Beating the Industrial Food System - Kitsap Community Food Co-Op
by David Albright
Kitsap County is just a ferry ride away from Seattle but sometimes it can feel like the other side of the planet when it comes to the vegan food scene. But slowly things are changing over here, and the Kitsap Community Food Co-op in downtown Bremerton is the place where it all comes together. The co-op is like a little healthy-food oasis in the middle of an industrial-food desert - in fact, downtown Bremerton was literally a USDA classified food desert before the co-op opened in 2019.
Not only can you find all your grocery store vegan favorites like Just Egg, Nuggs, and Beyond Meat patties, but they’ve found the best of the best locally made vegan items from all around the West Sound region and brought them together in one place. An organic tofu maker on idyllic vashon island - vegan cake donuts with inventive flavors that change every month - and a creamy coconut gelato that even dairy lovers won't be able to put down.
Here are our Top 3 vegan items made in the West Sound;
ISLAND SPRING ORGANICS TOFU – Vashon Island
Island Spring Organics turned out their first block of organic extra-firm tofu in 1976 – and they’ve been supplying your favorite local restaurants like Plum Bistro and Café Flora ever since. The story of how the company launched starts where a lot of stories from the 1970s seem to start… in a commune.
Owner William Matthew Lukoskie (aka Luke) was inspired by reading a classic book – The Book of Tofu. He and his girlfriend scraped together $200 and maxed out their credits cards to start the company, “I like to tell people we started with $200 and now here we are 45 years later and we’re making a million pounds a year of tofu! I’m still trying to get a tofu in every pot.”
Located on beautiful Vashon Island, Luke is happy to give tours of his plant to anyone who wants to come by, “we get bikers coming across from Seattle all the time who take the ferry over and then bike up here for a tour.”
You’ll even be able to see the brand new bioenergy plant next door, which takes the waste product Okara that’s leftover from the tofu making process, and turns it into a certified organic renewable form of natural gas. Eventually Luke wants to run his plant off the energy they produce to create what he calls a “perpetual motion machine.” How cool is that!
FIDDLEHEAD CREAMERY – Port Townsend
Creamy doesn’t even begin to describe the texture of the coconut gelato from Fiddlehead Creamery in Port Townsend. This is one vegan treat that even non-vegans can’t resist – owner Amanda Teiroff tells us, “I have a lot of loyal customers who can eat dairy but choose to eat my product anyway because they love it! It's nice to prove that vegan food can be just as good as non-vegan food - sometimes it's even better!”
The creamy texture draws you in – and the unique flavors keep you coming back. Fiddlehead uses organic coconut cream and organic cane sugar as a starting point and then they get creative from there, mixing their fruits or herbal ingredients in a hand mixer to create their signature flavors like strawberry basil, golden milk and horchata.
Dudes Donuts – Port Orchard
Dude’s Donuts started off as tiny stand at the Bremerton Farmers Market just two years ago, and in the years since they’ve grown a base of loyal fans with pick-up locations as far North as Poulsbo, and as far South as Tacoma (and Seattle soon!).
A Dudes’ Donut is a soft, yet filling, cake donut that does not leave your stomach feeling stressed out after eating. They have a rotating menu of fun flavors with Dude’s classics like their “Homer” - vanilla cake with chocolate ganache and rainbow sprinkles to more off the wall flavors like their “Mild Fruit” - chocolate cake with jalapeño sugar and a blueberry drizzle.
For owner Easton Shepard, AKA “the Dude,” having a vegan donut business, and selling through places like the Co-Op is all about building community, “We love being able to connect with so many wonderful people. We’ve made a ton of friends throughout the community and that’s priceless.”
The vegan scene in the West Sound region is definitely still small – but it’s growing. Right next door to the Co-op is Cray’s Diner who mostly caters to the shipyard crowd, but also has a growing list of vegan options on the menu, making for a mini vegan destination on the edges of this gritty waterfront city.
They are only a ferry ride and a short walk away – so consider checking them out next time you need a cheap and easy escape from the city!