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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2018)
Vendors Page 6 Street Roots vendors fill the vendor office on a recent Friday, ready to purchase the new edition of the newspaper, which they’ll sell fo r a profit. Friday morning at Street Roots o C E N T R A L C IT Y COFFEE Qtijik, utell. Street Roots • March 9-15, 2018 good. Sourcing & roasting craft coffee to benefit programs at Central City Concern. A new paper arrives, and it’s all hands on deck IN STORES New Seasons Market, Whole Foods, Food Front Cooperative Grocery, Green Zebra, Chuck's Produce, Food Fight!, Cherry Sprout Produce, and Know Thy Food. AT YOUR OFFICE Interested in serving Central City Coffee at your office? Get in touch with us and we can help you make that happen. 503.226.7387 ON OUR WEBSITE Buy Central City Coffee online and have it shipped directly to you or a friend. AT KASBAH MOROCCAN CAFE Get your espresso favorites at Old Town's newest spot (201 NW Davis Street), featuring Central City Coffee! Follow our Facebook page for updates and specials. centralcitycoffee.org facebook.com/CentralCityCoffee coffee@ccconcern.org Answers to Page 15 Puzzles 8 9 L I- p £ £ 9 L p 6 2 2 8 9 z 9 6 2 6 9 8 9 L k p £ 6 L £ p 2 9 p£ 8 I 9 6 2 6 z L £ 8 9 9 p 9 8 £ 6 z 9 S 8 2 L 9 I- 2 9 1. 8 9 2 L 9 p 6 2 L £ p 9 £ 6 z 8 STREET ROOTS PHO TO BY HELEN HILL STAFF W R IT E R t’s 7:20 a.m. Dawn is washing over the silver streets of Old Town Portland. A gathering knot of souls waits outside the still dark door of Street Roots, peering in, waiting for Cole or Caelin or Scott to switch on a light and unlock the door. Most are shouldering packs full to bursting with bedrolls, belongings, a few precious possessions. Voices are hushed; everyone’s still waking up. “Can I bum a cigarette?” “Damn, I got wet last night.” “I hear there’s vacancies at the Commons, but already 40 people are in line.” “Did you hear that fight last night?” “Here you go. Got a light?” Police and security guards sweep the streets around 7 a.m., and it’s good to have a friendly place to shake off the long night, dry out and warm up, not to mention the mornings first cup of fresh brew. At 7:30 a.m. sharp, the doors are unlocked and the Street Roots vendors fill the office, heading straight back to the coffee machine and the bathroom. Today there’s an expectant buzz in the air. It’s Friday, new paper day. People hold the door for those in wheelchairs. Heavy packs are deposited by the door. The long, brick-walled room is filling up with vendors soon holding steaming cups of coffee. Several dozen pots are brewed on a typical Friday morning. “I like to show up because my friends are here. I like to be here to find out if I got a poem published,” said Ron, a vendor who sells at the food carts downtown at Southwest Third Avenue and Stark Street. I Sheeptoast Granola bars, donated to Street Roots, are handed out. Randy and Angie, who sell papers at Northeast 45th Avenue and Glisan Street, claim one of the square tables. “We like to see everybody. It’s a safe place,” Angie said. “We like to be here early to help unload so we can get extra papers.” Vendors who help unload the truck - about 10 every Friday - get five free papers for the chore. It’s 7:45, and the office is full to bursting. Folks are signing up for the raffle to win free papers. Kaia, the executive director, is mingling, catching up with the latest news from Paulette, Aileen, Harry and others. Staffers Scott and Caelin are holding down the pre-sales, handing out receipts and keeping track of who has purchased what. Cole, the vendor program director, is greeting new and old vendors, talking turf. “Hey Rick, how’s sales? How’s your cat?” Around 8 a.m., Joanne, the executive editor, emerges with printed proofs of the new paper in hand. The crowd grows quiet as she describes each article in a passionate voice that carries all the way to the back kitchen. Her voice is full of outrage or, in turn, admiration appropriate to the subject matter. She answers any questions vendors have about the articles. “It’s nice to hear Joanne tell about what’s in the paper,” said Doug, a vendor, who sells the paper outside New Seasons on Northeast Broadway. “This is a standard weekly event for me.” “I come to find out the synopsis of the news,” Wayne said. “It’s better to hear it.” Wayne heads out soon after to his spot outside Starbucks at Northwest 21st Avenue and Lovejoy. “Truck’s here!” yells someone from the street, and the flurry begins. The door is propped open, dollies wheeled out, and a dozen or so vendors quickly load in around 10,000 papers in bundles of 100. As soon as they are counted and stored, a flurry of distribution begins. Some vendors buy four papers; others buy as many as 300. “Fridays, are the best day of the week,” said Caelin, who works with Street Roots through Jesuit Volunteer Northwest, “because everyone’s here.” “I love the beautiful chaos of Fridays,” said Scott, the vendor program coordinator. “We talk about Street Roots being a family. Fridays are a little crazy, but a lot of fun. People are excited to see what’s in the new paper and get out and sell it. We’re busy all day.” “Fridays are Street Roots,” Cole said. “It’s the epitome of what we do.” by Elizabeth Considine
