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Based on interviews with Columbia City Farmers Market Founder, Karen Kinney, and Columbia City Farmers Market Manager, Valerie Franzen, on June 5, 2024 Columbia City Famers Market Original Logo. RVHS 2024.003. On a Wednesday afternoon in the summer of 1998, thirteen farmers set up their stalls in a grocery store parking lot at the corner of Rainier Avenue and Edmonds Street in Columbia City. The market was modest. The crowd was small. But Karen Kinney, the woman who had spent more than a year helping to build it from nothing, remembers the feeling in the air as something unmistakable. "The community loved that they had a farmers market," Kinney recalls. "These kinds of things weren't only reserved for North Seattle and Downtown at Pike Place." That pride has never left. Almost 30 years later, the Columbia City Farmers Market continues to anchor Wednesday afternoons in Southeast Seattle, serving as a community gathering place, a fresh food resource, and a vital economic venue for the region's farmers. A Flyer at the Library Karen Kinney arrived in Seattle in 1979, moving from Memphis with a background in social work, an MBA, and a history of community organizing. She settled in Rainier Valley because it felt, "the most like home". Her grandfather had owned and operated a dairy farm, and she had long harbored a dream of opening a coffee shop in Columbia City with a friend. That plan didn't work out, but Kinney stayed involved in the neighborhood through various organizations and part-time work. In 1997, she spotted a flyer at the local library: community members were being invited to join a task force exploring the possibility of bringing a farmers market to Columbia City. Two thoughts crossed her mind. "This sounded fun. And I knew I had the skills to contribute." She walked into the meeting and was immediately struck by what was in the room: not just enthusiasm, but talent. The steering committee that coalesced around that initial spark was made up entirely of local Rainier Valley residents who brought their professional expertise to the table. A tech-savvy community organizer from the Department of Neighborhoods built the website. A marketing and graphics expert handled the visual identity. A graphic designer from the Pacific Science Center contributed to materials. A colleague from the Department of Neighborhoods with a farming background helped think through the agricultural side. Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance founder Chris Curtis in the U-District market’s early days. Image: Courtesy Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance The model they chose to build on was the U-District Farmers Market, launched in 1993 by Chris Curtis. But from the very beginning, the Columbia City team intended something distinct: a community-based economic venture with a genuine food focus. They set out to be a professional organization that would pay its employees rather than run solely on volunteer labor, and a market designed to deliver real economic benefit to the farmers who showed up every week. Building the Mission The mission the team developed was threefold. To bring fresh fruits and vegetables into Rainier Valley and serve as an accessible source of fresh food for the community. To provide a strong sales venue for farmers, a place where growers could build a profitable and mutually beneficial business relationship with their customers. To bring people into the Columbia City business district, which, with the support of the Columbia City Business Association and the Rainier Valley Chamber of Commerce, was beginning its revitalization into the thriving district it is known as today. Marketing flyer in different languages. (RVHS 2024.003) The zip code they were working in, 98118, is one of the most diverse in the country. The team knew that meant their marketing had to be as diverse as their neighbors. Using school data, they identified the top languages spoken at home in the area and produced marketing materials in each of them. They organized their outreach by category: schools, churches, community centers, ethnic organizations, and developed a specific approach for each group. Location was chosen with care. The committee settled on the parking lot of a grocery store at the corner of Rainier and Edmonds, now the site of a PCC Community Markets. The property owner, Chris Kim, was community-minded and welcomed the market. The committee paid him rent, reinforcing from the start that this was going to be an economically positive venture for everyone involved. Getting Farmers to Come South One of the early obstacles was farmer hesitancy. Many growers who sold at the U-District market were reluctant to bring their families to Southeast Seattle, which carried an undesirable reputation at the time. A key figure in changing that was Jerry Pitizone, a farmer who had grown up in Beacon Hill and was already selling at the U-District. His personal endorsement of the south side, and his active encouragement of fellow farmers to give it a try, made a decisive difference. The day came down to a Wednesday. Saturdays might have seemed the obvious choice for shoppers, but the committee's view was that the market's primary customers were the farmers. Growers wanted a midweek date so that crops reaching peak freshness could be offered at their best, reducing food waste. It also helped that the U-District operated on Saturdays: the Columbia City market wanted to complement, not compete. Opening Day and Earning Its Place Newspaper clipping from The Seattle Times. Launch day was small, but lively. Thirteen farmers set up their stalls, neighbors came out, and something clicked. The farmers felt the appreciation of the community and kept coming back. But as Kinney is quick to note, a strong opening day is not a guarantee of a thriving weekly event. Building the Wednesday market into a genuine community institution took years of sustained outreach, programming, and partnership. A wide range of supporters helped make it stick. Windermere Real Estate on Genesee was an early champion, including the market in flyers sent to prospective home buyers and providing financial support. Yard signs went up throughout the neighborhood. Flyers went home in children's backpacks. Every piece of marketing included a map, because at the time many people didn't know where Columbia City was, and those who did often associated Southeast Seattle with a less-than-favorable reputation. Educating people about the neighborhood was part of the work. Early CCFM promotional flyer with map. Under Kinney's management, the market wove itself into the fabric of the neighborhood. It partnered with Kubota Garden's plant sale, Orcas School, and cultural celebrations including Latina Days and Filipino Days. And when a Fourth of July fell on a Wednesday, Kinney didn't close. She transformed the adjacent park into a festive space with silk flags, bales of hay, and wheelbarrow races. "The next week," she recalls, "people started using the park space." Helping that park come back to life, she says, was something special. Columbia Park filled with families on Market Day! Photo curtesy of Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets. Access, Equity, and the Food Program Legacy Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Market Fresh Bucks. Photo curtesy of Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets - 2023. From the beginning, the food access mission was not an afterthought. The Columbia City Farmers Market was known early on for the authenticity of its Southeast Asian produce, crops that reflected what the community actually needed and cooked. That attunement to the neighborhood has only deepened over time. The market also became a policy pioneer. It piloted a food stamps program that allowed EBT card holders to use their benefits at the market, a model that has since been adopted at farmers markets across Washington State. Programs like Fresh Bucks and Market Match have continued to expand, making fresh, locally grown food as financially accessible as possible. The story of Tan Tan Farm captures the spirit of what the market has meant. The farm chose to stay exclusively at Columbia City because, in their words, they wanted to keep selling to "our aunties." They had started farming specifically to grow Southeast Asian produce that couldn't easily be found elsewhere. Baby bok choy goes to Ballard for shoppers curious to try something new. Full-size bok choy comes to Columbia City, for people who know exactly what they're cooking and want all they can get. What It Means to the People Who Built It Valerie Franzen, who has stewarded the market in the years since Kinney's founding tenure, describes something she has heard consistently from vendors and shoppers alike: "This is the market where people are happiest to be there. They are genuinely excited to shop, talk and learn from farmers, and enjoy time with their community. It's a different atmosphere from other markets." For Franzen, the most meaningful stories are the ones about farmers growing: hearing a grower say they were ready to expand their stall, invest in new equipment, or move to a larger parcel of land. Those moments, she says, carry real weight in an industry with notoriously thin margins. Market Manager Tent - Valerie in the center. Photo curtesy of Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets. In recent years, the market has been doing tours with the Latino Community Fund, providing participants with funds to spend at the market and helping them enroll in EBT and Market Bucks programs. The response, Franzen says, has been deeply moving: "This is what shopping at home is like." For Kinney, the reward has always lived in the relationship between food, farmers, and community. "I have some really long-term relationships with the farmers that are so important to me," she says. "Watching them grow and develop." And she still carries the memory of that first market day, the look on shoppers' faces when they realized they had something as good as Pike Place, right here in their own neighborhood. Columbia City Farmers Market. 2022. Still Going Both women speak about the future in terms of continuation and deepening rather than reinvention. Kinney hopes that farmers' markets will continue to serve as gathering places, spaces that deliver something grocery stores cannot: the chance to talk to a farmer, learn where food comes from, and spend an unhurried Wednesday afternoon among neighbors. Franzen hopes the market will remain a place where the next generation of farmers can build a viable livelihood, a space that demonstrates that farming is not just economically possible but deeply connected to the communities it feeds. And for those who were there from the beginning, the pride has never left. Join Chris Curtis on a walk through the Columbia City Farmers Market!

RVHS Photo 2002.036.0099. Seattle in April—a time for strolling through blooming cherry blossoms, tuning in to the earliest Mariners’ games of the season, and rejoicing at the occasional sixty-five and sunny afternoon. This month’s recipe takes us back to Rainier Valley nearly a century ago and reflects the spirit of spring gardens flourishing all across the city: Phyllis Macay’s “Famous” Plum Bread. Phyllis Macay was one of many Italian immigrants who lived in Rainier Valley’s old “Garlic Gulch” neighborhood, an area around Rainier Avenue and Atlantic Street, which earned that name in the 1910s because of its large population of Italian immigrants. As Phyllis Macay’s grandchild Vincent LaSelle recalls, Macay had a wonderful garden where she “raised garlic, onions, peppers, tomatoes…In the middle of that garden was a pear tree. And oh! It used to produce pears, I’m gonna tell you that. Then she had five great big cherry trees. Oh man! And one great big Italian prune tree. They would pick the prunes and they’d bring them down to the store and they’d sell them for a pretty good price. They were Italian prunes. Real tasty.” Many of those prune trees—also known as Italian plums—still feed residents of Rainier Valley, serving as a living heritage of the old “Garlic Gulch” neighborhood. Below is Macay’s recipe for plum bread from page twenty-four of the Rainier Valley Food Stories Cookbook, which she created after realizing that she had “a million plums and no idea what to do with them!” Be careful when you make this bread, though, because, like Macay, your friends might soon end up demanding you bring it to every occasion. PHYLLIS MACAY’S NOW FAMOUS PLUM BREAD Phyllis Macay Mix and set aside: ½ cup sugar 1½ cup frozen Italian plums chopped ½ cup dried fruit (cranberries) In a large bowl, separately mix together and set aside: 1 cup whole wheat flour ½ cup unbleached flour 2 Tbsp. wheat germ 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. nutmeg 1½ tsp. baking powder 1 ½ tsp.ground fresh ginger In a small bowl, separately mix together: 1 cup shredded raw carrots 1 cup chopped nuts Lightly coat 2 bread pans with cooking spray and dust with flour. Mix plums into flour mixture well; add carrots and nuts; add 1 Tbsp. vanilla and 2 eggs. Stir well. Pour into pans. Top with whole halves of nuts. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes. Cool, then wrap in wax paper. Wait for 24 hours, enjoy or freeze!

What does it mean to feed a neighborhood? In Rainier Valley, the answer stretches back thousands of years, from the Coast Salish people's village gardens along Lake Washington to the immigrant truck farmers, Victory Gardens, and community P-Patches that followed. The faces and the crops have changed, but the impulse to grow food for your community never has. This collection explores how that tradition has taken root and kept growing across generations. Duwamish Canoe with traditional longhouse in background, Cedar River, 1893. Courtesy University of Oregon Special Collections (PH01_BX13_1418) Rooted in the Land   For thousands of years before Seattle existed, the land that would become Rainier Valley was home to the xachua'bsh, or "lake people," a Coast Salish people and ancestors of the Duwamish Tribe, who lived along the shores of Lake Washington and the rivers that connected it to Puget Sound. Their food systems were deeply tied to the landscape. Women gathered salmonberry shoots, bracken fern, wapato, camas, and berries, while men hunted deer and elk and fished the rivers and lake through the fall salmon season. Silver salmon ran through what is now Genesee Creek, which once drained Rainier Valley into the lake, and fish were dried on racks to preserve them through the winter months. “Coast Salish people have lived along the Duwamish River for thousands of years. An estimated 300 Duwamish people lived in what is now the Tukwila area in the eighteenth century. In addition to hunting and fishing, gathering greens and berries, and digging edible roots, the Coast Salish inhabitants took advantage of the river valley's rich soil and raised food in village gardens”(Drosendahl). While the Duwamish People were never granted treaty rights or a reservation, they were forced to adapt as the white settler community grew around them. Despite the constant risk of being pushed off their land, their village at the outlet of Lake Washington and the Cedar River continued, and evidence shows they cultivated potatoes and other root crops there well into the 19th century. By the beginning of the 20th century, however, the construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal had destroyed many of their food resources, dramatically altering the waterways and ecosystems the community depended on. Most Duwamish people had no choice but to assimilate. The Duwamish Tribe continues to seek federal recognition today. Mrs Chandler with her chickens. The Chandler farm was located between 46th and 47th Avenue on the north side of Ferdinand Street. (RVHS 1993.001.0093) Early Farming in the Valley Settlers in the 19th century also relied on the land. While the proximity to Seattle may have mitigated some, most had to cook creatively. Typically, settlers had to grind flour, preserve their meat by smoking or salting, while canning, drying or pickling their fruits and vegetables. Most settlers kept cows and chickens to have access to fresh milk and eggs. Once the streetcar arrived in 1891, it became easier to access store bought flour. Iceboxes became the main form of preservation until electricity arrived in the valley.  Nim Sok at one of the New Holly P-Patches in 2001 (RVHS: 2002.036.0170) German, Italian, Filipino, Chinese and Japanese immigrants tended to nearly half of all farms by the early 20th century, competing for farmland and markets. Local truck farmers sold their produce to families, grocers and distributors who would sell the produce all over the city. Italian farmers grew crops on small farms and trucked the produce to the market themselves. In 1921, Seattle passed an Alien Land Law, stopping first-generation Japanese immigrants from owning land. In 1923, the law was revised to prevent U.S. born children of these immigrants from being able to hold property in trust for their parents, causing many Japanese immigrants to put their land in trust with a white lawyer or have their farmland taken. For the next three decades, Japanese and Filipino farmers would battle racist laws, land theft, and discrimination. Want to learn more about Japanese farmers and the Alien Land Laws? Check out this article from the Seattle Civil Rights Labor History Project Victory Gardens RVHS Photo - 2002.036.0247 During World War II, Victory Gardens were a patriotic duty to ensure the production of food for the country, while commercial farmers supplied troops overseas. With the introduction of food rationing in the spring of 1942, Americans had a greater incentive to grow their own fruits and vegetables wherever possible. Beets, beans, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, spinach, and turnips were grown in vacant lots, city parks, flower boxes and rooftops. The Victory Garden became a common feature of the urban landscape during both World Wars, as families tried to become self-sufficient to help the war effort and to feed their families. The Victory Garden was, in many ways, the ancestor of today's P- Patches. In 1944, around 20 million gardens produced about eight million tons of food.  By the war's end, half of all the fresh fruits and vegetables in the U.S were grown in Victory Gardens.  Pictured is Theo Nassar with a wheelbarrow in 1942 in her father’s Victory Garden. Nassar recalls this in an oral history interview for RVHS’s Food Stories Project: My dad had a Victory Garden and he grew everything from okra, tomatoes, peas, carrots, you name it… He’d grow these huge sunflowers. He’d harvest the seeds and dry them and we’d be eating sunflower seeds all winter. The neighbor kids thought we were crazy. They’d say “Bird food, that’s bird food, that’s canary food!” - Theo Nassar P-Patches and Community Gardens The P-Patch program first launched in 1970 as a part of the back to Earth Movement for the first official Earth Day event . University of Washington student, Darlyn Rundberg (later Del Boca) is responsible for creating the first P-Patch. The land for the P-Patch was donated by her neighbors the Picardos who owned a large farm in the Northeast Seattle neighborhood of Wedgewood. What started off as a small corner evolved into a 2.5 acre garden and green space.  The “P” in P-Patch stands for Picardo in honor of the family who helped start the program. The Picardo family first arrived in Seattle from Salza Irpina, Italy in the 1890s and settled in South Park then later Wedgewood. The Picardo family farm once covered almost 30 acres and the vegetables they grew were sold at small grocery stores across the city and at the produce stands in Pike Place Market.  Seattle’s P-Patch Program was the largest gardening program in the nation by 1993. As of 2026, Seattle has 90 P-Patches, 25 of which are in Rainier Valley! Check out the list to see the closest one near you ! There are many other community gardens in Rainier Valley, including Wetmore Community Farm. In 2015, Kyla Rudnick began to transform the previously undeveloped Right of Way, owned by the Seattle Department of Transportation. After three years of work it was transformed into a productive gardening and cultural space and officially opened in the Fall of 2018.  With the help of their partner Stone Soup Gardens, they cleared knotweed and litter and constructed the Spokane Street entrance and garden beds, finishing construction in 2018. Named after the Wetmore family who originally farmed the land, the farm produces over 10,000 square feet of food, including native fruits, berries and mushrooms, which they share with the neighbors in SEED housing and the Rainier Valley Food Bank.  Neighbors working on construction of the Wetmore Community Garden in 2018. Photo curtesy of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. During the growing season (March - October) the farm hosts weekly open hours, so you can meet your neighbors, pick some veggies and get dirty! Visit Westmore Farms: Wednesday 4:00-7:00 (Mar-Oct) 3025 S Estelle St, 98144 Want to learn more about the history of P-Patches and the Picardo family? Check out this article from Northwest Prime Time Columbia City Famers Market 2015. Columbia City Farmers Market The Columbia City Farmers Market grew out of a single flyer posted at a local library. In 1997, a task force of Rainier Valley residents came together with a clear mission: bring fresh produce into the neighborhood, support local farmers, and draw people into the Columbia City business district, which was just beginning its revitalization. Led by community organizer Karen Kinney, the group was scrappy and skilled, made up entirely of local residents who brought their professional talents to the table. Hmong Flower Vendor at Farmers Market in 2005. (RVHS 2002.036.0247) Zip code 98118 is one of the most diverse in the nation, and the team took that seriously from day one. They produced marketing materials in multiple languages, mapped out outreach strategies for schools, churches, ethnic organizations, and community centers, and worked to make sure the market reflected the full breadth of the neighborhood it served. The goal was simple: make sure everyone had access to fresh, familiar food close to home. It took some convincing to get farmers comfortable coming to the south side of Seattle, but by 1998 the market had found its home at the corner of Rainier and Edmunds and hasn't looked back since. Now part of the Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets network, it runs Wednesdays from 3:00 to 7:00 PM on South Edmunds Street near PCC Market, from May through October. Over the years it has grown into a beloved weekly gathering place, hosting cooking demonstrations, live music, and community organizations, including the Rainier Valley Historical Society as we worked on our Rainier Valley Food Stories Cookbook. Columbia City Farmers Market circa 2005. (RVHS 2002.036.0170) Bibliography: Drosendahl, Glenn . “Duwamish Gardens (Ray Carrossino Farmstead).” Historylink.org, The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History, 12 Dec. 2017, www.historylink.org/File/20494. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026. Grant, Nicole. “White Supremacy and the Alien Land Laws of Washington State - Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project.” Depts.washington.edu, depts.washington.edu/civilr/alien_land_laws.htm. Roedell, Michelle. “P-Patch Gardens Take Root in Seattle.” Northwest Prime Time, 2026, northwestprimetime.com/news/2026/01/01/p-patch-gardens-took-root-in-seattle/. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026. "SkEba'kst: The Lake People and Seward Park." Sewardpark.org , sewardpark.org/history/ . Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Join RVHS for a variety of tours, lectures, and special events that showcase Rainier Valley's cultural heritage. Upcoming Events Storytime: Featuring A Ticket to the Pennant Sun, Apr 26 Third Place Books Something for the littlest history lovers! Join us for a lively reading for kiddos (and adults alike!) with local author Mark Holtzen. A fun and engaging introduction to Rainier Valley baseball history! Learn more Beacon Hill Street Fair Festival Booth Sat, May 09 Plaza Roberto Maestas Stop by our booth to learn more about the history of Beacon Hill! Learn more Columbia City Walking Tour Sat, May 16 RVHS Office Explore the people and places that make Columbia City so special with Executive Director Katie McClure. Buy Tickets 100 Years Under the Hood -- From Automobiles to Glassworks Sat, May 30 Rainier Lions Insight Center Join us for our 135th Annual Meeting and a special look at 100 years of the Columbia Motor Co. Building. Please RSVP! Learn More Atlantic Street Center's 25th Annual Juneteenth Celebration Thu, Jun 18 Rainier Beach Community Center Stop by our event booth to learn more about Juneteenth and Rainier Beach History. Please note the event is on June 18th. Learn more Mount Baker Summer Festival Sat, Jun 20 3299 Hunter Blvd S Kick off summer with this beloved neighborhood event! Learn more Hillman City - What's Good Block Party Sat, Aug 08 The Flour Box We'll be back at this neighborhood favorite festival! More details coming soon! Learn more Comet Lodge Cemetery Tour Sat, Oct 17 Comet Lodge Cemetary More details coming soon! Learn more 12th Annual Founder's Dinner Sat, Nov 07 St. Edward Catholic Church Save the date! More details coming soon. Learn more Become a Member Get exclusive early access to events, enjoy discounted rates, and support the preservation of Rainier Valley! join rvhs

Historical society in Seattle, Washington. Our mission is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret the history and heritage of the Rainier Valley. WELCOME TO RAINIER VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Learn More Our Mission To collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret the history and heritage of Rainier Valley and its community and to educate and promote public involvement in, and appreciation of, its history and culture. Upcoming Events See all events Storytime: Featuring A Ticket to the Pennant Sun, Apr 26 Third Place Books Something for the littlest history lovers! Join us for a lively reading for kiddos (and adults alike!) with local author Mark Holtzen. A fun and engaging introduction to Rainier Valley baseball history! Learn more Beacon Hill Street Fair Festival Booth Sat, May 09 Plaza Roberto Maestas Stop by our booth to learn more about the history of Beacon Hill! Learn more Columbia City Walking Tour Sat, May 16 RVHS Office Explore the people and places that make Columbia City so special with Executive Director Katie McClure. Buy Tickets Load More Featured Articles See more articles Our Archives Learn more about our archives Articles & Publications Photographs Newsletters Oral Histories Become a Member Help us preserve and celebrate the history of the Rainier Valley. Be a part of our advocacy for local preservation. Become a Member

Watch and listen to our collection of interviews and videos. Oral Histories We have serval dozen oral histories in our collection. A portion of our catalog are available on our YouTube Channel. The full catalog is available to researchers by appointment. explore our library RVHS Video Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Now Playing 36:44 Play Video Oral History Series: Dale Leuthold Jr. Now Playing 29:14 Play Video Oral History Series: Jack Collier, Collier Gas Station (Now Stone House Cafe) Now Playing 01:43:42 Play Video Oral History Series: Alice Yasutake Submit Your Oral History Share your story with us! RVHS welcomes submissions of oral histories from individuals interested in preserving their experiences for future generations. To contribute to our library, fill out our contact form, and we'll reach out to you. contact us