Find Your Farm at the 2023 CSA Share Fair Event

Beautiful plants from the Lucky Crow CSA

It’s that time again: time to choose your CSA share! CSAs, as I’ve written about before, are an excellent way to access a variety of local foods (produce, meats, eggs, etc.) and support local farmers, fishers, and ranchers at the same time. An easy way to hone in on what you want in a CSA is to attend the annual CSA Share Fair event, this year on Sunday, February 26, 10am to 2pm. It’s free to attend!

So what can you expect at the CSA Share Fair event? You’ll get an introduction to Community Supported Agriculture; learn what kinds of memberships are available; meet local farmers, ranchers, and fishers who participate in local CSAs; get matched with a CSA, if you like; sample items made with seasonal ingredients and flavors, prepared by local chefs; raffles; and various activities for the kids. This will take place from 10am to 2pm at the Redd on Salmon event space.

“People can do one thing that simultaneously improves their health, makes them better cooks, decreases their carbon footprint, and combats inflation—and that’s to join a CSA, ” said Holly Hutchason, executive director of the PNWCSA. “At CSA Share Fair, we match people with CSA programs that best fit their household eating habits.”

She continues, “And when people pay for their shares with SNAP, PNWCSA helps them stretch their food dollars by paying for half their share with an incentive program called Double Up Food Bucks. CSA Share Fair is the best way for people to connect with farmers and help build a local, sustainable food system.” It is possible to purchase CSA shares at half the price if you buy food with SNAP.

As for the cooking demonstrations, the local chefs include Wendy Downing, founder of Three Sisters Nixtamal; Lola Milholland, CEO of Umi Organic ramen; and Holly Ong, co-founder of Sibeiho. No doubt the samples will be delicious, and it’s also a chance to see how to put together tasty food from seasonal ingredients.

And it wouldn’t be an informational food event without tabling! Stop by PNWCSA’s partner orgs, CookfirstPDX, Culinary Breeding Network, Kitchen Culture, and Slow Food Portland.

If you are looking to incorporate more healthy food into your diet, if you want to support local systems and family farms, and if you want to reconnect with the CSA ethos or you’re simply “CSA curious,” this is the event for you.

8th Annual CSA Share Fair
Sunday, February 26, 2023
10am to 2pm
Free
Redd on Salmon, 831 SE Salmon Street, Portland
via Pacific Northwest Community Supported Agriculture (PNWCSA)
pnwcsa.org/csasharefair

The 2023 CSA Share Fair is made possible by support from Ecotrust, East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, Metro, Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This post was updated on February 21, 2023.