A Big Year for the Oregon Community Food Systems Network
By Greg Holmes, Chair of the OCFSN Leadership Team
I work for 1000 Friends of Oregon, a statewide non-profit formed in 1975 to work with Oregonians to create strong communities and to preserve our farm and forest lands so that they remain available for farming and forest uses. I began to get involved in Food Systems work in about 2011, when I was asked to serve on the steering committee overseeing the Community Food System Assessment that Oregon Food Bank was conducting in Jackson County. Recognizing that we can’t have a robust and sustainable food system without the farms to grow that food, 1000 Friends created our own Food Systems Program in 2015—which allows me to dedicate some of my work time to things like the OCFSN.
Working with all of you, the partners in the OCFSN, has been one of the best parts of my job for the last five years or so. A lot of hard work went into conceptualizing and forming this Network, and during the last three years of its formal existence we have accomplished a lot together. In order to keep that momentum going, it is time for the Network to take some pretty big steps forward—and I think we are more than ready.
Most of you know that we are not a registered non-profit. We don’t have a bank account, and we can’t directly hire employees (or even contractors). Instead, we rely on some of our partner organizations (such as the Oregon Food Bank, the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, and Food Alliance) to receive and hold money for us and then to pay our expenses. We also rely heavily on a dedicated group of volunteers that you all elect to serve as the Leadership Team, and on the dozens of people that are serving on the working groups and committees. Collectively, they are are actively moving the needle on improving food systems in Oregon.
And we are changing things. Our working together has resulted in a number of bills being introduced and passed at the Legislature—including funding of millions of dollars for programs that strengthen our food system. Partners from different parts of the state have collaborated to share information and resources, secure grant funding for projects, and build and strengthen programs. We are training ourselves and others to recognize and effectively deal with systemic inequities in our food systems. And we’ve changed the conversation, so that people are looking at the system rather than just their own individual parts.
We’ve proven the concept: this Network thing can produce real change. Like our food systems, in order to be robust and sustainable, this Network is going to have to evolve. The very ambitious Strategic Plan that we all just approved relies on our having paid staff. That, in turn, means that we need to incorporate into a 501.c.3 non-profit organization. We have big goals around expanding our DEI work and influencing policies at the state and local levels. And we need to keep sharing with each other and supporting the great work that is already being done out there.
As if that was not all enough, this is also the final year of our initial funding received from the Meyer Memorial Trust and other sources. All of the great work that we have been doing and that we have planned for the future takes money, so this year we are also formalizing our efforts to secure long-term, sustainable funding sources. The Leadership Team has formed a Development Committee with volunteers who want to help make that happen—and they are also looking for more help.
We’ve been through a lot of these changes in recent years with the Rogue Valley Food System Network (RVFSN). A lot of what we learned down here will be helpful in the next couple of years as the OCFSN grows. I’m honored to have been elected Chair of OCFSN at this point in time. My personal goal during the one or two years that I will be in this position is to help move the Network toward sustainability. That means not only accomplishing some of the tasks noted above, but also—and more importantly—it means working with the Leadership Team to position a bunch of new leaders to be ready to take on the role of moving the work forward once we get some funding and structure in place.
If you have experience that can help us move forward, or if you don’t have that experience but want to learn and develop so that you do, please contact any member of the Leadership Team and we will help find the role that makes sense for you. We have a big year ahead of us, but if we stick to the concept of this Network and share the load, we will have an even bigger future.
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Announcing: The Changing Hands Story Series
By Ashley Rood, Rogue Farm Corps
Throughout 2019, Rogue Farm Corps is sharing real stories of how transitioning land from one generation to the next is possible.
The stories we all too often hear are about the loss of farms. But there are farmers and ranchers who have found creative ways to pass their legacies to the next generation. And there are programs designed to help farmers with succession and business planning. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned and a wealth of inspiration from those who have carved this path.
The Changing Hands story series is sharing the inspirational stories of farmland transition in the Capital Press - the west's most prominent agricultural publication - both online and in print. You’ll learn how farmers and ranchers in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California passed their legacies to family members and non-family members, and meet skilled aspiring farmers and ranchers who are ready and able to take over a business. We also feature a variety of tools that help with transitions like working lands easements, conservation incentives, creative business structures and experiences with succession planners.
Stories so far include:
If you are seeking land, transferring land, or conserving land in California, Idaho, Oregon, or Washington, see Rogue Farm Corps' Changing Hands Resources Page.
If you have a story you’d like to share, or questions about the resources, please get in touch: ashley@roguefarmcorps.org
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Grow Portland Keeps Growing
By Jennie Marable, Program Coordinator
In June of 2018, Grow Portland and Portland Earth, Art, & Agriculture Project merged their respective school garden education programs into one provider operating under the Grow Portland name. As we approach the spring of 2019, we are celebrating a successful completion of three seasons as a unified organization. We now have a team of five educators teaching at 17 school sites in 3 districts. This school year, more than 7,000 elementary school students, including 4,000 students of color, received monthly hands-on, culturally responsive garden education emphasizing healthy eating and environmental stewardship.
While we work with a wide variety of school communities, our focus continues to be on partnerships with low income, highly diverse schools. Although the services, program, and learning experiences for our school partners has remained largely the same as in previous years, our newly expanded organization offers a growing number of benefits. We’re continuing to develop and refine our model of vibrant, replicable school garden education in public schools, and to foster health and learning for our city’s children through our ongoing support for school garden education. We are excited for a busy spring planting season, and our next project--in partnership with Multnomah County SUN programs--is taking school garden education year-round with summer program offerings. Watch us as we grow! Questions? Contact Program Coordinator Jennie Marable (jmarable@growportland.org) or Education Director Djamila Moore (dmoore@growportland.org).
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This information was provided by individual OCFSN members and does not represent an endorsement by OCFSN as a whole.
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Strong Climate Policy to Benefit Oregon Agriculture
By Megan Kemple, Oregon Climate and Agriculture Network
HB 2020, Oregon’s proposed Cap and Invest policy, defines an annual cap on greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon and ensures that some of the state’s largest polluters pay their fair share. Farms are not regulated by the policy but can benefit from incentives for practices that sequester carbon in the soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bill recognizes that farms are an important part of the solution to the problem of a changing climate.
Please consider signing on, on behalf of your organization, to this letter in support of Oregon’s proposed Cap and Invest legislation, and join nearly 200 others who have signed already. Sign on using this simple form. Here’s more information about the policy. Contact megan@oregonclimateag.org with questions.
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Oregon Hunger Response Day: April 11th at the State Capital
On Oregon Hunger Response Day, regional food banks, partner agencies, people experiencing hunger, and supporters of the Oregon Food Bank Network will gather together in the state Capitol to share information and stories about hunger with our state legislators.
We want you to come along to help educate our legislators about hunger in your area and encourage them to increase their commitment to end hunger and its root causes.
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Sign on in support of the Farm to School Bill
By Megan Kemple, Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Network
The Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Network has an ambitious plan to pass an expanded Oregon Farm to School Bill. HB 2579, the 2019 Farm to School Bill would expand the Farm to School Grant Program to provide additional funding for both the current grant programs and new funding for summer meals, preschool, technical assistance, and support for producers. We’re seeking endorsements from partner organizations. If you’re able to endorse, please complete this simple form. Need more info? Here’s an overview of the bill, the bill text, and a summary of the areas of expansion and changes proposed in the bill. Contact megan@oregonfarmtoschool.org with questions.
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Neighborworks Umpqua is watching two bills that would affect nonprofits in Oregon
By Jim White, ED of the Nonprofit Association of Oregon, reprinted "From the Executive Director's Desk"
There's an attempt to expand nonprofit property tax reporting through SB210, as well as a proposed requirement to make nonprofits subject to public meeting and public records requirements through HB3159. These bad bills would expand and create overreach by government into independent organizations and require certain institutions seeking property tax exemption to file information returns that would cause unnecessary and burdensome reporting requirements annually on basic property exemptions.
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New Community Food System Indicator Updates Available!
By Mallory Rahe and Lauren Gwin, Oregon State University, Center for Small Farms & Community Food Systems
Updated data on Oregon’s food processors, food stores, farm employment and compensation, and SNAP access are now available on OSU Extension’s Rural Community Explorer’s Communities Reporter for the state and all counties. The CFS Indicators are a partnership between OCFSN and OSU Extension.
Click the button below for statewide trend highlights, along with a link to the full set of updated Indicators AND instructions for how to use them.
If you have county-level questions, please email Mallory: Mallory.rahe@oregonstate.edu.
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