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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2009)
Page A3 July 15. 2009 Food Tokens Boost Buying Power For low income at King Farmers Market The N ortheast C oalition o f N eighborhoods, with the sup port o f the P ortland F arm ers Market, has launched an incen tive program to improve the ac cess o f low-incom e residents to the new King Farmers Market. The Sunday market opened last May at King School Park th ro u g h a p a rtn e rs h ip w ith NECN, an umbrella organization for 12 neighborhood associa tio n s and m ore than 30 ,0 0 0 h o u se h o ld s lo c ate d in in n e r north and northeast Portland. The market is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 27, near the intersection o f North e a s t S ev en th A venue and Wygant Street. More than 4,000 people — twice as many as ex pected — visited on its opening day and market attendance con tinues to surpass expectations. T he new F o o d sh are F und N o rtheast incentive program will enable low -incom e re si dents o f north and n o rtheast Portland, who receive benefits through O regon’s Food Stam p Program, to m ake their dollars stretch with special tokens paid for by donations from local resi dents and businesses. P a ig e C o le m a n , th e coalition’s executive director, says the m a rk e t has alread y become a vibrant celebration o f local food in our community. Yet, not everyone in the area is able to a ffo rd th e h e a lth y lo c a l foods, she said. “We envision Portland as a place where every resident has access to high quality, nutri- photo by M ark W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bserver Shoppers sort through the fresh produce and other locally-produced foods at the new King Farmers Market in northeast Portland. tious, locally grown food, and where farm ers’ m arkets are ac cessible to all neighborhoods,” says A nn F orsthoefel, execu tive director o f Portland Farm ers M arket, the nonprofit orga n iz a tio n th a t o v e rs e e s fiv e weekly farm ers’ markets. All o f the locations partici pate in the state’s food assis tance program . But instead of having each vendor m ake the electronic transfer and complete th e su b s e q u e n t p a p e rw o rk , Portland Farm ers M arket pro cesses all O regon T rail C ard transactions at the Information Booth at each location. At the King Farmers Market, Foodshare Fund N ortheast will supplem ent the electronic food stamps with a dollar-for-dollar match. The program ’s first-year goal is to provide up to $5 per person per week in m atching funds. For example, an Oregon Trail card user purchasing $ 10 would receive an additional $5 in spe cial FoodShare Fund Northeast tokens to spend with King M ar ket vendors. The idea for the fund grew out o f a pledge o f $3,(XX) by the A lberta Co-op Grocery. NECN and its King Farm ers M arket C om m unity Advisory Council decided to match the contribu tion and turn the generous do nations into the foundation for the fund. “We were so excited to hear that the King Farm ers M arket was opening in our neighbor hood, and wanted to find a way to su p p o rt it,” say s Jo cely n Furbush, marketing manager at the Alberta Co-op. “Investing in affordable access to local food for everyone in the com munity is a perfect fit with our m ission and o u r co o perative values. We hope that our con tribution helps inspire others to participate in this opportunity.” D avid Sweet, co-chair o f the advisory council, adds, “Every dollar donated to the Foodshare Fund N ortheast puts fresh, lo cal food on the table o f m em bers o f our com m unity who are struggling. Plus, the initiative supports our local farmers and e n h a n c e s o u r c o m m u n ity ’s food system. This truly is an incredible program .” In the future, organizers will look for additional ways to sup port the program and possibly raise or eliminate the $5 limit on the match. The foodshare tokens have the same limitations as the elec tronic food stamps. Both may only be used for fruits, veg etab le s, m eats, fish poultry, dairy products and seeds and p lan ts in ten d ed for grow ing food. They cannot be used for non-food item s, ready-to-eat foods, and hot foods. S e v e ra l fa rm e rs m a rk e ts around the country have cre ated food stam p matching pro grams. Last July, the Lents In ternational Farm ers’ M arket in so u th east P o rtlan d piloted a match program. Foodshare Fund Northeast is supported by the com m unity it serves and represents a unique o p p o rtu n ity fo r lo c a l b u s i nesses and individuals to sup port food access for people of all income levels. Those interested in contrib uting fin an cially o r through volunteer support are invited to stop by the F oodshare Fund N ortheast booth at the King Farmers Market. Checks can be made out to the Northeast C oa litio n o f N e ig h b o rh o o d s - Foodshare Fund Northeast and m ailed to 4815 N.E. Seventh Ave., Portland, OR 97211. Online contributions can be made by clicking the link for F o o d S h a re F u n d N E at necoalition.org. www.legacyhealtb.org O ur leg acy is yours. ■ ■ ■I EMANUEL M edical Cante» THE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL Legacy Emanuel LEGACY H E A L T H G OOD SAMARITAN M ERIDIAN PARK M edical Cante» M O U N T HO O D SALMON CREEK M edical Center LEGACY MEDICAL GROUP LEGACY LABORATORY LEGACY HOSPICE I