Celebrating San Juan Islands Farms and Foods
Agriculture on the San Juans doesn’t come easy. On remote islands, with exceedingly high land costs and limited water, transforming soils depleted from over grazing is more than a work of love to forge food from the land. It is a Heroic Act!
In 2022, the Makers Guild leveraged Food Heroes funding from San Juan County to begin telling this remarkable story to champion our Heroes – island farmers and food product developers who are passionate innovators yielding exceptional foods with high flavor and nutritional profiles. The result is a short documentary film (18 min) that tells a story we hope to see grow and flourish in the years to come: a resilient local island food system.
This lively short documentary released in 2024 highlights the accomplishments and challenges of farmers and food producers in the San Juan Islands. Conceived and produced by the San Juan Islands Makers Guild, the film is the result of generous video, still photos, drone photogrpahy, audio interviews, narration, script and editing creatives on three islands working together to tell our local ag story.
From foods essential to Native Foodways since time immemorial to heritage fruit orchards, to soil and water challenges faced today, the film traces the evolution of local foods in the islands. Featuring innovative food products unique to the San Juans and the climate impacts shaping the future of food, the film explores the real world experiences of farmers and producers keeping agriculture alive on the San Juans.
The film crew, Erin and Emily Bennett of Orcas Video, still photographers Satya Curcio and Julia Summers, and producer and script writer Marcy Montgomery, undertook multi-day adventures visiting the farms and small businesses, 2022-2024. Weaving together this story was our wonderful editor, Matteus Rabel who brought the collection of video interviews, island landscapes, and still photos together for a compelling story.
We hope you will enjoy the film and join us in celebrating Island Food Heroes.
Thank You to our Island Food Heroes!
Farms and Food Businesses featured in the video footage include:
Amanda Zee, Sweet Earth Farm, San Juan Island
Shaun Salamida, Madrone Cellars, San Juan Island
Brady Ryan, San Juan Island Sea Salt, San Juan Island
Joel Stewart and Annie McIntyre, Warm Valley Farm, Orcas Island
Orcas Community Participatory Agriculture, Orcas Island
Audra Lawlor, Girl Meets Dirt, Orcas Island
Andre Entermann, Sunnyfield Farm, Lopez Island
Henning Sehmsdorf, S&S Homestead, Lopez Island
Lori Ann David, Aurora Farm, San Juan Island
Hailey Averna, West Beach Farm, Orcas Island
Sarah Pope Green, San Juan Islands Food Hub, San Juan County
Farms and Agricultural Businesses featured in the still photos include:
Aurora Farm, San Juan Island
Barn Owl Bakery, Lopez Island
Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm, San Juan Island
Landsea Gomasio, Orcas Island
Mama Bird Farm, San Juan Island
Midnight’s Farm, Lopez Island
Morning Star Farm, Orcas Island
New Hannah Farm, San Juan Island
North Star Farm, Lopez Island
Orcas Farm, Orcas Island
San Juan Island Sea Salt
Sunnyfield Farm, Lopez Island
Watmough Bay Farm, Lopez Island
Funding and Support for film production provided by:
San Juan County LTAC Program
San Juan Islands Conservation District
San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild
Heritage Ranch, Inc.
Private donors