Editor’s Note: This story is a continuation of a long-running series of farmer profiles by local farmer and chef Karen Biondo. The series focuses on food security, sustainability and the essential farmers who grow such gorgeous abundance on Vashon, often inspiring islanders with their wisdom and helpful hints. Biondo aims to help us stay in touch with our neighbors and friends in the community who work the soil to grow the food that heartily sustains us.
By Karen Biondo
For The Beachcomber
Which came first? The egg sandwich or the farm?
Aeggy’s Farm is one of a growing number of family farms on our lovely Vashon Island. Three generations of McCoys are engaged on this four-acre hillside property, located on the way to Lisabuela Park and Beach.
Chief chicken wrangler John McCoy bought the property in 1994 with his wife Karen, and it is where they raised their sons, Aaron and Luke, and daughter Zena.
Now the farm family includes Aaron’s partner, Manda Long, Aaron’s 12-year-old son, Winter; Zena’s musician husband, William Rodriguez, and their six-year-old daughter, Savanna — who is Grandpa John’s apprentice chicken wrangler.
From 2003 to 2006, Aaron farmed the land as West Side Produce, selling at the Vashon Farmers Market and at a roadside stand on Wax Orchard Road.
Time and life moved on, and Aaron found himself unhappily commuting to Seattle working in construction. In 2017, there were 40 or so chickens on the property. So Aaron’s sister Zena — who was already at the market with her Semilla Designs jewelry line — remarked, “Why don’t you make egg sandwiches at the Farmer’s Market?”
Have you tasted an Aeggy’s egg sandwich?
A farm-fresh fried egg, farm-grown lettuce and tomatoes as they ripen, bacon and cheese if you so desire. Add Aaron’s special parsley sauce, and you have just the right amount of gooey deliciousness inside the substantial Macrina potato bun which Aaron says ties it all together.
The Saturday Aeggy’s sandwich line was growing, so before long, more eggs were needed. Chief Chicken wrangler John was only too happy to oblige the need to acquire more laying hens — giving Savanna more chicken chores — including gathering eggs and naming chickens.
John has raised chickens since he was a boy in Kirkland, way back when the biggest store in that town was the feed store. With this lifelong skill, he grew the Vashon flock from 40 to 100 to 150 — and it is now holding at about 235 laying hens.
Let’s do a little math: the average hen lays 260 eggs per year, so 235 hens equal 61,100 eggs in a year. That’s 5,000 dozen, enough dozens to feed just about half the island population.
COVID may have closed Aeggy’s sandwich business and canceled Zena’s festivals and events for a year, but this family of creatives thought about what to do together and decided that it was the time to ramp up their food production, build a proper farm stand and grow the farm business.
Their 235 laying hens know nothing about COVID — the eggs keep coming and now there is a very cute farm stand where you can pick up your eggs and other fresh harvests.
Zena has always had a garden, and now splits her time between her jewelry business and the family farm. Her farm focus is berries — adding blueberries this year to the cane berries: raspberries, marionberries and Cascade berries.
Zena is also reviving the Olympic berry after a family friend gave her some canes to grow.
The Olympic berry was developed on Vashon Island in the 1900s and patented in 1937. It was a double-cross, sort of, with the Phenomenal berry, a blackberry-raspberry cross similar to a loganberry and a wild black-cap raspberry. You can read about the Vashon Olympic berry in the Seattle Times, May 30, 2017, at tinyurl.com/yaajnbx8.
In addition to her experiment with Olympic berries, Zena is also growing flowers for bouquets and drying for seasonal wreath-making.
Aaron’s partner Manda is a full-time teacher at Chautauqua Elementary School and also works the “front of house” at Aeggy’s sandwich booth at the Vashon Farmers Market. Manda also manages Aeggy’s social media and is building the farm’s website.
Manda puts her people- person skills to work planning more events at the farm like the popular Pumpkin Pick that included family fun activities and seasonal products. Stay tuned to the farm’s social media for future Farm to Table meals and events. Did you know Aaron is available to cater your next celebration? Now you do.
A year into this growing the farm venture, I asked them what is best and hardest about growing the farm.
Manda, Aaron and Zena all agreed that working outdoors and getting their hands in the soil was one of the best benefits of this Aeggys Farm project. They love growing what they like to eat and find it deeply rewarding when friends, neighbors and visitors shop in their farm stand.
They also agreed there is always something new to learn on the farm.
As for many of us, it frsutrates them when time and effort do not produce desired results. However, they understand it is not failure — it is information!
We can expect to see Aaron as a guest chef behind the grill at Vashon Brewing Community Pub this summer. I hear there is a Reggae Sunday in the plans.
Aeggy’s sandwiches are available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays at The Vashon Farmers Market.
The farm and farm stand are located at 13609 SW 220th St., on Vashon. Email the farmers at aeggysfarmstand@gmail.com, find them on Instagram @aeggysfarm, or visit their website at aeggys.com. The website for Zena’s fine craftwork is Semilladesigns.com.
The farm stand also offers small-batch relishes and pickled foods by Seattle Canning Co., along with other local brands.
Find product availability for Aeggy’s at foodaccesspartnership.org/farm-stand-locations.
— Karen Biondo is a farmer, chef and caterer currently cooking lunch for the Vashon Senior Center. She is also a member of VIGA’s Food Access Partnership and producer of VIGA’s Get Growing video series. She enthusiastically encourages everyone to try anything in the garden (and in life). She practices curiosity on a daily basis. Reach Biondo at labiondo@comcast.net or shop/visit her website at labiondofarm.com.
