Local Food | A Personal Journey

Patrick Moote’s Food Journey

I like food. Not only because it gives me the caloric energy necessary to fuel my whimsically aggressive lifestyle, but it's also delicious.

Patrick sorting apples from Orchard Kitchen.

I had already worked in agriculture for a couple of years the first time I walked onto the farm at Orchard Kitchen. I had never seen anything like it. A place where the food is grown regeneratively and often travels less than a hundred feet to reach its final destination on someone's dinner plate. I had no idea how much work went into pulling off that magnificent feat, but I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

Pat doing commercial work with Shaq.

An unlikely journey brought me to that point, but it's essential and the most appropriate place to start this story. Plus, one of the things that I'm best at is talking about myself, so this outcome was inevitable.

I began working in agriculture sometime mid-covid. It's hard to recall exactly when. It's all a blur of Netflix binges and failed attempts at sourdough bread. It was a new career path for me. Before that I had spent my entire adult life chasing a different dream. I wanted to be an actor. It wasn't the most original idea but I was convinced that I would be like really, really famous. I had most of my success in TV commercials; primarily for fast food restaurants which will seem ironic if you keep reading but I made a solid living doing it for over a decade.

In 2018, when I was 34 years old, I was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer (sorry for the abrupt segway, but I find it's most impactful when I casually throw it out there.) The diagnosis was a shock to me. I had never even considered that the symptoms I was experiencing could be cancer. Honestly, neither had my doctors.

Between surgery and twelve rounds of chemotherapy my treatment lasted eighteen months. It was the first time since my adolescence that I could step back from the entertainment industry and focus on something else. I dedicated myself to researching my diagnosis and I was shocked to learn that my situation was not all that uncommon. Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death among young people ages 20- 49 years old.

During my treatment, I remember my doctor wondering aloud, "You're so young. How could this happen?’’ Without giving it much thought, I responded, "Maybe it was Hot Pockets?" Confused, he said, "I don't get it. What do you mean?" To me, it seemed pretty apparent that food was likely the cause of my traumatic butt stuff.

After treatment I was ready to get back to work. I still wasn't sure how to utilize my new understanding of our wildly dysfunctional food systems, but I knew I wanted to make a difference. Then the pandemic happened. The world stopped. And again, I was shown a very startling example of just how broken our food systems are. I moved home to Whidbey Island in 2020. The pandemic was a great opportunity to take advantage of the privilege of having roots here. I had learned a lot about our struggling food systems and the hazards of hyper-processed meals, but I still needed to understand how food was produced.

Patrick during chemotherapy in 2018.

I started with a small garden, a few rows of my favorite vegetables grown with a lot of enthusiasm and very little success. The following season I leveled up and attended The Organic Farm School. This is where it all started to come into focus for me. The only way to know if what you put in your body is healthy is to know where it comes from.

In 1990, small farms accounted for nearly half of the Agricultural production in the US. Now, it is less than a quarter. As farms grew in size, the gap between people and their food sources widened. Now, food often travels for weeks and over thousands of miles to reach us. In our current agricultural system, there is no way to know where that food came from or what the hell happened to it on its way to us.

I started this journey wondering how something happened to me, only to realize how much bigger it was than myself (shocker, I know). It is not just about producing healthy food. It's about increasing soil health, reducing the use of petroleum, eliminating harmful chemical inputs, sequestering carbon, creating jobs, connecting communities, protecting natural ecosystems, saving the planet, and improving the quality of life for all. We are only as healthy as the environment around us. That includes the food we eat and the environment that it comes from.

Cancer free and in Orchard Kitchen Merch.

At Orchard Kitchen I no longer have to wonder where my food came from. I can see it out the window as I eat my very meal.

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If you are local to Whidbey Island or just happen to be passing through on a Wednesday you can catch Pat doing stand-up comedy with other local talent at Bailey’s Corner, 6pm sharp! You can also check out his YouTube Channel, Moote Farms if you’re looking for some farm fashion inspiration. We highly recommend you do both!

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