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
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