Lavender donation honors late food bank director

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Food Bank received a different kind of donation Thursday. 

Joe Downs, owner of Lavender Ranch near Quincy, donated 70 bundles of lavender to Community Services of Moses Lake in memory of Peny Archer, the food bank’s director who passed away earlier this month. Each bundle has a photo of Archer on it. 

“Those people who (manage the food bank) touch so many lives that I thought, let me do up a little label with the picture and donate some bundles, and we'll go over there and hand them out,” Downs said. “So those people who were used to seeing Peny … will be able to have a bundle given to them with her picture on it, as a memento of the memories that they had.” 

The lavender isn’t meant to be eaten; it’s a variety grown mostly for scent and longevity, Downs said.  

“There's different ways to feed the soul,” Downs said. “Yes, sure, you’ve got to put food in there too. But the smell is relaxing (and) calming in the dead of winter. (It) brings a little bit of shine to the feelings.” 

Because the food bank was closed Thursday, Archer’s husband Rich Archer came to the Columbia Basin Herald office to collect the lavender.  

This is Lavender Ranch’s first donation to the Moses Lake Food Bank, although the farm has supported other local causes, Downs said. He didn’t know Peny Archer personally, he added but he was aware of the impact she had. 

“It’s just an opportunity to remember a community member who went above and beyond,” he said. 

    Each bundle of aromatic lavender donated by Lavender Ranch is labeled with a photo in memory of Moses Lake Food Bank Director Peny Archer, who passed away earlier this month.