The Bonney Lake food bank has received an influx of homegrown produce thanks to one agriculturally-minded Bonney Lake High School senior.

Calum Ramsay began growing produce in April for his senior project. He worked in conjunction with Take Root Farm off Old Sumner-Buckley Highway to cultivate carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, green beans and peas.

The senior project is a BLHS graduation requirement; students complete the project by tackling an area of independent study that has something to show for it at the end. The project is required to have 15 hours of effort logged in a journal, but Ramsay needed to go into overtime, he said.

“It was definitely more work than I thought I would have to do,” he said. “For example, for carrots you have to thin the baby carrots out to give them room to grow. It’s tedious and a lot of work.

“I learned what needs to really be done to garden; not just planting. I had to pre-seed the cauliflower in soil trays because the soil in the ground wasn’t right for growing it in its first stages. I didn’t know at the beginning I would have to do that.”

Cauliflower had the second-largest yield at more than 61 pounds. Carrots had the greatest harvest at 176 pounds.

Ramsay dropped off the last of his produce – a few boxes of potatoes – at the food bank Sept. 3.

“Calum did a great job of growing some good, high-quality produce and donating it,” Food Bank Director Stew Bowen said.

The Bonney Lake food bank is at 18409 Old Sumner-Buckley Hwy.