By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
Under a brilliant late summer sun, hundreds of Tulalip community members traded grocery store aisles for garden rows. Together they ventured north to Garden Treasures Farm for an afternoon of harvesting, learning and reconnecting with food.
The September 9 U-pick event, made possible by our own Diabetes Care and Prevention Program, brought together everyone from months old babies to seasoned elders. Strawberries and tomatoes glowed bright red beneath the sunshine. Peppers offered splashes of green, yellow and orange. Throughout the farm, families wandered with cardboard baskets in hand, searching for fruits and vegetables that would eventually find their way onto dinner plates back home.
Tulalip’s relationship with the local farm, located in the Stillaguamish Valley near Arlington, stretches back years now. Previous Diabetes Care and Prevention outings have encouraged families to get outside, move their bodies and experience firsthand where their food comes from. That mission remains at the heart of the popular U-pick gatherings.
“Seeing so many people come together around food, plants, and health was incredibly meaningful. It shows how powerful it can be when we create spaces where people of all ages can gather, learn, eat, and connect with one another,” reflected Diabetes Care and Prevention Manager, Roni Leahy. “Family is medicine. Seeing babies just months old alongside elders in their 70s and 80s is deeply moving to me because it demonstrates to everyone that family is medicine.
“For our children, being in a gathering like this is medicine in so many ways,” she continued. “They are learning how to be around large groups of people, how to interact, how to share space, and how to be part of a community. They are learning these things simply by being present. When I see babies, children, parents, grandparents, and elders all gathered together, I feel so grateful. I feel like we truly witnessed medicine in action.”
During the Wednesday gathering, Roni’s team estimates over 700 community members roamed the farm, from toddlers to elders, while gathering leafy greens, herbs, berries and vegetables. The recurring outings have emphasized gentle exercise, family togetherness and connecting people with fresh foods in a hands-on way.
Following their time in the fields, attendees were treated to a pickling demonstration led by food sovereignty advocate and tribal member, Rudy Madrigal. Tables quickly became a second kind of classroom as community members learned how vegetables can be preserved in jars, extending the life of a harvest while opening the door to a nearly endless combination of flavors.
Vinegar, seasonings and spices can transform a freshly picked vegetable into something tangy, spicy, sweet or somewhere in between. The activity encouraged families to experiment and think creatively about vegetables they may otherwise overlook. For the youngest participants, the lesson began with the simple thrill of being able to choose their own food.
Mama bear Shelby Whitman attended the U-pick with her two young children, Monroe and Aria, who bounced from row to row deciding which vegetables deserved a spot in their harvest. Knowing they would later have an opportunity to pickle what they picked added another layer of excitement.
“Aria is only 22-months-old and what I think she enjoyed most at the farm today was picking strawberries and tomatoes. She also liked helping with the cucumbers as we pickled them,” said Shelby. “Monroe loves peppers, so he was happy he could pick as much as he wanted. He’ll be walking around eating them plain, like an apple, over the next few days. My only immediate plans for what we picked is to make corn on the cob with our dinner tonight.”
For tribal elders, the farm offered something different. Along with access to healthy food came the opportunity to visit with friends, exchange cooking ideas, and think ahead to the meals their harvest would inspire. One elder already knew exactly where her vegetables were headed. Chicken stir fry.
“I enjoy gardening, so to be invited out here to pick and harvest is an ideal outing for me,” shared 75-year-old Marsha Sateren (Yakama). “I’m 75 and intend to continue picking as long as my body lets me. Being able to eat local, organic foods is a treat. It’s something more elders should be doing regularly. I already have it in mind that what I’ve picked here today is going to be used to make an assortment of chicken stir fry.”
Nearby, another elder took her time examining the day’s offerings while enjoying the sunshine and company of fellow community members learning to pickle veggies.
“Have I pickled before? No, I haven’t. It’s something I wouldn’t have ever done on my own. Being here with members of the Diabetes Prevention team and being guided by them, it’s an activity I couldn’t pass up,” explained Cherokee Screechowl (Muscogee Creek). “As old as I am, I’m still willing to learn.”
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of a U-pick is the invitation to experiment. It is easy to stick with familiar foods. Carrots are carrots. Tomatoes have a place in countless meals. Onions seemingly find their way into everything, but walking through rows of produce presents a different proposition. Suddenly, that vegetable normally passed over at the grocery store becomes something worth picking, carrying home and figuring out.
Tulalip mother-daughter duo Sasha Smith and 16-year-old Jada arrived with exactly that mindset. They’ve been challenging one another to become increasingly creative with what they eat. On this particular afternoon, that challenge led them to eggplant. Rather than walking past the deep purple vegetable because neither had much experience cooking with it, they decided to add it to their harvest and figure out together how to incorporate it into future meals.
“Just being able to get out with my family and enjoy the weather was reason enough to make the short journey to Garden Treasures,” shared Sasha. “We’re enjoying learning about seasonal vegetables and what we should be eating this time of the year. We’ve heard there are a lot of health benefits to eating eggplant, so we picked one and plan on getting creative with how we add it to our meals.”
Moments like those speak directly to the long-term goal of Tulalip’s Diabetes Care and Prevention Program. Healthy eating does not have to begin with dramatically changing every meal overnight. Sometimes it begins beneath the September sunshine while holding an eggplant and wondering, “What can we cook with this?”
Sometimes it is a child proudly carrying a pepper they picked themselves, or an elder heading home with enough vegetables for several colorful stir fries. Regardless of the how’s and why’s, the day’s Garden Treasures harvest was destined to become new recipes, creative meals, and healthy side dishes for dozens and dozens of local households.