Seed Savers Exchange gains popularity, changes leadership
Heather Thorstensen
Date Modified: 01/21/2010 9:12 AM
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Agri News staff writer
DECORAH, Iowa -- As Seed Savers Exchange celebrates it's 35th anniversary in 2010, it finds itself celebrating growth and preparing for change.
The non-profit organization based in Decorah is dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing heirloom seeds, rare varieties that have been passed down through generations, much like a piece of heirloom jewelry.
Their annual catalog of some 600 varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs has photos of produce that looks nothing like one would see at most grocery stores. Deep brown tomatoes are dubbed "sweet chocolate," and there are purple carrots and orange beets.
Seed Savers' leaders believe preserving genetic diversity will be key to preventing problems in the food supply. Where one variety may be susceptible to pests, diseases and changes in growing conditions, another may not.
"They are our food future in many ways," said George DeVault, SSE executive director and president.
Another reason for preservation is simply that one variety may suit a gardener's taste buds better than others.
SSE's biggest challenge is keeping up with demand for seeds, DeVault said. Membership recently hit a record high of 12,000 people, a significant jump from the roughly 8,000 members they had in 2008. The spike is credited to the growing local foods movement and the current economy that has left more people looking for ways to stretch food dollars.
"I think there's a whole new generation of people interested in gardening," said John Torgrimson, SSE editor.
According to the National Gardening Association, 36 million U.S. households in 2008 had some type of food garden. That represents about 30 percent of all homes in the nation. In 2009, 7 million more expected to garden, a jump of 19 percent.
SSE will have to meet that demand while undergoing a change in leadership. DeVault announced his resignation in December, after being in his position for a little more than a year. He and wife, Melanie, will return to Pennsylvania, where they lived for 27 years before coming to Iowa.
"My wife and I are, in a word, homesick for Pennsylvania," he said.
He plans to continue working with SSE in varying capacities and return to organic farming.
He is transitioning his duties to Aaron Whaley, the acting executive director and president. Whaley is the son of SSE co-founders Kent Whealy and Diane Ott Whealy. He grew up in the organization and has worked there full-time since 1996, mostly as the leader of commercial seed sales.
"My goal is to make sure that Seed Savers Exchange remains fresh, healthy and sustainable," Whaley said.