Making healthy, local and sustainable foods available to all of the area’s citizens is a cornerstone tenet of Portland Farmers Market (PFM). One of the ways PFM helps realize this goal is through its participation in the state’s Oregon Trail EBT program. Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT for short) is commonly referred to as food stamps—except the program no longer uses stamps. Transactions are now handled electronically through recipients’ Oregon Trail benefit debit cards.

Instead of having each market vendor decide individually whether to participate in the EBT program and complete the subsequent paperwork, PFM processes all EBT transactions at the Info Booth of each of its five markets, debiting the Oregon Trail card in exchange for $1 tokens that shoppers can use at PFM vendor stalls.

Either due to greater awareness of PFM’s participation in the EBT program, concerns about food safety, or the double whammy of double-digit unemployment and increased food inflation—possibly a little of each—the EBT token program at PFM has experienced a 100% increase thus far during the 2009 season.

For many people, PFM’s EBT/token program offers the opportunity to bring healthy, affordable foods to their table. According to government statistics, over 90% of benefits go to households with either a child, senior, or disabled individual. PFM spoke to market shopper, ‘Ken’ (not his real name) who represented another type of food aid recipient: single and childless; a full-time student who became eligible for his Oregon Trail card when his work hours were cut to under 20 hours a week earlier this year.

‘Ken’ believes the PSU Market is the "cheapest place to get fresh produce downtown." This is not just the way he feels; for the third year in a row, Seattle University students and researchers found that prices at farmers markets were less expensive than comparable items at grocery stores. For ‘Ken’, the market offering an EBT option to shoppers means he is able to add fresh vegetables to his self-described diet of “rice, beans and ramen”.

60% of people who receive Food Stamp/Oregon Trail benefits will voluntarily leave the program within a year as their household conditions improve. During this time of need when the desire to be self-sufficient and provide for your family is not always matched by opportunities to do so, having access to nutritious foods can alleviate at least one worry. 

The majority of farmers markets in the Portland area accept EBT cards, so please help spread the word!  PFM would like to thank Oregon Trail benefit recipients for shopping at all area farmers markets, supporting local farmers and investing their dollars back into the local economy.

--Dave Adamshick

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Kids Cook at the Market

On Saturdays in June, July and August, junior chefs age seven to fifteen can cultivate their culinary skills, meet local farmers and enjoy seasonal, farm-fresh foods by enrolling in kids' cooking classes held at our Saturday market. These fun and informative weekly classes are taught by professional chef and nutrition instructor, Vanessa Rubin.

For more information about classes, the instructor, and registration, please download the Registration Form. Advance registration is required, so hurry while there is still space left!

Preserving the Market

Thank you to all the would-be preservers out there for nearly selling out our Preserving Series this year!  Instructor Cara Haskey will teach the basics of successful home canning during this 3 part series. Each class will include an overview of food preservation, food safety and selection, canning basics, and helpful resources for trusted recipes, canning supplies, and creative ideas for labeling and gift-giving.  View the Registration Form for more information.

Pietopia!

Pietopia is back! If your life was a pie, what would it be? To participate in this wonderful community event, please submit your 300 word blurb and recipe by July 15th to pietopiacontest@gmail.com, including why you chose the recipe and how the taste of it relates to the current state of your life.  Sample the winning pies and meet the bakers at the victory celebration to be held on August 20th at Eastbank Market.

Market Tours

Summer is a perfect time to see farmer’s markets in bloom. Portland Farmers Market welcomes tour groups of almost any size interested in learning more on the topics of regional food systems, farmer’s market operations, sustainable cities, agro-tourism, and food education.

In addition to a guided walk around the market, tours may also include product sampling, presentations by Market vendors, a question and answer period with vendors and staff, seated dining and beverage options, and an overview of the organization’s history, community relationships, and vendor selection criteria. Tours take approximately one hour and each is customized based on the specific interests of the tour group.

We welcome input from tour participants in order to develop the most meaningful experience for individual groups. The goal of our tour program is to help the greater public understand the critical role that shopping at the farmer’s market plays in keeping our local family farmers farming, strengthening the local economy, and adding to the health and vibrancy of our community.

For more information about market tours and rates or to arrange a visit, please contact Anna Curtin at 503.241.0032 or anna@portlandfarmersmarket.org. We look forward to seeing soon!

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June marks the start of Oregon’s berry season.

Juicy, bright red Hood Strawberries are among the first berries to appear at the market. Raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries, marionberries, loganberries, boysenberries and blueberries will soon follow.

A variety of market vendors offer berries throughout the summer. Vendors who specialize in growing berries include Chernishoff Farm, Krivoshein Farms, The Berry Patch, Valley Berry and Unger Farms. Some vendors, such as Winters Farms, also make jams and syrups from their berries.

Although many shoppers can’t resist snacking on their berries before leaving the market, there are as many ways to cook with berries as there are days in the summer. Market-fresh berries usually take center stage in pies, cobblers and crisps, but they're also great in savory dishes. A Pinot Noir-berry sauce or gastrique (a sweet-sour reduction using vinegar or wine) made with huckleberries, blueberries or blackberries would be a delicious accent to pork, lamb, duck or game.

If a simpler recipe is more your style, a strawberry and blueberry shortcake is a fast and easy crowd-pleaser. Or, top perfectly ripe berries with rich and tangy crème fraiche or chocolate mascarpone from Jacob’s Creamery and watch smiles appear on your guests' faces!

Interested in enjoying the taste of berries throughout the year? Consider preserving them. To freeze whole berries, rinse and air-dry them, place them on a cookie sheet in the freezer until firm and easy to handle, then seal them in a plastic bag or freezer-safe container. If you can dedicate more time to cooking, consider canning. Jam and jelly recipes are easy, and make fun holiday gifts.

Inspiration and recipes are available online, as well as the Taste the Place recipe station at PFM’s Saturday PSU Market. If you’re interested in making jams and jellies, be sure to check out the upcoming Preserving Series at the Eastbank Market, where Instructor Cara Haskey will show lucky home cooks how to turn abundant summer fruit into tasty treats that can be enjoyed year-round. 

For more information on which months berries are in season, check out the seasonality calendar on our website. To find out which berry vendors are at your local PFM market, see the list below and visit the interactive market maps on our website.


--Pamela Brehm

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America's Favorite Farmers Market

Do you love shopping at your five local PFM markets? Then here is your chance to show your support and VOTE PFM the best farmers market in the country!

This summer, American Farmland Trust is supporting farmers markets across the nation with this nationwide contest to promote farmers markets and sustainable local farms and food across the country. Cast your VOTE for PFM by August 31st!

INGREDIENTS, a documentary

Solutions to our anonymous and industrialized food system are featured in the new film INGREDIENTS, narrated by Bebe Neuwirth and featuring Greg Higgins, Alice Waters, Gary Paul Nabhan and Joan Dye Gussow. INGREDIENTS also prominently features Portland's farmers markets, and the many talented and passionate chefs, growers and consumers who have placed Portland Oregon at the forefront of America's local food movement.

In August INGREDIENTS will make its world premiere at the Globians documentary festival in Berlin, and in September the U.S. premiere in Portland, Oregon. Working with Edible Communities, Slow Food and other national food advocacy groups, INGREDIENTS will help to build local food communities through public screenings that can also raise money for these vital organizations.

The makers of INGREDIENTS - James Beard Award winning team of Robert Bates and Brian Kimmel - are asking for small contributions to help finish and promote this groundbreaking look at local food efforts in America. Go to www.ingredientsfilm.com to learn more, contribute and help share this important story about the next step in the local food movement.

The Plastic Quilt Project

In order to raise awareness about the importance of decreasing our dependence on plastic, Leave No Plastic Behind ("LNPB") created The Plastic Quilt Project. From March through May 2009, LNPB invited artist/participants to live plastic-free, then use any plastic collected during these three months as inspiration for creating a 12' x 12" square art piece to be added as part of a large quilt that will travel around the city, country and possibly the world!

To view the artists' creations, visit the RE:Vision Gallery at SCRAP, 2915 NE MLK Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR, 97212, through the month of June.  Gallery hours: 11-7pm Wed, 11-6pm Thur-Sat, and 11-5pm Sun; closed Mon and Tues.

Intro to Organic Gardening and Farming

Zenger Farm is offering a workshop series which introduces practical organic agriculture skills through hands-on learning and small group instruction. Topics will include vegetable cultivation, irrigation and pest management.

Zenger Farm is a non-profit farm and wetland in outer southeast Portland dedicated to promoting sustainable food systems, environmental stewardship and local economic development through a working urban farm.

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How can a business thrive with 5,500 owners?

Ask Food Front Cooperative Grocery. For over 35 years, they have been successfully running a member-owned grocery store in NW Portland and recently opened a second location in Hillsdale. Together, 5,500 owner/members provide the capital—and common ideals—to allow a business like this not only to exist, but to flourish.

Historically, co-ops have allowed individuals to band together in order to source food products otherwise unavailable in mainstream grocery stores. Activist principles like buying products with less packaging, sourcing locally made products and choosing producers with shared values spurred the popularity and success of co-ops early on, and still do to this day. In fact, many of the mainstream stores that have adopted this natural/local/organic purchasing model might very well owe their success to co-ops.

Founded in 1972 by a group of neighbors in NW Portland, Food Front has long been committed to the community which it serves. In order to provide its customers with the freshest, highest quality items, Food Front has forged relationships with an impressive list of local farmers and food producers.

Food Front works with 40 to 50 local farmers. Signs in the store identify not only whether produce is local and/or organic, but also the name of the farm on which it was grown. This fosters education—one of Food Front’s missions—by encouraging people to learn and care about where their food comes from. Throughout the store, signs identify locally produced items, making it the ideal place for locavores to shop.

Tom Mattox, Marketing and Outreach Coordinator at Food Front, believes the co-op’s commitment to local producers helps incubate small businesses. He says, “Food Front is often the first store where local producers get their start. Food Front seeks out these products, and these food entrepreneurs know that there’s no barrier to entry here.”

Each semester, Grocery Manager Gary Koppen visits OSU’s Food Innovation Center to help program participants learn how to get their products to the retail marketplace. “If there’s a new barbeque sauce being made by someone local,” Tom said, “it’s usually carried here first. Many successful products, now sold nationally, got their start at Food Front.”

Many shoppers come to the co-op for that very reason. And despite the store’s modest size, Food Front carries a surprising variety of items. Food Front can buy in smaller quantities, which enables them to carry an interesting and diverse selection, possibly even special ordering an item for a customer. People who shop at the co-op care about what they buy. As Tom put it, “There’s a higher consciousness [in Portland] about food than anywhere else I’ve been.”

For a $150 fee per year, anyone can join and own a share in the market. Although you need not be a member to shop at Food Front, there are tangible benefits to owning a share. For many, a powerful, if subtle, benefit is knowing that they are helping to create and sustain a business that aligns with their values. As an owner/member you also have access to dozens of regularly discounted items, special ‘discounts days’ four times a year, dividends from profits, and the ability to vote for the board members who set goals and make strategic decisions for the store.

When asked about why Food Front sponsors Portland Farmers Market’s Ecotrust Market on Thursdays in the Pearl, he explained, “The values around farmers markets work their way into people’s consciousness. It was a no brainer to be part of it. I always work from my intentions and values.” Food Front values being part of an education process that connects farmers to consumers, spreads good will around and helps create relationships and community.

--Jane Pellicciotto

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