ways of feeding and nourishing their customers – one local soup and sandwich combo at a time. ...

Brandywine Kitchen: Rooted in Local Food, Growing into a Post-Pandemic World
By Micha Ide of Bright Ide Acres When my husband and I first dipped our toes into farming back in 2013, we started out by growing organic produce alongside raising a small amount of animals for meat. It became clear within a couple years that we were much better suited for animal husbandry, and...
Meet Amy, aka ‘PolkaDot’ of PolkaDot Farm. She earned the nickname PolkaDot from her husband for her creativity, associative thinking, and whimsy — and has since embraced polka dots and all the delight they bring with them. Amy hopes to evoke “nostalgic, 1950s, your neighbor grows your food vibes” through PolkaDot Farm’s vintage farm aesthetic...
Located on 40 acres of Sauk-Suiattle, Upper Skagit, and Stillaguamish lands, Long Hearing Farm grows food to nourish their community and neighbors, listening to the past as well as to the future. As farmer-owner Elizabeth Bragg puts it, “Our mission at Long Hearing Farm is to grow food as if the lives of the...
It’s no secret that farming, especially on small and medium scales, is a labor of love. Long hours, slim profit margins, and climate change all impact the ability of a small farm to grow and sell food in a way that is environmentally, financially, and personally sustainable. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic “disrupted food...
If you look up “pasty” in the dictionary, you’ll find an entry that reads something like this: Pasty (pass-tee) n. | Savory hand pie originating in Cornwall England. A hearty meal miners took down to the tin mines. Holly Bevan-Bumford, owner of Holly’s Meat Pies (locations in Bellingham and Everson WA), would agree with...
Food preservation is a great way to enjoy local food as the abundant variety of crops changes with the season. With the fall harvest upon us, winter and the holiday season will soon be here. Don’t miss your chance to stock up on the wonderful flavors and nutrition available now for your enjoyment in the...
Tucked into the Mount Baker foothills, Small Acres Farm grows vibrant and nourishing food using renewable energy and sustainability practices – and their impact on this community is anything but small. Chris Henderson and Mia Devine, co-owners and farmers, have grown Small Acres slowly over the years, operating the farm with a humility and...
Blaine, Washington is a beautiful town nestled against the Canadian border and the Salish Sea. While it’s known for its proximity to our friendly neighbors to the north and its marina, it’s quickly making a name for itself on the casual fine dining scene, in large part to the menu and vision of The Vault...
What began as two sheep in Lydia and Jared Strand’s backyard in Seattle has become Lydia’s Flock, a local farm with a flock of 120+ sheep and a deep desire to build a more sustainable and transparent food system. Lydia and Jared’s journey as shepherds began in 2008. As Lydia recalls, “We bought a house...