Vancouver Food Network

In the Garden

February is an excellent time to prune fruit trees, blueberries and grapes. Start brassicas indoors and till under cover crops as the soil becomes workable. Peas may be planted then as well and now is an excellent time to plan the rest of the garden, repair fencing, garden boxes or chicken structures.

Food Events in Clark County

For a more expansive calendar, please see http://VancouverFood.net/calendar

Wed 4feb09

Vancouver Food Cooperative Board Meeting. 6-7pm, Wednesday 4 Feb 2009 @ Fireside Room, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 426 E 4th Plain Blvd, Vancouver 98663. The Vancouver Food Cooperative holds a board meeting, part of which is open to the public, on the first Wednesday of each month. This month's meeting will presumably include plans for VFC's second annual member's meeting. FFI please phone (360) 694-8094.

"Introduction to Sustainable Living on a Budget." with Monique Dupre. 7-9pm Wednesday 4 Feb 2009 @ Monique's home in west Vancouver. $35. Register at SustainableBudget.com

Sat 7feb09

Modern Organic Farming Propagation & Plant Varieties with David Knaus of Fresh Earth Gardens and Anne Berblinger of Gales Meadow Farm. 10a-2pm, Saturday 7 Feb 2009 @ WSU Clark County 78th St Farm, 1919 NE 78th Street, Vancouver 98665. Fourth of ten in a $450 series, "Modern Organic Farming on Small Acreage." FFI, please visit http://clark.wsu.edu or http://freshearthgardens.com/classes

"Share the Love with Chocolate." Sat, February 7, 6pm – 8pm @ Friendly Haven Farm, 20309 NE 242nd Ave, Battle Ground WA 98604. $40 class on how to make flourless chocolate cake and other treats. FFI http://www.friendlyhaven.com/classes.html

Wed 11feb09

Urban Livestock Task Force Meeting, 6-8pm Wed 11 February 2009 @ Sixth Floor of Clark County Public Services Center, 1300 Franklin, Vancouver WA 98660. FFI please visit http://www.clark.wa.gov/longrangeplan/projects/urban-livestock-review.html

"Kefir" class, Wed, February 11, 6:30pm – 8:30pm @ Friendly Haven Farm, 20309 NE 242nd Ave, Battle Ground WA 98604. $20 class on kefir, a low-cost, natural fruit soda. FFI http://www.friendlyhaven.com/classes.html

Sat 14feb09

Soil Fertility & Compost with David Knaus of Fresh Earth Gardens and Naomi Montacre of Concentrates, Inc. 10am-2pm, Sat, 14 February 2009 @ WSU Clark County 78th St Farm, 1919 NE 78th St, Vancouver WA 98665. FFI, please visit http://clark.wsu.edu or http://freshearthgardens.com/classes

Mon 16feb09

"Raised Bed Gardening" on Mon, February 16, 10:00am – 12:30pm @ Pleasant View Church, 801 N.E. 194th Street, Ridgefield WA 98642. VanRidge Garden Club has a presentation for Raised Bed Gardening, how to grow more vegetables in a smaller area, by Rory Bowman. Club business meeting at 10:00 a.m. with presentation to start approximately 11:00. Location: Pleasant View Church, 801 N.E. 194th Street, Ridgefield. You are welcome to participate in the pot luck lunch after the meeting. For more info, email glenna@macrory.com

Wed 18feb09

Basic Brewing, Wed, February 18, 6pm – 9pm @ Bader Beer & Wine Supply, 711 Grand Blvd, Vancouver WA 98661, (360) 750-1551. $20 class, held approximately one a month. FFI http://baderbrewing.com

Thu 19feb09

"Basic Composting & Bokashi Technique" w Urban Farm School. 6:30-8:30 pm, Thu 19 Feb 2009. FFI and Register: (360) 907-5814 or urbanfarmschool@gmail.com

"Vermicomposting" class Thu, February 19, 7pm – 9pm @ Ecolution NW, 1709 Broadway, Vancouver 98663. FFI: http://northwestredworms.com/seminars.aspx or phone Doug at (360) 513-7251.

Sat 21feb09

Irrigation and Individual Crop Care with David Knaus of Fresh Earth Gardens. 10am-2pm, Sat, 21 February 2009 @ WSU Clark County 78th St Farm, 1919 NE 78th St, Vancouver WA 98665. FFI, please visit http://clark.wsu.edu or http://freshearthgardens.com/classes

Tue 24feb09

Native Bees and Backyard Beekeeping w Urban Farm School, 6:30-8:30pm Tuesday 24 February 2009. Learn how to support native pollinators for a healthier garden. $15 FFI: (360) 907-5814.

Wed 25feb09

Urban Livestock Task Force Meeting, 6-8pm Wed 25 February 2009 @ Sixth Floor of Clark County Public Services Center, 1300 Franklin, Vancouver WA 98660. FFI please visit http://www.clark.wa.gov/longrangeplan/projects/urban-livestock-review.html

Sat 28feb09

Pests and Weeds w David Knaus of Fresh Earth Gardens. 10am-2pm, Sat, 28 February 2009 @ WSU Clark County 78th St Farm, 1919 NE 78th St, Vancouver WA 98665. FFI, please visit http://clark.wsu.edu or http://freshearthgardens.com/classes

Posted by Rory Bowman at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Nestled on St. Johns Road is Thrifty Feed and Garden, reminiscent of rural feed stores but very much in the 21st Century, offering traditional and modern supplies for gardeners, bird watchers, and pet owners. This family-owned business is a place where your questions are answered from what type of tomato to grow or what to feed the squirrels to how to garden in containers.

Thrifty Feed, officially opened in 1950, was built from lumber reclaimed from Vancouver’s shipyards after World War II. Under its original name Thrifty Feed and Fuel, farm related items and fuel including coal were sold. Through the years, the store has evolved to fill current needs of customers. With the change from Fuel to Garden, many farm items are still sold, but also typical garden and pet items, organic and container garden supplies, wood pellets, fire logs, mosquito and insect control products, hose end fittings, sprinklers and drip irrigation parts, bark dust, and animal food including chicken feed, dog and cat food, and bulk bird seed.

Some items you might not expect to find include borax which is used by fisherman to cure fish eggs, electric fencing, rat poison, the Rat Zapper, wind chimes, and yard decorations. Vegetable and flower seeds and a select assortment of plant starts are also offered each spring, including many unusual tomato varieties. For those wanting to plant potatoes, a variety of seed potatoes are available. Onion sets, berry plants, and bulk pea, bean, and corn seed are also spring garden favorites. Spring also brings an offering of several types of baby chicks and ducks for sale which can be heard and seen busily chirping away in the store, to the delight of customers.

Thrifty Feed and Garden was purchased by Brian Treasure’s family in 1997 and remains a family-owned business. It is operated by Brian, who also serves on the Board of the Clark County Farm Bureau, and his wife Vickie Treasure. In true family business tradition, their children, Eric, Ryan, and Kim are full time employees. One non-family member, Rick Balsiger, has worked at the store for 29 years. Eric prepares the monthly newsletter which is available at the store, by mail, or by email from the store’s web site, which includes a garden calendar.

Contact Information for Thrifty Feed and Garden

Thrifty Feed and Garden

4207 N.E. St Johns Road
Vancouver, WA 98661

(360) 695-7351

http://www.ThriftyFeedAndGarden.com

For Further Information

• thriftyfeed@wildblue.net
• http://www.ThriftyFeedAndGarden.com
• Maps from Google, Yahoo or Mapquest

Posted by Glenna at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the hottest food books in Clark County right now is the second edition of Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, written with Mary G. Enig, PhD, and beautifully illustrated with line drawings by Marion Dearth. Much of its popularity is among devotees of raw milk, but the book has lots to offer those who don't even drink milk, such as vegetarians and vegans. Although it looks much like a cook book, Nourishing Traditions is really an invitation to reconsider what food is for, and how it fits into our lives.

Nutrition Includes Minerals, Bacteria, Wee Beasties

Opening with a chapter on basic nutrition, Ms. Fallon lays out not just the basics of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, but also discusses less-obvious things such as minerals and enzymes. Fallon was a co-founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation, which builds on the work of the late Dr. Price, a dentist and nutritionist who famously argued for the importance of a whole-foods diet for oral, bone and general health. Key to this view of nutrition is an attention to small things, including trace minerals that many people consider vitamins, if they consider them at all. As important are bacteria and enyzmes, the wee beasties that live inside our digestive systems, and which are encouraged by many of Fallon's recipes.

Anyone who has been prescribed antibiotics for an infection within the past dozen years has probably also been advised to purchase and eat a solid, "pro-biotic" yogurt with it, such as Nancy's brand from near Eugene. The reason for this is that, at a cellular level, people do not digest their food: enzymes do. From the moment food encounters saliva, a host of chemical reactions help break it down and make it available to to us as nutrients. Similar bacterial allies are present throughout our bodies, such as a woman's wholesome vaginal flora. When the body has too much available sugar in the wrong place, or these expand beyond their normal place, the results are things such as urinary tract infections, yeast infections or other problems. Those who have only read about E. coli in newspaper reports of produce scares may not appreciate just how full of the stuff they (and all healthy people) are. Fallon does a great service by explaining their relevance, and providing recipes designed to promote intestinal health.

Feed the Gut, Feed the Soul, Family and World

Nourishing Traditions provides a variety of recipes designed to maximize healthful intestines, by providing traditional fermented foods, whole grains and a variety of dairy products made from whole milk. Not everyone will be interested or comfortable in obtaining raw milk to create their clabbers, kefirs and cheese, but there are plenty of other good things to learn from Nourishing Traditions. Although not the best book on anything, Fallon does a wonderful job of being a good first book on many things, with terrific examples of fermented foods such as non-vinegar sauerkraut, extensive discussions of the importance of stock for key minerals and a solid introduction to the reasons and methods to sprout grains, nuts and seeds. As important as the solid science and microbiology of this approach is, though, the cultural and familial benefits are as important.

Agriculture and Bacterial Culture for Healthier Human Culture

Proponents of one diet or another are sometimes seen as zealots, with many folks viewing raw food, vegetarianism or veganism almost as cults. What Fallon's book does beautifully and in each section is to provide fertile grist for meditation on what the word "culture" means. Our word for "cult" comes from an older word that means to tend to and nourish, as in agriculture, bacterial culture and human culture. The ways we grow and use food are a key part of who we are, and by outsourcing so much of our food and nourishment to large corporations, all of us are made poorer. This is a key tenet of the "slow food" movement, and Nourishing Traditions provides a good starting-point for folks who wish to take control of their own lives by paying more attention to what they cultivate: in their yards, in their kitchens, and in their lives.

It is no accident that some of the oldest and poorest nations in the world have the richest cuisines. Consider China. Consider India. Consider Mexico. Fallon offers a roadmap toward creating similarly rich food culture at the home scale, for people of modest means.

"Slow foods" sometimes get a bad rap as affectation or luxury items for the well-off but, as Fallon demonstrates, the creation and nurturing of these foods is a basic part of human life. Rather than watch the Home and Garden Channel, learning different ways to braise deserts with a propane torch, Fallon shows how simply soaking grains, baking bread or a pickling crock can make wholesome, home-made foods a central part of one's life and home. This is very much in keeping with the home sustainability movement, as championed by local folks such as Monique Dupre. As importantly, and more convincingly, the things that Fallon describes are just plain fun. Although I don't think that her condiment recipes are the best, learning to make condiments and fermented foods is fun, turning something one normally pays too much for into something very personal that pays you back.

For Further Information

• Sally Fallon's Sally Fallon's 2001 book Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats is available through the Fort Vancouver Regional Library under call number 641.5 FALLON 2001 or may be purchased at Powell's.
• Sample chapters and more information are available through the publisher, New Trends Publishing.
• The Weston A. Price Foundation has a huge catalog of resources that explore these ideas at http://www.westonaprice.org/sitemap.html
• Yahoo Groups has an entire category of groups for discussing the values and techniques of lacto-fermented foods.
• Raw Milk Stirs Prohibition-Style Fervor: Health, Safety Cited by Both Sides in the Legalization Debate" by Amanda Pennely. The Portland Tribune, July 8, 2005.
• Vegetarians and vegans interested in fermented foods may wish to explore Sandor Katz' 2003 book Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods, co-authored with Fallon and available under FVRL call number 641.7 KATZ or from Powells.com.

Posted by Rory Bowman at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Monique Dupre is a woman on a mission. A charismatic mix of down-home (raised up a dirt road outside Astoria) and sophisticated (married a handsome Frenchman), Monique pioneered the emerging genre of new-wave home economists, with a series of innovative classes to help people improve their lives with basic kitchen skills. She can single-handedly increase business for suppliers she mentions: a sort of neighborhood Oprah, promoting the idea of improved quality-of-life by consuming less and enjoying more. A rock-star inspiration for much of the younger, ladel-and-larder crowd, Dupre does this from a base in Vancouver.

Charisma, Common Sense, Condiments and Canning Jars

The Vancouver coordinator for a local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Dupre was a proponent of whole grains, home fermentation and raw milk when some urban homesteaders couldn't tell a crock from a currant. A powerful proponent of pantry planning, she has been featured in The Oregonian's Food Day supplement, praised in a Columbian editorial, and even singled out as hip by hipsters at the Portland Mercury. Much of it is the solid information she presents, but what makes Monique distinct is her personal passion and her attention to "enough." Her classes are substantive, but not overwhelming, with an appropriate size for the subject matter and at a price that makes them possible for the folks who need them most. Each has enough to get the novice started, but also tips and tricks for the more seasoned, building on the others but also standing alone.

The Basics: Philosophy, Getting Started, Doing More, Continuing

Although Sustainable Budget adds new classes and workshops all the time, most people begin with her introductory class, which explains how living better on less is possible by paying more attention to things that matter most, like time and health and family. With a thick folder of handouts dense with information, this joy in life and spirit pervades all that follows. From learning the basics of whole-grain cookery to how to make better condiments at happen, a Sustainable Budget class might also be scheduled on a more specialized topic, such as bread-baking at home: the sort of thing Martha Stewart would do if she had less money, more sense, and lived locally. There is an entire thread on home dairy products and raw milk, for those who crave crème fraîche or just appreciate better yogurt. The fermentation class inspired one Vancouver man to make his first sauerkraut, and an active Google group of those who have taken Sustainable Budget classes is an ongoing resource, available to anyone who has attended.

Emerging Community and Stronger Home Food Cultures

Drawing on many of the same philosophies put forward in books such as Michael Pollan's, Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions or Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Sustainable Budget classes are a lifelong, daily thing. They encourage independence and deepening by design, so much so that admirers replicate them nationwide. Dupre herself travels to do workshops for garden clubs or church groups, and teaches many workshops in local homes. If one has a small group that can pay the modest fee, Dupre herself will come and freely share the same material that she has developed over several years, and inspired dozens of local groups and buying clubs throughout the region.

Clark County is a natural place for such a balance of influences to take hold. Between mountains and rivers, city and country, old world and new, Sustainable Budget demonstrates that a good life is accessible to all, and that health and pleasure are not only for the wealthy.

Contact Information for Monique Dupre

Sustainable Living on a Budget

Vancouver WA 98660

moniquedupre@gmail.com
http://SustainableBudget.com

For Further Information

• Sustainable Budget web site, group and list of classes.
  • "Meet the Locavores: These Folks Stick to Local Foods as Much as Possible, Even During the Winter" by Erin Middlewood. The Columbian, February 16, 2008.
  The Columbian, August 29, 2008, p. C4. A newspaper editorial which holds up Monique Dupre as a terrific resource.
  • "Sustainable on a Budget? Order Starts with a Clean Kitchen" by Sarah Gilbert. Culinate, June 5, 2008.
  • "Eat Healthy, Spend Less: Vancouver Woman Has Concocted Winning Recipe for Sustainable Living" by Erin Middlewood, The Columbian, May 30, 2008, p. D1.
  • "Sustainable Living on a Budget: Am I Inspired Yet?" UrbanMamas.com, May 22, 2008.
  • "The Backyard Economy: Attacking Rising Food Prices from My Urban Homestead" by Amy J. Ruiz. Portland Mercury food issue, May 15, 2008.
  • "Consumer Skips Grocery Store to Get Food off the Grid," The Oregonian, April 22, 2008.
  • "Eating SOLE Food: tips from local “Sustainability on a Budget” expert, Monique Dupre" at Oregon Environmental Council.
  * Additional articles added after publishing.

  Posted by Rory Bowman at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Square Foot Gardening" is Mel Bartholomew's name for a modified version of "raised-bed intensive," a very old technique that has gone by many names over the years. The idea behind raised-bed intensive is to create a finite, highly-controlled space, where dense plantings produce greater yields. What Mr. Bartholomew has done with his popular books, PBS series and videos, is to simplify this technique and make it easy, even for total beginners. In addition to his book and a foundation to promote its uses worldwide, Bartholomew also hosted a series of the same name on public television. A second edition of his 1981 book was published recently and is available through the Fort Vancouver Regional Library under the call number 635 BARTHOL 2005.

Building a Basic Square-Foot Garden

Although current gardeners may adapt some of the methods, the basic idea behind a standard square-foot-garden is to build an open-bottomed box, four feet on each side, into which one places an enriched soil mixture. A four-foot-square box is small enough that most people can easily reach in, without risk of stepping on (and compacting) the soil. This size can also easily be divided into sixteen separate "square foot" sections, with a different kind of plant in each section.

Materials to Build a Square-Foot Garden from Scratch

Many people already have the materials to build a basic square foot garden, and Bartholomew's method is designed to minimize the need for specialized tools and heavy labor, making it particularly useful for new gardens. If one were to purchase these materials from scratch, the cost is appreciably less than $100, using supplies from Shurway Lumber and Thrifty Feed on St. John's Boulevard. More experienced gardeners will recognize the soil amendments as the standard ingredients for commercial "starter soil," which Bartholomew modestly refers to as "Mel's Mix."

• Two eight-foot lengths of 2x10" or 2x12" lumber, in 4 four-foot sections.
• Approximately four cubic feet of vermiculite
• Approximately four cubic feet of peat moss
• Approximately four cubit feet of mixed manures
• Optional weed barrier (cardboard boxes will work) for bottom
• Optional 2x2" lumber (six, four-foot lengths) for top grid
• Different plant seeds or starts that you or your family would enjoy

Procedure to Build a Square-Foot Garden from Scratch

Basically, the idea behind the square-foot garden is to build an open-bottomed box in a sunny area and fill it with the "Mel's Mix" potting soil mixture. The mixture itself is designed to hold moisture (in the peat moss) while remaining aerated (thanks to vermiculite) and providing basic nutrients (from the manures). Starting with the artificial mix minimizes weed seeds and the immediate need to learn weeding, while the cardboard or weed barrier on the bottom discourages weed seeds already on the site from making their way up to take advantage of the potting mixture.

1. Find a good sunny spot that is pleasant and accessible, so you'll visit
2. Use the large boards to build an open-bottomed 4'x4' box
3. Place the cardboard or weed barrier in the bottom of the box
4. Mix the manure, vermiculite and peat moss together outside the box
5. Fill the box with this freshly-mixed and well-lofted material
6. Use the 2x2" lumber to create a grid of sixteen one-foot squares on top
7. Plant your seeds or starts directly into the squares, one variety per square
8. Stagger plantings and make sure that no square ever sits unused or unproductive

The Logic, Pros and Cons of Square Foot Gardening

The main advantage of square-foot gardening for beginners is its simplicity. The small, human scale and clear instructions remove a lot of variables and anxiety. Intermediate gardeners will recognize a few clear advantages.

• A finite, clearly-defined area is simpler to monitor and control
• Raised beds increase soil depth, warm faster and drain more evenly
• Small, defined spaces make it easier to add amendments and observe
• Lofty, from-scratch "soil" minimizes and simplifies weeding
• Small numbers of a variety of plants decrease chances and severity of pest damage
• Super-lofty soils require no special tools other than human hands

There are also disadvantages to square-foot gardening, which advanced gardeners will immediately see, including (1) a lack of biotic complexity in the soil, (2) the finite fertility of this soil over time, and (3) the way it renders all sorts of existing knowledge and techniques unnecessary. Advanced gardeners will immediately recognize the bio-intensive method as one popularized by John Jeavons, and will quibble over spacings and other errata, which is fine. "Absorb what is useful," as the saying goes, discarding what is useless and adapting what you would make your own.

The Square-Foot Method as an Introduction to Gardening

Key to appreciating the value of Bartholomew's square-foot gardening method is it simplicity. Boxes can be made smaller for children and smaller adults. Because even a full box weighs less than two or three hundred pounds (depending on water load), boxes can even be built on tables with plywood, for "accessible gardening" to people in wheelchairs or others who have difficulty gardening directly on the ground. Boxes can be built in a variety of shapes and sizes, providing new and less expensive options for "container gardening" on decks, patios and even steps. The main thing that Bartholomew's book provides is an introduction to possibility, with key hooks for the imagination.

In Clark County, square-foot-gardening methods are employed by groups such as Clark County Homegrown Gardens (CCHG), which provide boxes and instructions to help low-income folks grow some of their own food, and the method has been adapted in various educational settings, as a simple way to introduce gardens (and its associated science) to school children. The technique provides many simple opportunities for home-scale agricultural research, and landlords who might object to seeing shovels on their properties usually don't have a problem with a box. Boxes can even be built on driveways and patios, creating small gardens in sunny places that would otherwise sit more than fallow. The main advantage of square-foot-gardening is that it is accessible and adaptable for all sorts of situations. Visitors to the CASEE center in Brush Praire may recognize many SGF ideas in beds there which produce fresh produce for food banks and pantries, and some local gardeners plant their "row for the hungry" in a square-foot garden.

For Further Information

• Wikipedia article on square-foot gardening
• Google shows dozens of videos on SQF, as does YouTube.com
• A demonstration SQF in Arnada, as featured in The Columbian
• An April 28, 2008, Columbian editorial, "Home Grown Answer" in support of Home-Grown Clark County's program to help folks start their own square-foot gardens.
• "Introducing Square Foot Gardening" Video recording on DVD. FVRL call number DVD 635 INTRODU.
• All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space! by Mel Bartholomew. Cool Springs Press, 2005. FVRL call number 635 BARTHOL 2005, also available from Powells.com.

Posted by Rory Bowman at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Urban Farm School is the brainchild of two Clark County women, Toree Hiebert and Kendra Pearce. With the goal to increase community health and happiness by re-connecting people with their food and the land, they offer a variety of agricultural services, with a focus on small-lot, urban and suburban agriculture.

From Classes to Tutorials to Events and Parties

In addition to a delightful series of affordable classes in garden basics, they also sponsor a series of social events throughout the season and are available for in-home services. In-home services vary from consultation about a person's individual, site-specific issues to work-along tutorials. For individuals, church and neighborhood groups, they have also developed a series of "Garden for Life" parties, each with a specific theme. Designed to help small groups of friends learn a task and have fun together, these are a terrific group activity, with practical and lifelong benefits.

With years of varied teaching and agricultural experience (including past experience operating a CSA), Urban Farm School is a terrific business model for helping people to help themselves while improving quality of life for individuals and communities.

Contact Information

Urban Farm School

Post Office Box 393
Ridgefield WA 98642

(360) 852-3728
(360) 907-5814
http://urbanfarmschool.wordpress.com

For Further Information

• http://urbanfarmschool.wordpress.com
• Urban Farm School list of upcoming events
• "Eat Better, Cut Bills: Local Resources Help Save Money and Go Green" by Amaranth Wilson. Vancouver Voice, February 26, 2009, p. 9.
• Kendra's Garden Journal at Wordpress.
• Toree's Garden Journal, also at Wordpress.

* Updated to include new article

Posted by Rory Bowman at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hunters Greens CSA in Brush Praire, Washington, is one of the longest-running CSA's in Clark County. With drop points in downtown Vancouver and east Vancouver near 164th Avenue, they are offering 35 shares for the 2009 growing season. Hunters Greens was founded by Jim and Diane Hunter in 1996 and has been a CSA farm since 2001.

Contact Information

Hunter's Greens Farm

11116 N.E. 156th Street
Brush Prairie, WA 98606

(360) 256-3788
http://HuntersGreens.com

For Further Information

• http://HuntersGreens.com
• Hunter's Greens on Local Harvest
• "Notes from the Margin," Jim Hunter's sometimes-column on farm life and agriculture in the modern age
• Maps from Google, Yahoo or Mapquest

  Posted by Glenna at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Probably the two most influential books for gardening in our area are Binda Colebrook's Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest and Steve Solomon's Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, now in its sixth edition. Both of these and others are worth reading and re-reading, but one of the most useful things that Solomon offers any gardener is his recipe for "complete organic fertilizer," specially formulated for the volcanic soils and nutritional needs of our vegetable gardens. To fully appreciate the proper use of this recipe, all gardeners are encouraged to read Solomon's books, but the basic recipe is very much one worth knowing and studying.

Ingredients, Proportioned by Volume

• Four (4) parts seed meal (cottonseed, canola, or other)
• One half (1/2) part lime (equal mixture of agricultural and dolomite)
• One half (1/2) part phosphate rock or bone meal (either steamed or raw)
• One half (1/2) part kelp meal (from any pure seaweed, from anywhere)

Directions

1. Obtain dry ingredients and keep them dry at all times,
2. Combine dry in proportion and mix thoroughly. (Small batches may be mixed in a covered bucket or drum, using a combination of trowel-stirring and rolling the drum around on its side. Larger batches may be mixed on a tarp by dumping and then alternately pulling up corners of the tarp so that the dry ingredients are uniformly mingled.)
3. Completed mixture may be stored indefinitely, so long as it is kept dry.
4. Apply in modest amounts to the top of a raised beds before planting or as a side-dressing during times of fastest growth.
5. Mixture is designed to provide minerals for maximum vegetable nutrition, not bulky fiber growth.

For Further Information

• Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Solomon. New Society Publishers, 2005. FVRL call number 635 SOLOMON or available through Powells.com
• Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: The Complete Guide to Natural Gardening, Sixth edition by Steve Solomon. Sasquatch Books, 2007. FVRL call number 635.0484 SOLOMON 2007, also available from Powells.com

Posted by Rory Bowman at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Grange is America's Foremost Volunteer and Grassroots Orgainzation. It is comprised of families and individuals who share a common interest in community involvement, agricultural and rural issues working together in a family environment. Programs, projects, and activities offered in every local grange reflect the interests and talents of its members with focus on family activities.

The Grange is for people who like gardening, photography, animals, baking, sewing, crafts, talking, contests, community affairs or rural life. Its a great place to meet new friends and neighbors in your community. Working together in a very rewarding way.

Clark County is home to thirteen Granges, all members of the Washington State Grange. The Washington State Grange was established in 1889, two months before the Washington Territories achieved statehood. It is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of our residents through the spirit of community service and legislative action."

Clark County Granges

Barberton Grange No. 571

9400 N.E. 72nd Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98665
Handicap accessible
Clark County Health Department Certified Public Kitchen
Organized November 21, 1914 by R.E. Gerard
Incorporated April 15, 1930
Rent chairman: Francie Taylor (360) 254-2463 (360) 901-3776

Fargher Lake Grange No. 853

379th off Wiehl Road N.W. of Fargher Lake
Organized May 9, 1927 by C. A. Sperber
Incorporated June 6, 1945
Rent Chairman: Rick Johnson (360) 263-4620

Fern Prairie Grange No. 866

1818 N.E. 267th Avenue, Camas, WA
Organized January 13, 1928 by C. A. Sperber
Incorporated March 17, 1930
Rent Chairman: Melissa McGuffin (360) 834-3473

Fishers Grange No. 211

814 N.E. 162nd Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98684
Organized Dec 10, 1907 by S.G. Schoonover
Incorporated March 15, 1930
Rent Chairman: Bob Richards (360) 687-2259

Hazel Dell Grange No. 1124

7509 N.E. Hazel Dell Avenue Vancouver, WA
Organized June 13, 1947 by Vern I. Tucker
Incorporated March 20, 1951
Rent Chairman: Linda Lundin (360) 604-0893

La Center Grange No. 48 (Oldest Grange in the State)

328 West Fifth Street, La Center, WA
Organized July 8, 1874 by H.M. Knapp
Incorporated Feb. 26, 1930
Rent Chairman: Ken Viles (360) 263-3641

Manor Grange No. 1101

17901 N.E. 72nd Avenue
Organized Sept. 22, 1939 by Heye Meyer
Incorporated Nov. 15, 1939
Rent Chairman: Phil Smith (360) 576-0953

Minnehaha Grange No. 164

4905 N.E. St. Johns Road, Vancouver, WA
Organized Dec. 27, 1905 by S.G. Schoonover
Incorporated Sept. 24, 1908
Rent Chairman: Floyd Barrett (360) 694-9326

Mt. Valley Grange No. 79

40107 N.E. 221st Avenue, Amboy, WA 98601
Organized Aug. 6, 1889 by John Simpson
Rent Chairman: Jim Malinowski (360) 247-6295

Pioneer Grange #901

3803 NE 199th Street, Ridgefield, WA 98642
Organized April 25, 1929 by C.A. Sperber
Incorporated Jan 12, 1931
Meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
Rent chairman: Francie Taylor (360) 254-2463 (360) 901-3776

Salmon Creek Grange No. 849

1900 N.E. 154th Street (N.E. 20th Avenue at 154th Street) Vancouver, WA
Organized March 1, 1927 by C.A. Sperber
Incorporated April 28, 1928
Rent Chairman: Rose Cooper (360) 573-0236

Washington Grange No. 82

7701 N.E. Ward Road, Vancouver, WA (Entrance off 76th Street)
Organized Aug. 19, 1889 by John Simpson
Incorporated Sept. 19, 1902
Rent Chairman: Rodger Lance (360) 687-1503-Day (360) 892-8371-Evening

Washougal Grange No. 69

621 17th Street, Washougal, WA
Organized March 31, 1883 by A.F. Miller
Incorporated Oct. 26, 1885
Rent Chairman: Jeff Miller (360) 835-2489

For more information

Contact one of the two Clark County Grange Deputies:
Janice Anderson (360) 835-8206-Home (360) 921-3038-Cell
Elinor Collins (360) 798-2303-Cell Home: (360) 695-2179-Home

OR visit

Washington State Grange
924 Capitol Way S #300
P.O. Box 1186
Olympia, WA 98507-1186
(360) 943-9911 (800) 854-1635
Fax: (360) 357-3548
E-mail: grange@wa-grange.org

Grange membership application

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It is hard to think of any author who has done more in the past few years to promote serious thought about agriculture in the general public than author Michael Pollan, and his 2006 book The Omnivore's Dilemma is probably his most influential work, leading to discussions in newspapers, classrooms and book clubs across the entire country. Available at the public library and in paperback, Dilemma provides a clear and engaging overview of our modern, industrial food system, and alternatives.

The Omnivore's Dilemma begins with a simple question: what shall we have for dinner? In a world where technology grants us godlike powers, what should we eat? Subtitled "a natural history of four meals," Pollan explores the origins of four different meals to explore different food chains, all of which exist side-by-side in today's marketplace: industrial, "big organic," pastoral and personal.

The Agribusiness of Industrial Food

The industrial food chain culminates at a fast-food McDonald's, and on the way illustrates how a surplus of material for explosives after WWII eventually led to the massive introduction of petrochemical fertilizers and industrialization to American farms, culminating in the abandonment of New Deal policies under Earl Butz in the 1970's. This system inexorably shuts down small farms in favor of industrial giants such as ADM or Cargill, who control commodity soybeans and global corn in a system whose food scientists use chemistry to convert these two ingredients into everything from beef to the high-fructose corn syrup in soda pop.

The Whole Foods Greenwash of "Big Organic"

"Big organic" is the phrase Pollan uses to designate the mainstreaming of once-fringe foods by large corporations such as WalMart. As federal regulations are re-written to obfuscate the difference between industrial and sustainable agriculture, such stores play on consumer perceptions to extract higher prices from consumers. Pollan deftly notes the rise of "supermarket pastoral," packaging and signs which aim to create an illusion of wholesome simplicity around foods which are essentially produced in factory conditions, albeit with a slightly different mix of chemical inputs. This meal is embodied in an organic TV dinner from a Whole Foods Market and such oddities as organic Chilean asparagus in winter.

Human-Scale, Polycrop Agriculture and the Family Farm

"Pastoral" is the phrase Pollan uses to describe the sort of sustainable and diverse farm city folks like to fantasize about. Designed to function on little more than its natural location and sunlight, these farms mix species such as chickens and cows, promoting soil health and fertility through such ancient techniques as compost and crop rotation, with minimal mechanical inputs. The characteristic meal for the pastoral food chain is pretty much the standard Sunday dinner fare one would imagine Dorothy's family eating at home before or after The Wizard of Oz: chicken with a variety of garden vegetables and perhaps a small amount of hormone-free butter. The sort of meal one would expect to see in a Norman Rockwell painting, this was common fare among those who could afford it before World War I.

Hunting and Gathering toward More Local, Sustainable Options

Pollan's fourth meal is the sort that anthropologists would associate with hunter-gatherer societies: wild-harvested mussels, gathered mushrooms and such. A very wholesome thing but very laborious, and probably not practical even a hundred years ago. Pollan's genius is that he uses this meal and the three others to talk about food systems in a way that makes them real, interviewing people involved in each as he takes the reader on field trips to places as diverse as a feed lot and the bottom side of a boulder in the ocean near San Francisco. By showing the origins of everyday foods and the modern food industry, Pollan provides a lot of food for thought without being preachy. Available at the local library and a terrific holiday gift, Pollan serves up a feast that all omnivores, those of food and ideas, can enjoy and find nourishment in.

For Further Information

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, 2006. Available through the Fort Vancouver Regional Library in normal, audio and large-print editions. The standard edition's library call number is 394.12 POLLAN.

The first chapter of this book is available at the author's web site and the links below are to sites which discuss The Omnivore's Dilemma

• http://www.michaelpollan.com/omnivore.php
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040601701.html
• http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200310/kummer
• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5342514
• http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html?_r=1&ei=5090&en=...&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

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The Saint Johns Farmer's Market began to form in late 2008, encouraged by the 2007 debut of the Interstate Farmer's Market near the Kaiser campus on Interstate Avenue in North Portland. Currently in the organizing phase and looking for vendors, they are a non-profit and hope to be open during the height of the season, perhaps on Saturdays 11am-1pm, beginning in June.

Meetings

The plan is to have two main meetings each month, the first of which will be a board meeting with the second more of a "work meeting" for committees. Next meetings are 7-8:30pm on January 8 and 22, 2009.

St John's Community Center

8427 N Central St
Portland, OR 97203

Simone Streeter, (503) 539-2264
StJohnsFarmersMarket@gmail.com

For Further Information

• Simone Streeter, (503) 539-2264
• StJohnsFarmersMarket.NING.com
• Meeting Minutes from past board meetings
• Google Map to St John's Community Center.

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"Home food systems" are the ways that food is acquired and processed at the household level. True home economics, food systems include the acquisition, preparation and cultural aspects of consumption, and how those fit into the larger society and culture. By considering our own home food systems, we can consciously change our world and economics, one dollar and meal at a time.

Elements of a Home Food System

A home food system will inevitably involve many elements. What one eats is part of it, as is where it comes from. How is it prepared and why is it prepared that way? Who is it for and what values does it embody? Is its main goal nutritional, cultural or economic? Is it an emergency plan for new times or part of a fortunate celebration? Does it connect you to more people or just strengthen the home? The answers to these questions will largely determine your personal, home food system.

Simple Steps to Promote Home Food Culture

• Develop a basic food plan for the year or season
• Eat from the pantry, not a store counter
• Grow or produce some of your own food
• Prepare food at home and carry food with you
• Consider how eating connects or isolates you
• Collect and share recipes for value and meaning
• Build and work toward your ideal food system

Develop a Basic Food Plan for the Year Or Season

It is not that most people think poorly about how they eat but that they don't think about it much at all. We inherit basic food beliefs and habits from our families or the advertising that dominates our culture. This "convenience" has helped create a system where many of us are not well-nourished, with obesity a major health issue for rich and poor alike. Assuming that one eats the standard three meals each day over 365 days, this is almost a thousand chances each year for a better life. The trick is to start small and to take baby steps.

Do you plan to eat every day this week? What will you eat and where will it come from? If you have the good fortune of stability for long-range planning, you'll have more options. The basic food plan for a homeless person may involve identifying a few hot meals they can count on once a week. For the single or elderly apartment-dweller, this might involve looking at the weekly food ads to stock up on favorites when they're on sale. For a young family or a farmer, there might be appreciably longer-range plans that involve preserving produce or a freezer. The important thing is to have a basic plan to improve.

The dominant, commercial food system depends on people to trade money for convenience, in a way that is not necessarily healthy. A sugary soda or a careful selection from the "value menu" at a fast food restaurant or convenience store is usually not what we would have planned, but budgeting our time and money can help us "fail toward success" with increasingly better plans. If I love strawberries, I will plan to love them deeply and thoroughly in May and June, with parsnips in December and sweet corn in August. Each year brings a predictable cycle of fresh fruits and vegetables, which can be well-used if it is planned for, just as a large pot of soup on Sunday can bring delicious comfort throughout the week.

Eat from the Pantry Shelf, Not a Store Counter

One major change in the American diet since the end of World War Two is the dramatic increase in use of prepared and "convenience" foods. Entire categories of foods that did not exist a few decades ago now dominate supermarket aisles: Consider microwave popcorn. These foods are a good strategy for the manufacturer, because these "value-added" products keep longer and have much better profit margins than whole foods. The bowl of soup one buys in a restaurant, though, costs more than a can from the shelf, while the canned stuff is appreciably more expensive than home-made, in terms of both dollars and nutrition. If you find yourself paying for food one piece or meal at a time, you might consider if that is best.

Although convenient, "just in time" or "convenience" foods are expensive and not known for their nutrition. Cheap calories from fat and sugar may "fill you up" immediately but do not provide the nutrients that a body craves, encouraging you to eat more. One key way to feed yourself more wisely, body and soul, is to try and prepare more of your own foods. Rather than grabbing what seems best in the moment, consider how one can plan and purchase in advance so that there is a certain amount of good food always available. In addition to being good emergency preparedness, a well-stocked pantry is also economical over time, and helps you develop a personal or family food culture. Foods that one prepares oneself or shares with others are nourishing in ways beyond basic calories.

Grow or Produce Some of Your Own Food

"Eating is an agricultural act," as Wendell Berry notes in "The Pleasures of Eating" from his 1990 book What are People For? All human cultures have customs around eating and all civilization is based on agriculture. By growing and producing some of our own food, then, we are and become more fully human. It is silly for everyone to plan on becoming Jeffersonian farmers, but all of us can produce at least some of our food.

Even if it is something as simple as growing a few herbs in an apartment window or preparing your own sandwich, just the way you like it, the act of preparing food for oneself and one's loved ones enriches us and brings us closer to the divine. Most people in Clark County can put out a few containers for herbs, fresh tomatoes or lettuce. Growing a few radishes (if one enjoys them) is simple, or one can plant a fruit tree (even in someone else's yard) or consider the larger commitment of a small and modest garden, or a few backyard chickens. In terms of volume or calories, it does not matter so much how much food you produce, as the fact that produce some, and enjoy it yourself. Be part of your food system rather than a slave to it.

Prepare Food at Home and Carry Food with You

One of the main reasons that people do not eat well is because of social pressures and "convenience." The accepted standard in our culture is to either eat out or not eat at all, meaning that lots of folks will eat something at work or from a drive-through somewhere. If it is possible to plan ahead and place snacks in the car or at work, consider doing so. Huge numbers of people skip meals altogether from a lack of money or time, and both of these are easily solved.

Even if it is something as simple as a boiled egg, microwaved potato or piece of fruit, it is a good idea to plan made-at-home foods that can be more nutritious and economical than the consumer-standard junk or convenience foods that starve and isolate us.

Consider How Eating Connects or Isolates You

Basic, biological necessity is only one of the reasons that people eat, and not necessarily the most important for all. Food can also be deeply psychological and cultural. Does the preparation and sharing of food enrich you at all the levels it can? Can you use food to strengthen social bonds as well as physical needs. Many years ago, there was a study among National Merit Scholars that found one of the most common shared characteristic was that their families ate dinner together. Family time spent bonding around meals can create positive or negative experience that lasts for life. Consider what rituals of connection or isolation, healthy or unhealthy, your food beliefs and behaviors enforce.

Collect and Share Recipes for Value and Meaning

Almost every person or family has foods they particularly value or enjoy, and being able to reproduce those foods is crucial to any home food system. Whether it is a traditional "comfort food" such as macaroni and cheese or an unusual pickle or ethnic dish, having a repertoire of foods to prepare and share is terrific. If nothing else, it guarantees you can host a respectable potluck. What are the foods you enjoy most in the world? Learn to make those and share them with others. Develop a repertoire of recipes, one at a time, that you can draw on, in good times and bad.

In an age of celebrity chefs and cable-channel television, food and recipes often become a form of display. Establish traditions and competence that better serve you and your loved ones, in your own home food system.

Build and Work Toward Your Ideal Food System

No one person can build the ideal food system, but each of us can make our own better. Cooking one meal a month may be how one person begins, while another reaches out by attending a potluck. A third person may decide to grow a few herbs while a forth may visit the farmer's market or an elderly aunt to help her with some home canning. Each of these steps is progress, and important toward healthier, more sustainable food systems. Small things matter, even at the personal and household level. Better food systems for us all are the result of many small decisions, repeated well.

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Ingredients

• 2 Large onions, cut into small bite-size pieces
• 6 Medium potatoes, peeled or scrubbed, cut into bite-size cubes
• 1 Carrot (optional), cut into small cubes
• 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)
• 1 Bay leaf (optional)
• 3 Cups water
• 1 Tablespoon butter (optional)
• 1 Can evaporated milk or one cup cream (optional)

Directions

1. Put onions, potatoes, carrots, and parsley in large sauce pan with approximately three cups of water
2. Bring to boil and simmer 30-60 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
3. Remove from heat and add evaporated milk and butter.
4. Serve hot.

Vary quantity of quantity of ingredients for more or less soup. This is simple and delicious on a cold day.

The leek is the national vegetable of Wales and many know a chicken-stock variation of this soup called “cock-a-leekie” among Scots and “vichyssoise” among francophiles. Although delicious and delicate in a way that most onions are not, this variation uses ordinary onions rather than their refined cousins, the leek.

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The Washington Tilth Association is a 501(c)3 organization organized in 1977 as part the general "tilth movement" within the Pacific northwest. Serving as an umbrella organization for several autonomous chapters, WTA itself has a board made up of chapter representatives who meet annually but have no centralized staff. WTA functions as a "fiscal sponsor" for four of its chapters, but not all.

Chapters in the Washington Tilth Association

The Washington Tilth Association is organized into chapters, with six chapters at the end of 2008:

• Seattle Tilth
• South Whidbey Island Tilth
• Sno Valley Tilth
• Spokane Tilth, since 1999
• Tilth Producers of Washington, for farmers
• Vashon Island Growers Association

For Further Information

• WTA website with information on , bylaws and structure
• Oregon Tilth, a more active chapter, with a rigorous certification program

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"Gleaning" is the salvage of crops left after harvest or unused, such as rejects from commercial harvesting or fruit in abandoned orchards. Leviticus 23:22 instructs God's people not to harvest the corners of their land and to let the poor have the stray leftovers, as many farmers still do to this day. Gleaning can also refer to the collection of unused food by modern groups, who then distribute it among food banks and the needy.

Leviticus 23:22 (King James version)

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

The Idea Behind Gleaning

As anyone who has worked in the commercial food industry can attest, huge amounts of food are wasted in the United States every day, from spillage, fear of spoilage, or for cosmetic reasons. Organized group of gleaners work to identify these areas of waste and minimize them, on the theory that some hunger can be eliminated by more efficient distribution. In some areas this may involve systematically gathering fallen fruit before or after harvest, diverting foods near their "pull date" from store shelves for immediate consumption, or following along after mechanical harvesters to collect and distribute what machines miss. However accomplished, gleaners work to identify and minimize food waste to alleviate hunger.

The "Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act" is a 1996 federal law that helps businesses overcome concerns about possible legal liability related to any donated food, only making donors liable for harm resulting from "gross negligence," if they provide donations in good faith.

Gleaning Organizations in Washington and Oregon

There are a variety of gleaning organizations in Oregon and Washington, each with a slightly different structure and focus. Some are very informal, while others are formal corporations or affiliated with specific food banks or county anti-hunger programs.

Clackamas County Gleaners

Clackamas County Gleaners, Inc., is a self-help 501(c)3 organization. With income qualifications and a membership fee, all members are also expected to provide "sweat equity" as well by actively participating in the physical work of gleaning. With options for others to work on behalf of or sponsor the old or infirm, Clackamas County Gleaners gather and process food for distribution to local food banks and among themselves. Similar organizations exist in Marion and Polk counties in the agriculturally rich southern Willamette Valley, such as the Rainbow and Silverton Harvesters.

Gleaners Coalition of Thurston County, Washington

Since 2005, the Gleaners Coalition of Thurston County has helped to feed people in and around Olympia. In addition to helping small farmers get tax deductions, they also staff a variety of "giving gardens" and develop recipes for distribution by their local food bank which help people to better use local and gleaned produce. They have ambitions to start a non-profit cafe which will also increase awareness of local hunger, while working to decrease local hunger itself.

For Further Information

• Gleaners of Clackamas County, Inc., Post Office Box 1660, Oregon City OR 97405, (503) 655-8740
• The Gleaners Coalition, Post Office Box 1413, Olympia WA 98507, (360) 705-0193
• UrbanGleaners.org of Portland
• Oregon Food Bank's gleaning program and information
• "Gleaning and Food Recovery as Tools to Reconnect at the Local Level" on SlowMovement.com, ©2009 Footprint Choices.
• "More Groups Are Feeding the Hungry With What Others Leave." New York Times, March 3, 1996.
• Full text of the The Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, (Public Law 104-210, 110 Stat. 3011, enacted October 1, 1996).
• Forgotten Harvest of Michigan.
• Golden Empire Gleaners of California.

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Growing Gardens aims to "get at the roots of hunger" in the urban and suburban areas around Portland, Oregon. Originally started in 1996 as the Portland Home Garden Project, they organize volunteers to assist all sorts of folks in learning to grow their own, nutritious and culturally-appropriate foods through sponsorships, workshops and work parties. From providing materials and mentoring to low-income households to sponsoring delightful events such as the annual "Tour de Coops" backyard chicken tour and fundraiser, Growing Gardens creates community and self-sufficiency through food.

Contact Information for Growing Gardens

Growing Gardens

2003 NE 42nd Avenue #3
Portland OR 97213

(503) 284-8420
http://Growing-Gardens.org

For Further Information

• http://Growing-Gardens.org
• Growing Gardens calendar of events
• Video on "Digging at the Root of Hunger"
• Growing Gardens sponsors the Tour de Coops event each July.
• Lil' Chickens in the Big City video featuring the Tour de Coops and Portland author Barbara Kilarski
• List of resources for Portland-area gardeners

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For people with diet restrictions, shopping can be a tedious ordeal. Whether those restrictions are ethical, religious or medical, it can sometimes be a drag to read and interpret labels trying to figure out what foods contain, which is why it is so terrific to have options such as Food Fight, a specialized grocery that caters to folks who prefer not to eat any animal products. Originally located at , Food Fight not only provides access to specialized and hard-to-find products, but also sassy moral support, with options to purchase products online to feed both the soul and the body. From t-shirts to books to potatoes faux grautin, Food Fight serves up flavorful, eclectic options.

Whether you are a vegan, a vegetarian or a skin-your-own, big game bow-hunter, Food Fight has something good and interesting for people of all tastes. Check them out!

Contact Information

Food Fight Vegan Grocery

1217 SE Stark St
Portland OR 97214

(503) 233-3910
http://www.foodfightgrocery.com

For Further Information

• http://www.foodfightgrocery.com
• Food Fight's online, vegan shop
• Calendar of events

Posted by Rory Bowman at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Proper Eats is a combination grocery store and cafe in north Portland, pioneering an interesting niche at the spot where the north end of the St. Johns Bridge just kisses Lombard. Opening during a neighborhood festival in 2006, Proper Eats aims to be a community center with a strong focus on food. The front of the shop looks like a neighborhood grocery, circa 1950, with a solid but modest selection of locally-grown produce, dry and bulk goods. In the back is a vegetarian catering business and cafe, with solid and affordable vegan options at all times. In addition to providing easy access to local produce, the store also organizes cultural events such as "free speech movie nights" and low-key, acoustic music.

As well as providing a venue for local farmers and others, Proper Eats sponsors a local community garden, where neighborhood residents are invited to grow their own food, in cooperation with Portland Community Gardens. This combination grocery and cafe with music and gardening is an amazing example of how businesses can do well by doing good, providing solid support to their neighborhoods and communities. Proper Eats provides an excellent, replicable model.

Contact Information for Proper Eats, Portland

Proper Eats Market and Cafe

8638 N Lombard Street
Portland, OR 97203

(503) 445-2007
http://ProperEats.org

For Further Information

• http://ProperEats.org
• Proper Eats Cafe menu
• Proper Eats Market grocery list
• Community garden info
• Hours and directions

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