A project of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon's Interfaith Network for Earth Concerns.
Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership is encouraging congregations and community groups to conduct five-week Healthy Food Drives. It’s as easy as contacting a local food pantry, getting the word out to friends and family, and using IFFP’s resources to maximize your impact.
View list.
Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership has released a new handbook that outlines how your congregation can start a micro-enterprise program. The Micro-Enterprise handbook is available for free download, or you may purchase a hardcopy for $10. To purchase the handbook, or if you have a kitchen that is under-utilized and that you would like to use better for mission and outreach or health promotion, contact Allison Warren at (503) 221-1054, ext. 210, or awarren@emoregon.org. Download Micro-Enterprise handbook.
This 25-page handbook outlines how to start and maintain community gardens, community kitchens, buying clubs, farm stands and other projects harnessing faith community resources. It offers tips for project success and effective collaboration with low-income populations. The handbook was published as a companion to our recent Summit on Food Sovereignty held in Corvallis, Ore., on Oct. 3, 2009. Download Food Sovereignty handbook.
Power point presentations from the October Summit are also available to download:
Community Gardens,
Wellness Project, and
Farm to Congregation
To empower faith communities, farmers and neighborhoods
to build rural-urban alliances
and
create innovative partnerships
for just and sustainable food systems
that promote community health.
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Buy Local
When you buy food grown close to home, you cast a vote in favor of local, sustainable agriculture and family farms.
Food and Faith
Communities of faith can play a vital role in creating a just and sustainable food system by demonstrating a commitment to local farmers and cultivating an understanding of food security issues.
Feeding Ourselves
We envision a future in which local farms feed local families, and direct marketing relationships contribute to a vibrant local economy and a healthy population.
In collaboration with diverse congregations, we launch grassroots projects in Willamette Valley communities, including: buying clubs; cooking classes; community gardens; farm stands; and wellness assessments, policies and advocacy. We develop successful models for congregations across the state and beyond.
The Interfaith Network for Earth Concerns (INEC) began promoting community food security in the faith community in 1994, linking anti-hunger work with economic justice and environmental sustainability. INEC's workshops and publications, such as Portland’s Bounty, fed a growing interest in forging connections with local farms and led to the formation of the Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership (IFFP).
In 2005, IFFP began developing and evaluating models for farm-to-congregation alliances in low-income communities. IFFP began as a collaboration with Oregon Food Bank, Heifer International, the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry, Oregon Farmers’ Market Association, MercyCorps NW, Oregon State University Small Farms Extension and many faith communities. We drew much inspiration from the Rev. John Pitney, who has been a leader in farm-to-congregation organizing for over a decade.
Our most recent IFFP effort, a Robert Wood Johnson-sponsored Congregational Wellness Project, engages faith communities in promoting children’s health and combating child obesity, both within their congregations and in the wider community. This new project shares the goal of increasing community access to healthy, just and sustainable foods, especially for the most vulnerable among us, and also supports regular physical activity and enjoyment of the outdoors for spiritual sustenance and general well-being.
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Kitchen
We offer weekly cooking classes in Spanish and English for low-income people at Corvallis First United Methodist Church. Classes emphasize basic culinary skills, simple recipes and food preservation using local produce and food pantry items. Each session finishes with a shared meal.
Garden
We coordinate a community garden at Westside Community Church in Corvallis that offers affordable plots and gardening support to 20 low-income families. The garden includes several interfaith plots where volunteers grow vegetables for food pantries.
Buying Club
We coordinate a buying club/farm stand at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, where we accept electronic food stamps, WIC coupons and Senior Coupons. Participants are encouraged to use our community kitchen to preserve food for the winter months.
Farmers’ Market
We promote Oregon Trail Card access at the farmers' market to people receiving food stamp benefits.
That’s My Farmer!
We coordinate a coupon program among 10 congregations and 12 small farms called "That's My Farmer!" Ten percent of the proceeds from coupon sales go toward generating coupons for low-income people. We work with food pantries and gleaners to distribute these coupons to those in need.
Congregational Wellness Project
This new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-sponsored Congregational Wellness Project will engage Corvallis and Portland faith communities in promoting children’s health – both within their congregations and outside of their walls. EMO was one of 21 faith-based coalitions across the country to receive a two-year grant under this new RWJ initiative. Because obesity disproportionately impacts lower-income and Hispanic/Latino families, the project will place special emphasis on these communities. The initiative will: create an Interfaith Coalition to guide the project and spearhead broader community advocacy work, help congregations assess their opportunities and challenges around promoting young congregants’ health (e.g., looking at quality of food served during congregational activities), develop a model Congregational Wellness Policy to help congregations make healthy changes, and support partners in advocating for wellness in the community.
Farm to Congregation Projects
IFFP currently has five farmers in partnership with seven congregations. The projects include farm stands after Sunday services, community support agriculture (CSA) and a buying club where members combine their purchasing power to get wholesale prices for produce. Congregations are encouraged to offer subsidized shares for low-income people and donate CSA shares and leftover produce from the farm stands to organizations that serve low-income people.
That’s My Farmer Coupon Program
The farm stand at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Portland is in its third year of the “That’s My Farmer” Coupon Program. Coupon booklets for the farm stand are sold to the congregation. As in Benton County, 10 percent of the purchase price is a donation to purchase books for people with low incomes. This program enables people with low incomes to get fresh produce every week during the growing season.
Cooking Classes
We offer cooking classes in diverse environments, from the First Presbyterian Church to the Woodlawn Community Garden. Some cater to low-income people who cook in a microwave. Some use especially kid-friendly recipes. All use fresh produce and food pantry items. Participants are given cooking supplies and fresh produce at the end of the classes. Check out the recipes our chefs used to teach the classes in 2008, found below under Resources & Links.
Northeast Emergency Food Pantry Outreach
NEFP provides services to an ethnically diverse and low-income population. We have focused our efforts there on increasing awareness about farmers’ markets and the benefits of eating fresh produce. We also distribute veggie seeds and starts for those who want to grow their own.
Food Assessment
In fall 2007, we completed a food assessment of parts of north and northeast Portland, designed and implemented by people with low-incomes from the neighborhoods. IFFP will continue work on the issues brought to the surface by the food assessment to increase food access for all! (See our Tools below for more information.)
Food Policy
IFFP’s Portland staff lend our voice to support family farming and strong state and national policies to improve food access.
Congregational Wellness Project
Your faith community can create an environment that promotes wellness for congregants and the wider community. EMO's Congregational Wellness Project offers tools, resources, personal support and mini-grants (in our region) to
help congregations enact policies, practices and new ways of using your building
and land so that healthy eating and physical activity choices are available to
everyone. Highlights are the Congregational Health Index (CHI) assessment tool
and planning guide (download the CHI) that helps your faith community identify strengths and areas for
improvement and create an action plan for health-impacting changes, and the
www.faithandwellness.org website that contains a wealth of information and inspiration. View "Tools for Creating a Healthy Congregation."
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-sponsored Congregational Wellness Project engages Corvallis and Portland faith communities in promoting children’s health – both within their congregations and outside of their walls. EMO was one of 21 faith-based coalitions across the country to receive a two-year grant under this new RWJ initiative. Because obesity disproportionately impacts lower-income and Hispanic/Latino families, the project places special emphasis on these communities, working primarily in north, northeast and outer southeast Portland.
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First United Methodist Church, Portland
First Presbyterian Church, Portland
Highland Christian Center, Portland
Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Portland
Kairos-Milwaukie United Church of Christ, Milwaukie
Muslim Community Center, Portland
Saint Philip Neri Parish – The Paulist Center, Portland
Waverly Heights United Church of Christ, Portland
St. Mary's Catholic Parish, Corvallis
Grace Lutheran Church, Corvallis
First Presbyterian Church of Corvallis
First United Methodist Church of Corvallis
Corvallis Mennonite Fellowship
First Congregational United Church of Christ, Corvallis
Good Samaritan Episcopal Church, Corvallis
Calvin Presbyterian Church, Corvallis
Beit Am Mid-Willamette Valley Jewish Community, Corvallis
Oregon Food Bank
Heifer Project International Northwest Region
Oregon Farmers’ Market Association
Oregon State University Small Farmers Extension
New American Farming Association
Mercy Corps NW, Agriculture Project
Bina’s Patchwork Garden, (541) 754-7015
Deep Roots Farm, (541) 917-8944
Denison Farms, (541) 752-4156
Gathering Together Farm, (541) 929-4270
Heavenly Harvest Farm, (541) 753-8377
Kings Valley Gardens, (541) 929-4054
La Mancha Ranch & Orchard, (541) 367-6262
Matt-Cyn Farms, (541) 791-9038
Midway Farms, (541) 740-6141
My Pharm, (541) 424-2233
Sunbow Farm, (541) 929-5782
Turpen Family Farm, (541) 485-4418
Wood Family Farm, (503) 769-5000
Great River Farm, Portland
Herr Farm, Corbett
Lucky Flower Farm, Keizer
Northwest Organic Farm
Oregon Urban Family Farmers, Portland
Laura Masterson, 47th Avenue Community Supported Agriculture Farm, Portland
Tom Winterrowd, Pitkin Winterrowd Farms, Canby
Yua Lo, Corbett
Andrea Davis, Kings Valley Garden, Kings Valley
Alexander Velikoretskikh, Great River Farm
Heather Burns, Little Frog Farm, Sauvie Island
CSA Inspires Local Food Cookbook, Lincoln Street United Methodist Church, Portland
Linda and Tom Berkemeier, Lincoln Street United Methodist Church, Portland
Becky Perreaulx, St. Andrews, Portland
Lucky Flower Farm
NW Organic Farm, Ridgefield, Wash.
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Subscribe to our food and faith e-newsletter by sending an e-mail to awarren@emoregon.org with the following in the subject line: "Subscribe Food and Faith."
Read the latest issues: Fall 2011, Summer 2011, Spring 2011.
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· Host a presentation on the Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership.
· Facilitate a dialogue or religious education lesson on food as a faith issue, hunger, supporting local farmers or child obesity as a social justice/spiritual issue.
· Participate in a community food assessment.
· Administer our local food survey at your congregation.
· Buy directly from local farmers, especially new and immigrant farmers.
· Incorporate healthy, local food into your food pantry, social ministry, parish school or preschool, your congregation's activities from social hour to committee meetings and your community events.
· Use land or facilities for community gardens, farm stands, cooking clubs, educational sessions on healthy eating and physical activity, or opportunities to exercise.
· Serve as a pilot test congregation for developing and using the model Congregational Wellness Policy.
· Participate in community advocacy around food security, children's health and obesity prevention.
· Volunteer to lead a cooking or physical activity class.
· Assist with record-keeping in the office.
· Donate food from your farm, retail business or garden for cooking classes.
· Donate seeds and seedlings for use at the Westside Community Garden in Corvallis and Northeast Emergency Food Program in Portland.
· Help organize an educational or fundraising event.
· Serve on the Interfaith Wellness Coalitions in Portland or Corvallis to help shape and implement the Congregational Wellness Program.
Call us at (503) 221-1054 or send an e-mail to foodandfaith@emoregon.org.
Sign up for our Food & Faith quarterly newsletter: send an e-mail to foodandfaith@emoregon.org with your name, city and affiliation.
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Cooking Local Food Recipes
Microwave Safety
To find the farmers' market, farm stand, u-pick, or community supported agriculture farm nearest you, check out these Web sites:
"Study surveys local food needs, benefits," Corvallis Gazette Times, Nov. 14, 2006
"Coupons link local farms, churches," Corvallis Gazette Times, Dec. 11, 2006
"Program connects growers, churches and hungry families," Capital Press, March 30, 2007
"Learning thrifty home cooking," Corvallis Gazette Times, Sept. 24, 2007
"Chef fires up class for cooking on a tight budget," Corvallis Gazette Times, March 28, 2008
"Church offers garden space to low-income residents," Corvallis Gazette Times, May 31, 2008
"Report presses for food policy," The Skanner, July 30, 2008
"Garden to share its fruits with all," Corvallis Gazette Times, Sept. 2008
"Local farmers discuss local foods," Corvallis Gazette Times, Nov.17, 2008
"Parish gardens help struggling families," Catholic Sentinel, May 21, 2009
"Community garden helps fight obesity epidemic among Latinos," Oregonian, June 27, 2009
"Food in Faith," Edible Portland, Winter 2011, page 30
"Edible Portland, " AM Northwest, Dec. 8, 2010
"Portland Community Kitchens," Oregonian, July 15, 2011
Here is a short list of links to local, regional, national and international resources pertaining to community food security and environmental sustainability.
Farm Bill:
The 2008 Farm Bill passed through Congress after a presidential veto. For more information on how policy transforms our food systems, check out these Web sites:
From Our Own Soil: A Community Food Assessment of Benton County
View full report or short report. Download Adobe Reader.
Everyone Eats! North/Northeast Portland Food Assessment
View full report or Executive Summary.
“That’s My Farmer,” A Handbook to Starting a Grassroots Farmers’ Market Coupon Program includes practical tips gleaned from years of experience with the “That’s My Farmer” coupon program, guidelines for a successful program and templates for replicating it. Download the handbook.
Farm to Congregation, A Handbook on Starting a Congregational Farm Stand documents our experience with five different farm stand models at faith communities. It outlines the typical tasks and responsibilities for the congregation and farmer, provides a recommended timeline and details how to integrate a farm stand into the life of a congregation and its surrounding community.
EMO's Interfaith Network for Earth Concerns is a participant in the Powell's Books Partner Program. When you purchase a book at Powell's Books online store, our programs will earn 7.5 percent commission on every sale. Be sure to enter the Powell's Books site through our Web site. Go to our "Book Shelf" or use the search engine below.
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Jenny Holmes, Project Director
0245 SW Bancroft Street, Suite B, Portland, Oregon 97239
(503) 221-1054, ext. 214
Sean McEvoy, Food Justice Coordinator
(503) 221-1054, ext. 215.
Alison Warren, Program Associate
0245 SW Bancroft St., Suite B, Portland, Oregon 97239
(503) 221-1054, ext. 210
Eating with the fullest pleasure—pleasure, that is, that does not depend on ignorance—is perhaps the profoundest enactment of our connection with the world. In this pleasure we experience and celebrate our dependence and our gratitude, for we are living from mystery, from creatures we did not make and powers we cannot comprehend.
–Wendell Berry, The Pleasures of Eating
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