Check Out the CSA Share Fair in February

Image credit: PNWCSA

The Pacific Northwest Community Supported Agriculture Coalition (PNWCSA) is holding their 7th annual CSA Share Fair later this month. If you are at all interested in CSAs or are “CSA-curious,” this is the event for you. A CSA is an excellent, tried and true way for you to access fresh, local produce (and other products) while directly supporting farmers and other food producers closer to home.

PNWCSA describes a CSA like this:

“Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) connects individuals and local farms in a mutually supportive relationship. In a CSA, people become members of a farm in exchange for recurrent shares of the seasonal harvest. This relationship transcends the usual commercial transaction by having farmers and members share the risks and benefits inherent to agriculture. CSA provides consumers with a deep connection to their food and the people who grow it.”

Many of you know that I helped run a CSA for a decade back in Astoria, Queens, and it was very fulfilling work. Other fun fact: the very first CSA share I ever had was from Full Belly Farm in California, back in 1996. I write this post with great love for and support of this food system.

A selection of the kinds of product I’d get in regular CSA share back in Queens—I imagine you’d find many of these in Portland CSA shares, too.

The CSA Share Fair will happen on Sunday, February 27 from 10am to 3pm at Ecotrust’s The Redd on Salmon Street. There, you’ll get to meet local farmers, ranchers, and fishers, face-to-face. You’ll be able to learn more about how a CSA works and access info on the different kinds of CSA memberships available. Along with that there will be cooking demonstrations from celebrated local chefs and cooks who will showcase local, seasonal ingredients. Plus, you can sign up for a CSA share on the spot!

“We’ve seen growth in all aspects of CSA sales. For the past couple of years, most of our farms have sold out of CSA shares more quickly than ever before,” said Holly Hutchason, executive director, PNWCSA. “Share Fair is the best way for people to connect with farms early in the season, when they can choose from the greatest variety and options available and get some help from friendly staff in finding the ideal CSA share for their households.”

Cooking Demonstrations

As I mentioned above, there will be local chefs and cooks who will share ways and recipes on how to prepare the kind of seasonal ingredients you’d encounter in a typical CSA share. Here’s who’ll be there:

10:30am. Dan and Elise Gold, owners of Sebastiano’s Sicilian Deli. Dan and Elise will share their process and ideas for marrying traditional Sicilian dishes to ingredients available in the Pacific Northwest, including the many splendors of fennel.
11:30am. Laura Ohm, product director of Grand Central Bakery (and long-time CSA member). Laura will share some of her recipe tips and provisioning insights. She will create a root vegetable slaw and a “Waldorf-ish” radicchio salad.
12:30pm. Nikeisah Newton, chef and founder of Meals4Heels. Nikeisah will share a simple yet satisfying Caldo Verde.
1:30pm. Cathy Whims, chef and owner of Nostrana. Cathy will create a pasta and radicchio sauté made from locally-grown winter produce.

Activities

Look for additional fun things to do at the CSA Share Fair:

Fun activities to ignite kids’ interest in locally grown food and a vibrant food system
Raffles very half hour for gift bags full of locally-produced artisanal products
The Culinary Breeding Network will bring an “Edible Time Lapse” exhibit of fine art featuring food through the ages.
Information on how to purchase CSA shares with SNAP

For the first thirty CSA shares sold there at the Fair, those who have signed up will receive thank-you bags filled with curated items from local producers including Baker Creek Rare Seeds, The Bitter Housewife, Bob’s Red Mill, Dave’s Killer Bread, Elephant’s Deli, Grand Central Bakery, Jacobsen Sea Salt, The Meadow, Portland Nursery, Portland Farmers Market, Willamette Valley Vineyards, and more.

The 2022 CSA Share Fair is free, made possible by grants from East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, Ecotrust and the USDA. It’s a day of food, fun, information, and learning. I hope you will consider attending and getting to know CSAs—and perhaps even join one this year.

The 2022 CSA Share Fair
Sunday, February 27, 2022
10am to 3pm
The Redd on Salmon Street
831 SE Salmon Street, Portland
pnwcsa.org | Instagram | Facebook

This post has been edited.