Back in 2012, Rainier Beach High School senior, Yoda Pokhrel, planted an apple tree on her school’s campus. Yoda and her family were Nepalese, immigrating to the U.S. after being expelled from Bhutan. At the time when she planted the apple tree, it was the only food that was being grown on RBHS’s campus and was done as part of her senior project on world hunger. Lila Chin– a friend of Yoda’s– remembers helping to plant the tree: “We decided to plant it in the backyard right below my classroom so we could all watch it grow every day.” 

Nine years later, apples from this tree are being harvested from the RBHS Organic Garden and given to RBAC so that they may be distributed to members of this community. Some have a distinctive brown band. This does not mean they’re rotten but is a sunburn from the last weeks of intense sun. Yoda’s apples were delivered to our Food Innovation Center last week by Mark Epstein, who said, “As we eat the stripe, let us remember the strength we gain as we move forward through adversity.  Let Yoda’s apples inspire us to plan for the future and continue to feed the people who most need it at this time.”

Related Posts