The former Elk Run Golf Course is looking less and less like a golf course as the weeks go on. The course closed last October and about 5 acres of its greens will soon be home to the new Elk Run Farm.

The farm is a project of the South King County Food Coalition, which represents the food banks in the area.

The produce grown at the farm will be donated to area food banks for people in need.

The owners of the property, Roy Humphreys and Daryl Connell, will lease the portion of their land to the coalition for the farm and its infrastructure.

The coalition is currently conducting a feasibility study and plans to do water and soil testing before anything takes root.

Katie Pencke, the farm manager, said the location of the farm will be where the old clubhouse was and it will run east to west along the main parking lot and underneath the Bonneville Power Administration transmission line that runs through the property.

Matt Torpey, senior planner for the city of Maple Valley, said the group has received approval from BPA to build the farm there.

Pencke and Lila Henderson, executive director of the Maple Valley Food Bank, made a presentation during the April 29 planning commission meeting about the project.

Torpey said there was unanimous concurrence from the commission to include the recommended policies in the comprehensive plan that would support the elk run farm proposal.

Pencke said the coalition is looking for individuals in the community to assist with the farm’s infrastructure. Farm management held a volunteer drop-in day Tuesday, May 19 to allow people to help with the work that needs to get done, including establishing permanent storage in what used to be the driving range. More of these volunteer days are planned, Pencke said, and specific dates will be announced once they are scheduled.

“We are currently seeking to schedule days of service with groups of 10-30 people to clean up driving range, grub out blackberries (and) clean gutters on the bbq shelter building,” she said in an email.

They are also looking for someone with a riding mower to help mow the grass the coalition will be leasing. The group also needs people to do light carpentry work, electrical work and provision of materials to create storage spaces.

Funding and general community involvement is also something the coalition is seeking.

“We envision a volunteer advisory board of neighbors and community stakeholders who will help to provide connections to resources and advocate for the farm. We are currently seeking a community member who would be interested in talking more with us about this concept and perhaps lay some groundwork for the groups formation,” Pencke said.

The group and many volunteers worked on Tuesday to clear anything usable out the restaurant before it gets demolished, which is scheduled to happen within the next month, Pencke said.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the farm can email Pencke at elkrunfarmer@gmail.com.