Updated 4/11/11
Intel Employees and Retirees Combine Talents to Help the Local Food Bank
Stu Vannerson retired from Intel in February 2010 but left an ongoing legacy with his non-profit organization (Intel DuPont Community Gardens) which is assisting food banks in his local Dupont Washington area.
It started in 2008 when Intel challenged its employees to donate one million volunteer hours to their local communities. Many of the departmental volunteer projects in 
Washington were agriculture-based, and Vannerson realized “we could do this right here on the Intel campus.” So in 2009, Stu and two other Intel employees formed the “IDCG”. They consulted with the Pierce and Thurston County food banks to find out what fresh produce they wanted most. The group worked as teams and researched strategies.” “A lot of what takes place here is very experimental,” Stu Vannerson said. “It’s the engineering geek in us.”
And it is paying off. “They are surprising food banks in Pierce and Thurston counties with deliveries of lettuce, spinach, peas, broccoli, and bok choy in a season when many home gardeners are just getting their recently waterlogged soil going. In late June they harvested 70 pounds of radishes from a 5-by-6-foot section of a raised bed.” So far in 2010, the Intel garden has harvested over 1100 pounds of healthy locally-grown produce donated to the food banks.
The team not only focuses on growing produce; they experiment with weed suppression and seed collection. Weeds are not an option. They record data, evaluate options, and use best-known practices – Intel skills for sure!.
Even in retirement, Stu remains the garden’s godfather and is currently putting in about 20 hours a week at the garden. For more information about setting up a non-profit or garden, you can contact Stu at stu.vannerson@comcast.net.