REGION
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
Infl ation hits local farmers markets vendors
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PEN DLETON
—
Vendors at local farmers
markets said they are are
not immune from infl ation
eff ects. Most food vendors
at the Pendleton Farmers
Market on Friday, Aug. 19,
said they had to hike prices
and some curtailed travel.
Meat processing costs
hammered Pat-n-Tam’s Beef
of Stanfi eld.
“In April our butcher’s
fees shot up,” Tam Mallon
said. “We haven’t curtailed
travel. We waited as long
as we could before raising
prices.”
Vern Klicker of Klicker
Homestead Berries, who
lives 15 miles up Mill Creek
from Walla Walla, also has
stayed on the road.
“We haven’t cut back on
travel,” he said, “but we’ve
had to raise prices a bit.
Fertilizer went up by three
times last year. These little
plastic containers are a
petroleum product. But gas
prices haven’t stopped us.”
Fresh produce vendors
from Milton-Freewater’s
M&J Martinez Garden still
are traveling as well.
“We didn’t cut back,”
Joanna Leu said. “We need
to get out. We have had to
raise prices, though. People
have noticed, but they’ve
still supported us.”
Other vendors have
reduced t ravel due to
Photos by Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Vern Klicker of Klicker Homestead Berries sets up a bounty of blueberries Friday, Aug. 19,
2022, at the Pendleton Farmers Market. Klicker comes from Walla Walla to sell an abundance
of his fruit in Pendleton. He said the business “had to raise prices a bit” due to rising costs.
high fuel costs.
“My prices at markets
are the same,” chicken
kebob vendor Lua Ena of
the Polynesian Grill, Herm-
iston, said. “But when I do
events, I have to raise them
up. I never thought I’d have
to pay $110 for a 40-pound
box of chicken. I have cut
back on travel because of
fuel prices. I do more local
events, not so far away.”
Key Family Farms has
been sticking closer to
home in Milton-Freewater.
“We are traveling less,”
Jamie Key said, “and we
had to raise prices.
Vendor Lyneile Horst
of the Kitchen Cupboard,
Long Creek, was forced to
hike prices as well.
“Our jam went up one
dollar a jar,” she said.
Salsa vendors Lucia
Alvarez and Mama Lucy
Salva said they had raised
pr ices, and have also
suffered supply chain short-
ages.
“We’ve had no vaca-
tion or anything,” Alva-
rez said. “Not only are jars
real expensive, but they’re
hard to find.”
Faith-sponsored food outreach
program draws 200 residents
By ANTONIO
ARREDONDO
East Oregonian
PEN DLETON
—
Hundreds of people gathered
on the afternoon of Friday,
Aug. 19, outside Electric
Sundown, Pendleton, for a
food giveaway.
The Pendleton chap-
ter of the Baha’i Faith held
the event. It was the group’s
second food drive of the
year, and second at Electric
Sundown. Bill Young said the
location of Electric Sundown,
14 S.E. Third St., provided
by owner Lance Leonnig has
been a huge help.
“It’s in our target area,”
said Young, a member of the
Pendleton Food Pantry Team
for the Pendleton Baha’i
community. “It’s shaded,
and Lance makes sure to give
us space. He’s been huge in
terms of encouraging us.”
Young and his other Baha’i
members have been working
to address the food desert of
Pendleton — the area on the
southeast side of town with no
grocery stores.
It’s a problem the Baha’i
community has begun to
address as of late. Members
held their fi rst food outreach
drive on July 10 with modest
results. Young said they
received 62 boxes from the
Community Action Program
of East Central Oregon. One
CAPECO box can feed a
family of four for three to
fi ve days.
For the second edition of
the giveaway, the group also
dealt with impending road
work on Southeast Byers
Avenue. The construction
was going to block off access
to the Electric Sundown until
Young made some calls.
“We called public works
and voila,” Young said, “they
changed it specifi cally for us.”
With one roadblock out of
the way, eight Baha’i faithful
and two CAPECO members
prepared for the groups to
come. With 36 more boxes of
food than in July, the results
were expected to increase.
This time around, around
200 community members
attended, either picking up
food for themselves or a
friend. Young said his team
also shipped boxes to other
stores, so those working
shifts could get what they
needed.
Young attributed the
success of the outreach
program to additional
canvassing and word of
mouth. Places such as the
First Presbyterian Church in
Pendleton shared news of the
event with its members. And
with one successful campaign
already under their belt, resi-
dents knew they were a good
place to get food from, Young
said.
The next hurdle Young
and his team faces is some of
the stigmas against aid. The
Baha’i member said several of
those he talked with admitted
they needed help but refused
to receive it.
“They were cutting the
conversation off early,”
Young said. “They didn’t feel
comfortable.”
While the group works to
get food for all, Young said
he plans for their next event.
The church group hopes to
purchase a full-time food
pantry, but that process could
take months. Young said
their initial facility proposal
to operate out of Washing-
ton Elementary School was
rejected, but he said the hope
is to work with the school in
the future.
Without a pantry, the
giveaways will continue to
happen at Electric Sundown.
Young said the next event is
planned around Round-Up
week. While no date has
been made offi cial yet, Young
off ered up the week after the
rodeo as a tentative time.
Regardless of the pantry,
Young was satisfi ed with the
giveaway Aug. 19 and the
help it gives to the Pendleton
community.
“We’re all feeling good
today,” Young said.
Food inf lation in the
United States hit 10.9% in
July, the highest since May
of 1979, according to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics. The food at home index
rose 13.1%, while away from
home rose by 7.6%.
Compared to the previ-
ous month, food prices
were up 1.1%, the seventh
con secut ive mont h ly
i n c r e a s e of 0.9 % o r
more, mainly due to a rise
in the cost of nonalcoholic
beverages (2.3%), coffee
(3.5%), dairy and related
products (1.7%).
Baskets of white peaches and apricots are on display Friday,
Aug. 19, 2022, at Pendleton Farmers Market. The fruits are
from Jamie Key of Key Family Farm of Milton-Freewater.
Joanna Leu of M&J Martinez Garden displays a variety
of vegetables Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, at the Pendleton
Farmers Market. M&J Martinez Garden traveled from Mil-
ton-Freewater and discussed how they had to raise prices
because of inflation.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Lexington residents to vote
in November on whether to
allow psilocybin businesses
LEXINGTON — Lexington voters join
the leagues of local communities voting
on whether to ban psilocybin-related busi-
nesses and manufacturing.
T he tow n cou ncil on Fr id ay,
Aug. 19 adopted a resolution referring
the ban to the ballot in the November
general election, Tow n Recorder
Veronica Hess reported.
Oregon voted in 2020 to allow manu-
facturing, distributing and possession of
psilocybin and psilocin, psychedelic chem-
icals found in some mushrooms. State law
provides that a city council may adopt an
ordinance to give local voters the say in
prohibiting the establishment of any of
those registered or licensed activities.
Approval of this referendum would
prohibit the establishment of psilocybin
product manufacturers and psilocybin
service center operators within Lexington.
— EO Media Group
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(541) 481-2220