farm tours

It has been a busy and exciting couple weeks, so this post is considerably later than I had wanted to be.

For the past couple years Peoples Food Co-op has gotten together with the other 2 food co-ops in town and taken people to see where some of their food comes from. This year we went to 3 different urban farms whose focus, in one way or another, is on food security. The farms that graciously let us wonder as they educated us on what they do, how they do it, and why are:  Adelante Mujeres, Food Works, and Zenger Farms. They are all doing amazing work getting healthy foods to people who do not usually find themselves with access to anything other than cheap junk food. All the farms are community based and non-profits. They all captured my heart in different ways, but I must say a piece of me is still off gazing from the top of the hill, across the land towards the stream at Adelante Mujeres, and it was the first farm we toured, so lets start there.

to say I love this farm is an under statement

On the bus ride out, we were educated on and questioned about food security issues. It was great to hear that the Oregon Hunger Task Force and Oregon Public Health Institute has gotten into the communities that are most experiencing hunger in our area, and are talking to people about what the issues are and how we can all come together to ensure fewer people go through the days and nights hungry and malnourished. And important point is that people should not necessarily be looking at how can we make food cheaper (we have some pretty damn cheap food in this country), but how can we get people access to good food and jobs to pay for that food.... that is a different post that I will be working on soon.

Back to farms. The people that farm Adelante are amazing! It is comprised of families (don't try to define it more than being a group of people that consider themselves family) that work the land collectively.  As we descended upon the farm land, there was a group of small kids kicking around a soccer ball... just kind of felt like home.

There are so many ways to talk about how this entire organization was developed to work on the issues in this immigrant community, but lets just focus on Adeanted Agricutura. Here is how they define their program "Adelante Agricultura is the sustainable farming project of Adelante Mujeres’ Micro Enterprise program. The mission of this project is to achieve social justice and equity through ecological land management and economic viability. Our overall goal is to provide resource-limited, aspiring Latino immigrant farmers and farm workers with the training and skills necessary to farm using organic methods and to successfully market their produce". They have a sustainable farming course that they go trough. One of the major goals is to work directly and with respect for the land. The food and plants both feed their families, and are sold at the Forest Grove farmers market. The farm is actually called La Esperanza. It is a 12 acre farm in Forest Grove and supports farmers in what they learned in the farming class, and then transition to independent farming enterprises. 

Their CSA program is actually a capital exchange project. People pay a certain amount, or loan tools/supplies and then that goes as credit at the farmers market. Therefor there is no need to do up these boxes for pick up or delivery. People just go to the market and get what they want. They currently have 10 members.


Back to the actual farm... The tour for me started in the green house. It is heated with passive solar using  50 gallon barrels filled with water. With the little sun we have had this year, the new greenhouse has given them a head start at the farmers market with plants to both sell at the market, and get started into to transplant as soon as warms up enough. The 3 men there to talk to us really didn't have much to say... they work all day at other jobs, then they come to the farm and work the evenings and weekends. Some came to the farm because their wives had gone through another one of the programs offered, and therefor able to come onto this project. To watch them handle the delicate little seedlings was beautiful. They certainly preferred to do the work than talk about the work, and they preferred to speak Spanish when talking... and then the passion came out a bit more.

he certainly enjoyed telling us what he does in the greenhouse, but seemed to be wanting to get back to the work. very patient with our questions

the view from the greenhouse was grand

plants to plant and to sell

We then moved on to the fields... all in nice little rows. Here 2 other farmers talked about how the fields work. I loved the way Alajandro talked of the drip irrigation system that they have (there is no electricity on the farm anywhere, only a gas powered pump at the stream, then its all gravity). He said, "We give the plants not too much water, and not too little water, just enough for the flavor." He, as the director of the farm program, believes that you feed the soil and the soul feeds the plants.

nice view of the land

fields and the irrigation barrels. the tree line is where the creek is that they get their water from.

Each family gets 1/2 acre of land, and they all work it after they have worked their other jobs. The plants are a mixture of things one commonly finds at the markets, plus so many different varieties of peppers I was blown away! And now they are trying to bring more plants and spices that are more common in their traditional foods.


When we moved on to the market stations where families that work the market talk about what it is like to have this opportunity. Women shyly talked and apologized for their English (we should have apologized for our Spanish), talked about how happy they were to have the opportunity to grow healthy foods for their families and, in turn, provide/sell healthy food for other people to feed themselves/families. I highly recommend that you look further into  Adelante Mujeres  for they are amazing, and if you find yourself in the Forest Grove area on a Wednesday between 4 and 8pm, stop in at the farmers market for a good pepper!

the greenhouse with the barrels for heating/cooling

The next farm was Food Works as a part of the Janus Youth program. Ground works has a beautiful space out on Sauvie Island. The project is for ages 14 to 21 as an empowerment and employment program. You can learn more about this deeply inspiring project through the Janus program and if you want to know what this community is doing you should check out Janus Youth Programs. The youth come out from the New Columbia and St. John's Wood communities in North Portland.


On this 1 acre of land, they are able to grow 4,000 pounds of produce a year, and I have to say my new favorite salad green mix. I haven't had a mix like this since leaving the Wakarusa farm outside Lawrence, KS. It has just the right mix of spicy mustard greens that keeps my attention when I normally get board with salad mixes.

ohhh fields

our caters having a little fun

telling us how it all works

field A, I think

really who doesn't love an old tractor?

produce washing station

What amazed me the most about watching the youth move between working in the fields and giving us a tour of the land, was just how much true confidence they held while having fun and getting work done. Especially when you consider it was a group of young kids of color, many immigrants of East Africa, talking to a group of mostly older white folks. I would have been nervous and intimidated, but our guide was not, she remained quite poised and sure of herself. She was also able to laugh at the learning curve they have experienced, like how many days it took them the first time they transplanted a row for the first time, and then this year it just took them 30 minutes. 


As well as getting paid just a bit for this work, they also get school credit, and can apply for a college scholarship. So far 5 students have received a scholarship. 


Oh and we got to have a great lunch, sitting on the grass next to the field of greens. It was very peaceful... I do love to go out to Sauvie Island (Ursula Le Guin has a great article on this historic farming island out there), but this is a very special journey. 


You can purchase their delicious produce at the PSU farmers market in downtown Portland as well as the St. John's farmers market. Go get some of that salad mix... for real... I eat it straight up out of my bag.


Our final farm was Zenger Farms. Very beautiful piece of land in outer SE Portland along the spring water corridor for you fellow bikers. There is 4 acres of farm and and 10 acres of wetland. Ulrich Zenger, a Swiss dairy farmer took over the land in 1913. I've heard it told that not only was he super progressive in wanting to protect the wetlands, he was also one of the few vegetarian dairy farmers of the time. His animal stewardship was suppose to be exemplary. 


His son took over the land, but did not take over the commercial farming practice. As he got older, he wished for the integrity of the land to continue, so he created some assurances. Upon his death, the land began being managed my Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services. In 1995, the land became a working farm again, as well as an educational and environmental resource. There is now a 50 year lease with Friends of Zenger Farm to ensure that the vision of the family and community are followed.

the middle part of these plants is rented by another farm and will feed 150 families with their CSA!

to the left is farm

to the right is wet land

an elder tree in bloom... so amazing

the 2 water collection tanks 

educational worm bin

solar panels

The land is outstanding. To walk it feels like walking on sacred land. We were able to nibble on a great piece of spinach while gazing off over the wetlands of the Johnson Creek Watershed and watching so many birds fly around us. I have to say the huge bee area here still has a little piece of me buzzing around. 

that grand spinach

and the bees! their home is under construction. I love bees!

They started a pilot CSA project this year of 20 members. 10 of which can purchase there share with their EBT card, 2 are scholarships, and the other 8 are paid in cash. They want to see if they can keep up with all the farmers markets and places they sell their food before expanding the CSA program. 


What did I come away with this tour with, besides a little sun and a lot of fun inspired by a toddler that danced with me at the very end of the journey? Well, with some work, some land, creativity, and a huge sense of community we can feed people in the urban setting. Not only can we be fed, we can be fed good local organic food. We can take back the bullshit that the government wants to subsidize and put out healthy food so that people aren't on shitty medications from all the heart disease and diabetes that the "rations" dish out.


Mostly its about community. And I believe that this is where the revolution will occur. Very quietly, communities are developing their leaders. I say quietly, because they are dong the work and not spouting off about how great they are... they just do it.