From farm to table
UP participates in program to supply local and organic produce year round
Amanda Clifford
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: News
With spring here, the first sugar snap peas, sweet baby carrots and earliest Oregon strawberries are just weeks away. Students and faculty sticking around campus this summer can plan on having a variety of fresh organic produce at their fingertips.
This spring, for the first time, the University is participating in a Community Supported Agriculture program, an arrangement that means a whole season of fresh fruits and vegetables delivered weekly, straight from a local grower.
"I am really excited about it," said Kirk Mustain, manager for Bon Appétit, the University's on-campus food provider. "We will have a lot more choices available to us that were not available before."
At UP, on-campus diners aren't the only people who will be able to take advantage of this new partnership with Sauvie Island Organics' Community Supported Agriculture. Faculty, students and staff can also participate and pick up fresh produce the grower will deliver each week to the Cove.
Cost of a share is $875, which buys 30 weeks of produce and fruit fresh from the field from late May to mid-December.
One share provides a box of produce that feeds a family of four. The bounty will vary from week to week and month to month depending on the season.
Nestled between farmlands and wildlife refuges, Sauvie Island Organics is located less than 10 miles from campus. The 18-acre farm harvests more than 35 products - from beets and Brussels sprouts to summer squash and turnips. The harvest is sold through the farm's 400-member CSA, with the rest going to restaurants in Portland, like Higgins and Bijou Café.
Sauvie Island Organics has more than eight drop-box sites throughout Portland where shareholders can pick up their weekly bin of goodies. The Cove drop-off is one of several new sites in North Portland. The first CSA pickup will take place the week of May 19.
Although $875 per share may seem like a large chunk of change to pay up front, some participants find splitting the cost and sharing their shares more palatable.
This spring, for the first time, the University is participating in a Community Supported Agriculture program, an arrangement that means a whole season of fresh fruits and vegetables delivered weekly, straight from a local grower.
"I am really excited about it," said Kirk Mustain, manager for Bon Appétit, the University's on-campus food provider. "We will have a lot more choices available to us that were not available before."
At UP, on-campus diners aren't the only people who will be able to take advantage of this new partnership with Sauvie Island Organics' Community Supported Agriculture. Faculty, students and staff can also participate and pick up fresh produce the grower will deliver each week to the Cove.
Cost of a share is $875, which buys 30 weeks of produce and fruit fresh from the field from late May to mid-December.
One share provides a box of produce that feeds a family of four. The bounty will vary from week to week and month to month depending on the season.
Nestled between farmlands and wildlife refuges, Sauvie Island Organics is located less than 10 miles from campus. The 18-acre farm harvests more than 35 products - from beets and Brussels sprouts to summer squash and turnips. The harvest is sold through the farm's 400-member CSA, with the rest going to restaurants in Portland, like Higgins and Bijou Café.
Sauvie Island Organics has more than eight drop-box sites throughout Portland where shareholders can pick up their weekly bin of goodies. The Cove drop-off is one of several new sites in North Portland. The first CSA pickup will take place the week of May 19.
Although $875 per share may seem like a large chunk of change to pay up front, some participants find splitting the cost and sharing their shares more palatable.