Celebrating its third year, Pacific Village Grants were distributed to 17 area organizations in 2009, 15 of which are farmers markets. Funded by a portion of sales from our private label, Pacific Village, the grants program is dedicated to creating a marketplace for local foods, celebrating the Northwest’s bounty and connecting shoppers to regional foods and producers. All Pacific Village products––beef, chicken, butter, milk and pork––are sourced from regional farms and feature organic high quality foods.
We’ve seen some truly innovative projects come out of the Pacific Village Grants, and each year we look forward to hearing the applicants’ proposals. Several markets have used the funds to establish the use of electronic transactions at their markets. While enabling the use of debit and credit cards is fantastic, the greatest benefit of the program is the use of EBT, or Food Stamp cards at the farmers markets. This allows countless people with limited access to fresh food and transportation to use their Oregon Trail cards at the markets in their own communities. Taking this program one step further, some markets have now established a matching funds donation for their Oregon Trail users, giving an additional $5 to each EBT customer who spent $5 of their food stamps at the market. Other markets have used the grants to hold free workshops for cooking, food preservation, gardening, healthy eating and even health screenings. The Portland Chef’s Collaborative uses their grant to host the Farmer-Chef Connection, an event that brings local farmers face-to-face with local food buyers. The chefs get access to the freshest local, seasonal produce and the farmers establish guaranteed outlets for their crops—with no middleman. Mercy Corps’ grant money goes to support the New American Agriculture Project, which assists immigrants in starting small-scale farming operations in our community.
Since opening its doors in 2000, we've made supporting the regional food economy part of the company’s mission. This dedication can be seen in the product mix in the store, through stories posted about regional farmers on its website, through meet-the-producer events in its stores and through programs like the Pacific Village grants and Home Grown, a regional food labeling program that helps customers know which foods and products are from regional producers. New Seasons Market’s focus on the regional food economy stems from a desire to keep the Northwest’s family farms viable and to provide shoppers with the best food available produced by the most sustainable means. The Pacific Village Grant Program has resulted in $150,000 going towards preserving our regional farmland so far.
“During these tumultuous economic times, eating regionally grown and produced foods is more important than ever,” said Lisa Sedlar, president of New Seasons Market. “We have to take a long term view of our food and farming systems, because if we don’t support our region’s family farmers, fishers and ranchers we will lose them to the big Ag monoculture system—or worse, our farmland will turn into strip-malls and condos.”
This year’s Pacific Village grantees include the Portland Farmers Market (including Eastbank and King), Lake Oswego Farmers Market, Hillsboro Farmers Market, Beaverton Farmers Market, Hollywood Farmers Market, Cedar Mill Sunset Farmers Market, Forest Grove Farmers Market, Hillsdale Farmers Market, Interstate Farmers Market, Lents International Farmers Market, Milwaukie Farmers Market, Moreland Farmers Market, Montavilla Farmers Market, Portland Chefs Collaborative and Mercy Corps International.
New Seasons Market began offering Pacific Village products in 2006, and formally launched the private label in January of 2007. Built into the brand is an opportunity for shoppers to support the regional food economy. Each time a customer purchases a Pacific Village product, a portion of the sale will be earmarked for donation. Each January, New Seasons Market will determine which local organizations are eligible for Pacific Village grants. For more information on the Pacific Village grant program or to apply for a grant, contact Community Relations Director Claudia Knotek at claudiaK@newseasonsmarket.com.
