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The Week ¡n Review
N E 1 Ci H B O R H G O D
July B. 2011
f
O pinion .
pages 6-7
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k iw :
H ealth
(O b s e r v in g
METRO
pages 11-12
photo by M indy C ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
Michi Caldwell (from left) Tracy Arney and Stephanie Brown ready produce for the Farm Fresh Buying
Club at Holy Redeemer Church in north Portland where residents from throughout the community are
invited to find affordable and healthy foods for the table each Wednesday.
From the Farm to the Congregation
r i s
A!
Faith community
hosts Farm Fresh
Buying Club
Q >
f NIILIAISMIM
by M indy C ooper
pages 13-16
C lassifieds
page 16
J uly C alendar
page 20
S ports
page 21
í
L aw & J ustice
pages 21-22
F ood
page 24
1
>
T he P ortland O bserver
In an effort to bring m ore affo rd ­
able and healthy food to the tables
o f fam ilies in north and northeast
Portland, the faith co m m u n ity has
partnered to provide creative o p ­
portunities to pool resources and
access high quality p ro d u ce at bulk
prices.
E c u m e n ic a l M in is t r ie s o f
O reg o n ’s Interfaith Food and Farm s
P artn ersh ip and H oly R ed eem er
Parish have d eveloped several farm
p ro d u ce to -c o n g re g a tio n b u y in g
opportunities, including a n um ber
o f farm ers tables located at different
w orship sites, and a F arm Fresh
B uying C lub, w hich is open to all
m em bers o f the com m unity.
‘T h e w hole goal is to give access
to fresh organic produce at a rea­
sonable price,” said M ichi C aldw ell,
the co o rd in ato r o f the effort at H oly
R edeem er. “ A nd it is open to an y ­
body w ho w ould like to participate.”
S tephanie B row n, a vo lu n teer
and m em ber o f the club since it first
began last year, said the program
allow s h er fam ily the opportunity to
be m ore co nnected to w here their
food co m es from .
B row n said the program enables
m em bers to choose the produce they
w ant from a w eekly list o f available
produce, w hich com es directly from
D eep R oots Farm in A lbany.
“Y ou get an e-m ail on Friday from
the farm announcing w hat w ill be
available in the u p com ing w eek
based on w eather conditions and
season,” she said. “T hen you can
place your ord er by M o n d ay m o rn ­
ing, in ord er to receive produce the
follow ing W ed n esd ay .”
H oly R ed eem er C hurch, located
on N orth R osa Parks W ay stands as
the d ro p o ff site for the buying club
on W ednesdays, w hich w ill co n ­
tinue throughout O ctober.
A lth o u g h the p ro g ram b eg an
sm all in 2010 and w as only open to
certain m em bers w ithin the co m m u ­
nity, it opened enrollm ent to an y ­
one after receiving a grant to bring
farm fresh produce to faith co m m u ­
nities throughout Portland.
“ It’s incredible how w ell people
have responded to the b u y -in ,” said
C aldw ell “W e have a pool o f m em ­
bers, so w e are able to pull our
orders to g eth er and buy in bulk
directly from the farm ,” she said.
C urrently, there are alm ost 30
m em bers o f the B uy-in C lu b that
began for the season last m onth.
C aldw ell expects m ore people w ill
becom e involved as sum m er sea­
son progresses and a larger variety
o f food becom es available.
A lthough there is a m em bership
fee, she said the am ount is based on
a sliding scale o f incom e levels. “If
people can ’ t pay, we also have schol­
arships available,” she said. “W e
ju s t w ant people to be a part o f it.”
M em bers o f the Farm Fresh B uy­
ing C lu b are also given the opportu­
nity to increase their purchasing
p o w er by purchasing products at
w holesale prices. In addition, a grant
from K aiser P erm anente em ployee
enables club m em bers to use their
S upplem ental N utrition A ssistance
B enefits (S N A P ) to buy $8 in o f
produce to receive $8 in free p ro ­
duce.
A lthough E cum enical M inistries
o f O re g o n ’s (E M O ) Interfaith N et­
w ork for E arth C oncerns is a state­
w ide association o f C hristian d e ­
nom inations, the program connects
residents a variety o f religious affili­
atio n s.
C aldw ell said the group has about
four m em bers from the M uslim com ­
m unity.
“W e also have the farm er’s tables,
w hich is w here farm ers com e to d if­
ferent churches on days o f services
to sell their products,” she said.
“ A n d any c o n g reg atio n o r faith
com m unity that w ould like to have
a fa rm e r’s table can .”
C u rren tly , she said, there are
a r o u n d s e v e n ta b le s lo c a te d
continued
on page 18