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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