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l987, a small group of market managers from around the state organized the
Oregon Farmers’
Markets Association (OFMA) to support their work recreating traditional
markets in their communities. By 2004, 64 communities within the state enjoy
the benefits of a farmers’ market. Recent estimates indicate that more than
1,000 Oregon farmers participate in farmers’ markets each year and that
farmers' markets attract more than 90,000 people each week during the peak
summer months.
Farmers Markets strives to bring you healthy local food.
There are activities and fun for the whole family. So come experience the
market. Enjoy the events. Learn from top chefs. Make your own statement
in support of local food!
Portland's love affair with farmers markets continues to
get stronger. The Portland
Farmers Market had record attendance in 2009, with more than 620,000
people shopping at the five area markets. That's a 16 percent increase from
the year before. Those shoppers spent nearly $6 million, a nine percent
increase from 2008.
A Hungry Shopper’s Guide to Portland
What really sets Portland apart isn’t the inventiveness
of our menus or the degree of our chefs’ obsession with entrails. Our real
treasure lies in the quality and diversity of ingredients available to cooks
from the city’s network of farmers markets, food artisans, import stores
and specialty shops. It’s an uncommon bounty for a town of our size, and
one that has never been adequately cataloged until the Willamette Week did
it in April, 2009. Click
here
to access the markets.
Food Hub Links Food Producers and Buyers
 FoodHub,
an online directory developed by Ecotrust links food producers and
buyers. The program, funded by federal money passed through the Oregon
and Washington departments of agriculture, allows restaurant owners, for
example, to find a local supplier of fruits, vegetables or meat. Farmers
with produce to sell can list it in the system. The program requires a
$100 annual membership fee. Users can customize searches to find or
offer products by farming method, location and other factors.
Shopping Off the Grid: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
Call it shopping off the grid, where urbanites do business
directly with producers, set a time and a place to receive the goods, then
fill their fridge and freezer with all kinds of edibles. The buy-direct
habit often starts with a CSA, where a household gets a weekly share of
a farm's vegetable harvest. What's different now is that you can get a lot
more from the source than just fresh produce. The metro area has close
to 50 CSAs.
For a complete list of Portland area CSAs, visit the
Portland Area CSA Coalition Web site.
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