Winner of Chamber of Commerce Community Asset Award
by John Dowd
Today, grocery stores and the modern food distribution system seems to make food a second thought for many people. A person can go to the store and pick up whatever they want, no matter what time of year it is. However, one local nonprofit is working to change that perspective, and to remind people just where their food comes from, and how to become more involved in what they are putting into their bodies.
The O’Hara Commons and Sustainability Center in Hamilton was recognized for this work by the Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce during their annual awards, where the organization was given the community asset award.
Samantha O’Byrne is the executive director and organization founder.
“It’s good to have an inspired goal, rather than a feasible goal,” said O’Byrne. She said this path started as an “exit strategy,” or a way to retire from her previous business. However, she found that there was such a need in the valley that the new organization just continued to grow. From humble beginnings and a big idea, the O’Hara Commons, according to O’Byrne, now works every day to “make the valley a better place to live, work and raise a family.”
Samantha O’Byrne stands next to the ‘58 Apache truck, up for raffle to raise money for the nonprofit. Photo by John Dowd.
The story began with O’Byrne’s small retail garden shop called, “Sam’s Spade.” In 2008, she moved her business to the O’Hara House at 111 S. 4th because she wanted to be more centrally located in Hamilton. The location was perfect, and allowed her to establish some garden beds on the property. The business even had an espresso bar.
She leases the space, and said the owner has been nothing but supportive of the mission. The idea for the change in scope to a nonprofit was influenced by the economic difficulties of 2010, which O’Byrne said were hard on many local people. She also found that the O’Hara House was utilized by the public as a community park.
“It was really a community hub,” said O’Byrne. Things all came together to create the beginnings of an organization, founded in programs to educate and assist the public.
O’Byrne said the O’Hara House was convenient as a space for what O’Hara Commons would eventually become. One big reason was because it is a “nice chemical-free environment, with no pesticides or other chemicals used on the grounds.” This was consistent with the nonprofit’s mission to help people become more involved with where their food is coming from.
O’Byrne had the garden shop for 13 years, and the last two were spent in founding the nonprofit. In 2015, the business transitioned into a non-profit and it became the O’Hara Commons and Sustainability Center. When this happened, the retail side of the business went away, and it began to focus on gardening resources and education. O’Byrne’s goal was all about “empowering a resilient community.”
Soon after, they added the farmers market, and started numerous programs, including “curiosity campus,” adult education and more, all revolving around the mission. O’Byrne wanted to help teach people, including youth, that “food systems are only as healthy as our natural resources that go into it, including water, soil and pollinating populations.” The programs included gardening, cooking with seasonal foods, basket making and much more. They were all about “connecting people with garden- and food-related activities.”
The first year they had between 250 and 300 programs, which O’Byrne said was too many. As the nonprofit grew, they paired down on programs significantly, focusing on improving the programs they kept and making them more long-lived and sustainable.
The O’Hara Commons has a lot of volunteers, and a working board, but had only one staff member – O’Byrne – until recently. Now, the nonprofit has hired a director of education and outreach, Mackenzie Brosious.
According to O’Byrne, Brosious was brought on to help make programming more cohesive, and to redevelop programs to highlight their educational element in more thoughtful, sustainable and engaging ways.
One such program is the “Old Blue Mood Orchard Program,” which sees them utilize and maintain an orchard outside Stevensville. The place is also used as an educational space, and provides some funding for the nonprofit through fruit and produce sales. The orchard is managed by volunteers, program graduates and participants. The A grade fruit they grow is sold at the farmers market, while the C grade fruit is sent to local livestock growers.
The nonprofit recently started a youth-led program. So far, it has six youth, ages nine to 13, but it is open to more that are interested. The program allows youth to make the decisions, with guidance, and has the goal of creating four seasonal activities they can do annually. The youth handle their own fundraising at the farmers market. The first activity they are looking at will be called “the great pumpkin rescue.” This activity will have the youth picking up jack-o-lanterns after Halloween and delivering them to pig farms. O’Byrne said this will hopefully keep a lot of those pumpkins from going to waste, and will help local growers make their food stores go further.
According to O’Byrne, O’Hara Commons is always looking for volunteers and, “our biggest challenge is the human capacity,” said O’Byrne. Some of their programs take a lot of volunteers to make them happen. One such program, which is the biggest program run by O’Hara Commons, is the organization’s online market. This program allows community members to shop for healthy local produce, online, and then pick it up at various locations. This program was started to give local growers another option to sell their produce. The program has become extremely convenient for both buyers and growers. Information on this program is available on the O’Hara Commons website.
The O’Hara Commons Farmers Market takes place on Wednesdays, June to September, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Street fairs are held on July 9 and August 6, closing off the street and bringing in all kinds of craftspeople and sellers to feature local art and talent. O’Hara Commons is working to open a winter market as well.
The organization also partners with other organizations like Ravalli County Economic Development Authority (RCEDA). The O’Hara Commons is helping the RCEDA to develop their food processing and storage facility, which both organizations believe will make a huge impact on the valley as far as helping small-time local growers.
For more information on the O’Hara Commons and Sustainability Center, interested parties can visit the organization website, www.theoharacommons.org. The website has many of their programs listed, as well as other ways to get involved with local produce and gardening.