S eptem ber 14, 2011
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
'JJortlanò (ftbscruer
Page 13
1
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East: County
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Beaverton
Residential Farming
From goats to
food-buying
clubs, new rules
considered
by L ee P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
A growing demand for raising
livestock on residential properties
and growing urban gardens for food
buying clubs and farmers markets
has the city of Portland considering
new rules to make urban farming in
the city more viable.
The Bureau of Planning and
Sustainability is looking at chang
ing city codes relating to market
gardens, community gardens, food
buying clubs, farmers markets and
urban livestock. As planner Julia
Gisler explained to the bureau’s
com m ission last month, there’s
photos by L ee P erlman /T he P ortland O bserver
strong support that these activities
Dan Lerch Walter steps through his northeast Portland backyard with his two goats following behind
are essentially positive. However,
him. The city is considering new rules to allow more livestock and urban farming in the city.
city officials are also considering
the potential negative impacts they
may have on neighbors, and the
degree to which regulation may be
necessary.
Market gardens produce food
intended to be sold. Examples in
clude the Fargo Farm Forest at North
Williams Avenue and Fargo Street
and Ariadne’s Garden in the adja
cent Boise Neighborhood. Currently,
the codes governing the produc
tion of food for sale are generally
considered large-scale agriculture
enterprises and are the rules are
restrictive. But such operations are
allowed by right on parcels desig
nated as open, space, in employ
ment and industrial zones, and in
the large lots in residential zones
such as Forest Park.
A conditional use permit that re
quires a public review is required in
some commercial and residential
zones. But the farming is generally
prohibited in single family and multi-
continued 'W ' on page 23
Cully to Celebrate Fresh and Healthy Foods
‘Slow Food’
potluck on Saturday
by M indy C(X) per
T he P ortland O bserver
Rejecting the fast food diets of today as
unhealthy, a Slow Food National Day of Ac
tion is coming to a northeast Portland neigh
borhood where activists invite residents to
celebrate efforts to increase access to fresh
healthy and affordable food by sharing a
healthy meal together.
Slow Food Portland, part of an Interna
tional anti-fast food movement, will host a
community potluck event in the Cully neigh
borhood on Saturday, Sept. 17, in an effort to
bring individuals and organizations through
out the community together to eat good food
and discuss how to achieve food justice on a
local level.
The non-profit Slow Foods movement,
which was founded in 1986 by Carlo Petrini
and supporters, came about when McDonalds
wanted to open a restaurant around the Span
ish Steps in Rome.
Today, the organization, which believes
everyone has a right to good, clean and fair
food, has a Slow Food USA office in New York
and networks throughout the country, in
cluding more than 250,000 supporters, 25,000
members and 225 local chapters— determined
to transform the nation’s food system.
By reaching out to local neighborhoods,
Amanda Peden, board chair for Slow Food
Portland, said they hope to bring awareness
and education on how to best eliminate the
barriers to affordable and healthy food.
“We really believe it should be a right to
have access to fresh healthy food,” said Peden.
“Not the privilege it often is now.”
In the past the Slow Food movement has
been criticized for its less inclusive policies,
which critics say have overlooked the rising
prices of healthy food and differentiahaccess
many populations within the country face
when selecting what to put on the dinner
table.
Peden said, however, this is one challenge
Slow Food Portland is determined to address.
At the core of the movement, she said, the
goal is to create a food system that truly
serves everyone within it. When deciding
where to hold the community potluck event
she said. “We chose the Cully neighborhood
because of the good work going on in the
community, and because it is a neighborhood
that still faces a lot of challenges.”
“Albertsons is the only grocery option in
the neighborhood,” she said. “Food often
times costs more, or it is more difficult to
access than unhealthy options. This is some-
continued
on page 23