12/26/2025
People Behind The Magic:
Penny Howard began as a client with Step By Step. After receiving support and guidance, she decided to invest back into the mission - becoming the longest employed person and a foundational voice for Step By Step as its Bookkeeper. Penny was able to use her personal experience to feed into the ideas and project of creating Farm 12 Restaurant. Her story is one of our favorites.
“I didn’t come to Farm 12 as a visitor—I came as part of its beginning. As a former client serving on the advisory council, I had the privilege of speaking into the project long before the restaurant ever opened its doors. By then, I was already working with Step By Step, pouring my heart and time into an organization that had once walked alongside me through one of the hardest seasons of my life. When the vision for Farm 12 started becoming reality, it felt like watching hope take tangible form. I wasn’t just helping to open a restaurant—I was helping to create a space where former clients could build sustainable lives, regain independence, and step out from under the systems that often keeps people from making real, lasting progress. To be part of that transformation from the ground up was—and continues to be—deeply meaningful.
I've been around for over 18 years as an employee of the organization; second longest employed person behind our executive director/founder. I was once a client, then I volunteered for a while, but I was offered a position to assist Krista and it grew into so much more once my skills were known and recognized. What stands out most after 18 years is the overwhelming kindness that fills this place. I’ve watched Step By Step grow, watched Farm 12 and Fika both rise from plans on paper to a living, breathing hub of community—and the thread that runs through all of it is LOVE. Not the soft, easy kind, but the kind that shows up, believes, and invests even when life is messy. I’ve seen families walk into our program with heavy hearts and leave standing taller. I’ve seen staff lift each other up during difficult seasons.
The transformation—of people, of spaces, of lives—never ceases to amaze me. Before moving to Washington, I worked in the restaurant industry and the culture we embody at the farm is not the cultural norm experienced in the industry as a whole. I truly feel like we are shifting the mindset of the hospitality industry just by showing up and caring for our Farm 12 family like we do. Everybody Matters!
The mission resonates because it is, quite literally, part of my story. Step By Step met me in a vulnerable chapter of my life, not to rescue me but to walk beside me. That approach—empowerment with dignity, encouragement without judgment—is what makes this organization different. We don’t look at parents and see their circumstances; we see their potential. We hold hope for people until they can hold it for themselves. And I know firsthand how life-changing that kind of support can be, because it shaped who I became as a parent, a woman, and ultimately as a team member here.
You know, our program was once described as something that would 'never pencil'. If Krista had listened to that, none of this would exist today. Yet here we are—28 years later—surrounded by work that is not only sustainable, but deeply impactful.
Farm 12 Restaurant, Farm 12 Events, and Fika now provide meaningful jobs for community members and former clients. The Loveland Greenhouse has become the setting for one of our most beloved annual fundraisers with the hanging moss baskets. The Grove Farm School gives children a place to grow, explore, and ignite their imaginations while developing a lasting connection to nature. And soon, the Early Learning Center will open its doors to meet the growing needs of families in the Puyallup Valley - offering reliable childcare in a space designed to nurture development and support thriving families.
Sometimes I look back and can hardly believe the journey - starting as a young parent in need of support, then volunteering my time for Step By Step events, to joining the team, and eventually playing a role in opening Farm 12 and Fika… places that now stand as symbols of everything Step By Step believes in: redemption, possibility, and community. To see parents enter our program with the same fears I once carried, and to witness their confidence take root and bloom—there is nothing more meaningful. Being part of this mission is one of the greatest honors of my life, and I am endlessly grateful to have the opportunity to walk alongside the brave families who trust us with their stories.”
Penny Howard’s story is a powerful testament. Beginning as a client of Step By Step, Penny chose to invest back into the mission that once walked alongside her. Her experience, dedication, and unwavering belief in the mission have helped shape these spaces. Thank you, Penny, for your years of service, your leadership, and for reminding us that when we lead with love and believe in people, transformation is always possible.
