Farmer Aiden

Aiden Irish is the owner and operator of Irish Acres. Growing up on a small homestead in the Snoqualmie Valley, his earliest memories centered on food, its production, preservation, and preparation. 

It was the memories of small farms in the Snoqualmie Valley that had fallen on hard economic times, however, that motivated the first part of his professional life. Spurred on by the images of vacant barns and declining farm communities, his first career centered on policy advocacy and research focusing on local and regional food system development. His work sought policy approaches to sustaining the health and viability of farming communities. In this pursuit, he worked as a policy analyst in Washington, D.C. and later completed a doctorate in public administration at Ohio State University, where he focused on public participation in food system policy-making. 

Throughout his career, growing food remained a consistent presence. After many years of small garden plots and volunteering in community gardens, the Pandemic became a turning point. While completing doctoral work in Columbus, Ohio, he rented some farmland from a friend and started growing produce. Some years later, he packed up his life and fledgling farm and moved back to his home in the Snoqualmie Valley. 

Aiden continues to engage in policy work. He serves as a consultant on local and regional food policy research projects. He also teaches U.S. food policy in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.