Fourteen Cowlitz Indian Tribe elders journeyed to the East Lewis County community of Glenoma on the morning of Thursday, July 25, to take a tour of Rainy Glen Farm and Bates Family Foods and shop for farm-fresh fruit, produce and more.
The trip was part of the Tribe’s Elders and Senior Nutrition Program.
Trynity Manning, elder care advocate for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s Elders and Senior Nutrition Program, spoke to The Chronicle about their visit and how the elders got to try out their Washington state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program voucher cards to make their purchases.
The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program offers voucher cards to eligible seniors for use from June 1 through Oct. 31 each year, giving lower-income adults the opportunity to buy locally grown fruits, vegetables, honey and herbs, helping support local farms, farmers markets, farm stands and community supported agriculture, according to the DSHS website.
To be eligible, a senior must be at least 60 years old — or 55 if Native American or Native Alaskan — with a monthly income below 185% of the federal poverty level.
“Every year we take a trip. Last year, we went to Olympia and didn’t really have as many vendors taking the cards as we would have wanted,” Manning said. “So rather than go up there, we decided to go out to Glenoma, and we were pleasantly surprised.”
DSHS consolidates its different food programs to be all usable with its electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards, meaning anyone with an EBT card — not just those on the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program — can now shop at Rainy Glen Farm.
Along with the fresh fruit and produce, Rainy Glen also offers customers canned goods, including pickled vegetables and homemade jams.
“Mark (Bates) and his wife, Noel, they do all of it themselves. He talked with us at length about what went into everything and how you could pair it with different foods, and the cards were super easy to use,” Manning said.
While the trip to the farm was supposed to be a day trip that included a picnic lunch at the farm, overcast conditions and cold weather cut the trip short.
Manning said the elders want to visit again. Another possible visit next month is being planned once Rainy Glen’s pumpkin, squash and rhubarb crops have been harvested.
“It was super sweet and super quaint. There were also turkeys and chickens and pigs. The elders really enjoyed that aspect. (The Bateses) were just super friendly and nice. They gave us some gifts on the way out,” she added.
Though the elders’ visit to Rainy Glen was cut short, The Chronicle visited on Thursday and spoke with Noel, who spoke about her and her husband’s farm along with the elders’ visit.
“There aren’t many farms, if any, where people can use their EBT cards. So a lot of them were able to use their EBT cards to make their purchases,” Noel said. “It doesn’t get fresher than buying it at the farm either.”
Noel and Mark Bates have a diverse variety of plants. Each morning, the couple is up at 3 a.m. to begin their daily routine and take care of the wide array of crops on their Glenoma farm.
Currently, Rainy Glen grows kale, Swiss chard, zucchini, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, rhubarb, eggplants, tomatoes, jalapeños, habaneros, bell peppers, tomatoes, basil, sugar pumpkins, Jack O’Lantern pumpkins, Charentais melons, watermelons, marionberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries, just to name a few of the offerings customers can find there.
Not all crops are available all the time, as different plants and fruits are harvested throughout different times of the year.
Shoppers can also sign up to receive community supported agriculture baskets from Rainy Glen with a selection of fresh fruit and produce.
“It includes a share of berries,” Noel added.
While there are chickens on the farm, the couple keeps them for personal food as they don’t produce enough eggs to sell to customers. And the turkeys belong to the Bates’ next-door neighbors, but visitors might still hear them gobble during their time at the farm.
Noel said she is looking forward to hosting the Cowlitz elders again next month for lunch.
Other shoppers — including all with EBT cards — are invited to Rainy Glen Farm, located at 244 Martin Road in Glenoma.
The farm is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
A sign greets visitors, letting them know to either honk, call a number listed, or ring the doorbell for service.
For more information, follow Rainy Glen Farm on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/batesfamilyfoods.biz.
To learn more about the Cowlitz Indian Tribe Elders and Senior Nutrition Program, visit https://www.cowlitz.org/elders-program.
More information on the DSHS’ Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program can be found online at https://tinyurl.com/yepm7uab.
