Our Someones 2 Know met in Reno and married about ten years ago. While the two come from entirely different upbringings, together they have created Soulful Seeds - a non-profit which develops and manages gardens to reduce food insecurity in Washoe County.
We caught up with Earstin Whitten and Dee Schafer-Whitten on the currently snow-covered property, right off busy Glendale Avenue in Sparks. There you will find Soulful Seeds, a three-acre garden purposely designed to be in an urban setting. “Neighborhood gardens,” Dee tells us, explaining one of the pillars of the non-profit, “To put the gardens as close to the populations that need it as possible.”
Earstin adds the reason behind the mission. "For people to really have faith that they can do things for themselves.”
Like growing your own food, even if your housing situation is unstable.
The Whittens started first with a garden at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center in Reno, Earstin explains. "They had donated land to us, about 1,000 square feet, we've been growing vegetable there since 2017.” That Saint Mary's garden grew quickly. Volunteers and customers came to till soil, plant seeds, pull weeds, and - "...and actually harvest the produce and take it back to where they are residing to prepare a meal.”
To help those who might be living in motels, they came up with a solution. "We bought rice cookers for them,” shares Dee, “So that they could cook everything in a one pot rice cooker.”
Produce was – and still is - also donated to food pantries in Reno and Sparks. With food insecurity so high in Washoe County, the need quickly grew. So, the Whittens appealed to the county commissioners for more land. They got it - on the apron of the Northern Nevada Mental Health campus now home to Our Place.
“Our Place campus houses 300 homeless women children and families,” Dee tells us. All of whom are invited to learn how to garden, with support and guidance from Soulful Seeds volunteers. Earstin explains further - "They will show them how to harvest and they have recipe cards to say this is how you use this product.”
For Earstin, much of this comes naturally, he was born on a farm, one of 15 siblings.
"I was raised in Arkansas in the 40s to the 60s, very segregated society, had a very large family, we were share croppers, etcetera.” Earstin went on to college and then served in the Army, “Then worked for Allstate for 31 years.” Whitten retired in Reno where he met his wife Dee.
"I was born and raised up at Tahoe,” relays Dee, “My family had business up at Virginia City and so I started working their when I was eight years old.”
Dee is now in her 60s, Earstin in his 70s - and both with a fierce work ethic, and neither with any quit in them, at all.
There is a beautiful rendering showing how Soulful Seeds would like to utilize all three acres of their plot (hoop houses, row crops, trees and more), with the ultimate goal of helping those who need it most.
“So, we can partner with the community to move them from poverty to sustainability.”
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SOULFUL SEEDS is seeking corporate sponsors, donors and volunteers.
If you can help or would like more information, click link below -
