LETTER TO THE EDITOR | WSU, Port of Coupeville’s discussion a concern

Editor, As the owner of Whidbey Pies Café and wholesale pie production at the Greenbank Farm, I am concerned regarding the possible participation of Washington State University in the operation of the Farm. I have been involved with the Greenbank Farm in various capacities since 1979 when our family settled on Whidbey Island. In 1986 our Whidbey Fish Market and Café in Greenbank offered loganberry pies using berries from the farm.

July 7, 2015 7:04 pm

Editor,

As the owner of Whidbey Pies Café and wholesale pie production at the Greenbank Farm, I am concerned regarding the possible participation of Washington State University in the operation of the Farm.

I have been involved with the Greenbank Farm in various capacities since 1979 when our family settled on Whidbey Island. In 1986 our Whidbey Fish Market and Café in Greenbank offered loganberry pies using berries from the farm. In 2002 we opened Whidbey Pies Café in the former Ste. Michelle gift shop space. In 2004 when we lobbied the state Legislature in Olympia with pies and determination the Greenbank Management Group was awarded an economic development grant of $1.5 million to restore and upgrade the 100-year-old barns and develop an economic corridor that has provided revenue to operate the farm, grow businesses and employ people.

Today Whidbey Pies employs 28 people. We produce over 50,000 pies a year. Last year over 60,000 people passed through our café. In 2014 we collected $9,030 in local taxes and $26,709 in state sales tax. We have endured through the desperate times of the Great Recession. The Greenbank Farm Management Group has been instrumental in meeting the challenges of this noble experiment in public land use. Now with the development of the Farm’s organic agriculture program, we are fortunate to offer locally grown healthy food in our café. Our business continues to thrive and we have great hopes for the future here in our home at the Greenbank Farm.

With a limited tax base The Port of Coupeville, as owners of the 150 acres of the farm, faces difficult tasks in maintaining the century-old facilities of the Coupeville Wharf and the Greenbank Farm. If the university has a program that can support the port, the community and farm stakeholders without compromising the efforts that have gone into creating the farm’s success, they would be a welcome addition. The Greenbank Farm is an evolving experiment in honoring this historic farmland and offering an island treasure that is of great benefit to all concerned.

JANET GUNN

Whidbey Pies at the Greenbank Farm