November 1, 2011: Making a Living as a Farmer

This Week’s Share: Mixed baby lettuce It's a big one! Red Onions “All Red” Potatoes Butternut Squash Mixed Pepper Red & Green Tomatoes Garlic “Winter Bor” Kale Mixed Beets Parsley Leeks

Reminder: Last Pick-up is Tuesday, November 22 (just before thanksgiving)

Field Notes from Bryan Allan, Crew Leader:   Did you know that this is only our second year where Friends of Zenger Farm has been in charge of the farming? Before that, other farmers were using the land and we were just educating neighbors and school children. Why do our own farming? maximize the educational value of the farm (clear labeling, wide variety of crops, organic methods, etc.) create innovative programs that bring local, healthy produce to nearby food-insecure neighborhoods (i.e. Zenger Farm Shares accepts food stamps) demonstrate that urban farming is a viable economic option for farmers educate the next generation of farmers (That’s us, the apprentices!) I’m so excited that the farm crew, in just our second year, doubled our income from produce sales! We went from about $15,000 to $30,000! This includes sales to local restaurants, at Lents and Montavilla markets, and Zenger Farm Shares. Striving for our financial goals I’ve written about the challenges of low-cost food before, but it’s not hard to do the math: $30,000 can not pay a living wage to a farm crew of five. While Zenger has a lot of room to grow, every single established, successful farm we have toured this year and last struggles to pay their crew a bit more than minimum wage while the owners (typically two people, married) are lucky to take home a total of $500 weekly. That means Portland’s “successful,” sustainable, small-scale farmer earns somewhere between $1 and $6/hour. It’s a harsh reality when it pays better to work at any minimum wage job for less than forty hours weekly than it does to operate (working well over forty hours weekly) a farm larger, more established and more reputable than Zenger. When people balk at the market for $3/lb specialty eggplant or $2/lb cucumbers, there is no quick sound bite to explain how no one is getting rich off of the type of farming we do at Zenger. How do you explain to someone that their idea of a reasonable price is just another product manufactured by industrial agriculture? Justin rocks the last market, winning best costume as a carrot! Despite these high hurdles, I have been so encouraged by the passion I’ve seen this year. The passion of the farm crew creates a synergy and keeps us working hard despite everything else that may be going on. The Portland area is blessed with so many passionate farmers. And these farmers are blessed with customers that have a better understanding of a farmer’s challenges than people in other parts of the country do. I’m encouraged to see a new kind of food revolution taking place, with Portland as an epicenter, and to have been part of it.

In the Kitchen with Devin: Beet Bundt Cake with chocolate chips! From the Vegan Table cookbook. ½ cup canola oil 1 & ½ cup dark brown sugar 2 cups cooked Beets (Roasted or Steamed) ½ cup chocolate chips 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt Preheat oven to 375. Roast or steam beets. Mix oil and sugar together, than add pureed beets, chocolate chips and vanilla (egg optional). In another bowl mix flour, salt, and baking soda, than mix in with the wet ingredients. Oil your bundt or baking pan, and bake for 45 min or until an inserted fork pulls no batter. Let cool and enjoy!

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