“It’s like magic,” said Sandra Whiting. Goosefoot’s executive director finds daily reward in witnessing the organization’s positive impact on the island.

Over the past two decades, Goosefoot’s mission has addressed agricultural resiliency, food insecurity, affordable housing, and business education. A unique operating model puts community first. Much like its namesake plant the Goosefoot, this nonprofit organization sends its roots out in a broad mission of community stewardship, addressing an array of needs.

Founded in 1999 by Nancy Nordhoff and Linda Moore, Goosefoot began its efforts in South Whidbey with the purchase of the 1924 Bayview Cash Store, located at Bayview Corner. Also home to an active community hall and school, Bayview Corner was the crossroads of South Whidbey prior to the construction of the highway. By 1999, the Cash Store had fallen into disrepair and was at risk of being sold and demolished.

“It took a local philanthropist who cared about preserving the rural landscape of Bayview and its community gathering spaces to invest the money necessary to save these South Whidbey treasures,” said Director of Programs Marian Myszkowski. In 2004, the renovated Cash Store reopened. Today it houses many first-time businesses and local art shows in a thriving merchant district, bringing neighbors together for everything from daily errands to Goosefoot’s popular summer street dances.

To read more, visit Whidbey Life Magazine.