Tag: Evelyn Perdomo CPW Community Planning Workshop

Meet Our Amazing CSC Summer Interns: Evelyn Perdomo

Posted on by Julia Havens

Evelyn Perdomo CPW Community Planning Workshop University of OregonWhat is your name? Evelyn Perdomo

Where were you born and where do you call home?   I was born in San Francisco and raised in Daly City, CA. I consider the Bay Area my home.

What are your big summer plans?   I plan on doing a lot of outdoor activities (hiking, biking, camping, tubing) since this my first summer in Oregon.

In which graduate program are you enrolled?   I’m in the Community and Regional Planning Program. I’m interested in community development, specifically housing issues and economic development strategies.

What Community Planning Workshop (CPW)  project did you worked on?   I was a part of team food hub. Our project was the “Lane County Year-Round Regional Public market and Food Hub Market Analysis”. We conducted a market study for Lane County to determine consumer demand for a potential year-round public market In Lane County. This is an important project for the county because there is a strong local food movement in the county. We conducted a lot of research about local food in Lane County and we talked to local food experts to determine supply and distribution gaps. We also sent out a household survey to residents in Eugene and Springfield to determine their shopping preferences and interest in a public market. I helped interview local food experts and enjoyed learning a lot from them. I also helped analyze our household survey results. The results were great because most respondents were interested in attending a public market at least once a week and wanted to get to know the producers who grow their food.

What are some of the most critical skills you learned from being engaged in CPW?    I think CPW definitely helped me improve my presentation skills. I also became more comfortable with quantitative analysis because we had so many survey results to evaluate.

What is your favorite quote?   “What’s important is not the accolades and memories of success but the way you respond when opportunities are denied” – Tony Dungy

What about CPW made you smile?   I got a lot of satisfaction out of knowing that I was working on an important project for the City of Eugene and Lane County. It was great that our clients trusted us to work on the market study because it will likely have a big impact on economic development in the future.

What is your best-kept secret?   It’s not a secret to anyone that knows me but if you’re ever in the SF Bay Area you have to eat at Sliver Pizzeria in downtown Berkeley and then walk over to CREAM on Telegraph Avenue for an ice cream sandwich!

What is your dream job?   I would like to work in community development for my hometown of Daly City or other city in the Bay Area. However, I absolutely love football so it would be cool to have a job where I got paid to watch NFL games. I’d like to be in the broadcast booth for every 49er game.

Where can we ‘cyber-stalk’ you?   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/evelyn-perdomo/63/311/4b1

Informational Interviews About Local Food

Posted on by Julia Havens

Evelyn Perdomo Lane Regional Food Hub CPW Community Planning

My Community Planning Workshop (CPW) team is working with the City of Eugene Planning Department and the Lane County Economic Development Division to determine the need for a year-round regional public market and food hub in Lane County. We will be conducting a market analysis to determine the region’s potential to host a year-round public market.

For our project, we will conduct a lot of research about local food in Lane County. So far, the most interesting aspect has been our interviews with our Technical Resource Group (TRG) and other key peopled involved with local food. We invited people involved in local food efforts to be a part of our Technical Resource Group to help us process and understand market research data and survey data. Our data will identify and analyze trade areas for the potential public market or food hub. Trade areas represent potential consumers in an area. Members of our group include a farmer, food producers, a distributor, a public health representative, representatives of nonprofit organizations, and restaurant and retailer representatives. The interviews have allowed us to draw on their local food background and identify what is happening in Lane County around local food.

The interviews have been a great learning experience because I knew very little about local food when we started the project. The most interesting thing I have learned is that increasing local food consumption would provide a tremendous boost to Lane County’s economy. Increasing local food consumption would provide new jobs and keep millions of dollars in Lane County.

Throughout the interviews, I have also learned that small farmers face several challenges to get their products in stores or to institutions. However, it has been promising to hear that several organizations make an effort to help small farmers overcome barriers. One of these organizations is the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition (WFFC). WFFC runs an online farmers’ market and has started a campaign (Lane County Food Makes Dollars and Sense) to increase consumer demand for local food. Increasing local food purchases by one percent would result in $11.7 million staying in Lane County. I have also learned how some school districts are making a conscious effort to purchase local food for their school lunches and other catered events. Despite all the challenges local producers face, it is encouraging to see how local organizations and institutions are getting behind the local food movement. For instance, our interviewees have noted that several restaurants are making a strong effort to serve more local food. Also, our interviewees have said that they have noticed consumers become more interested in purchasing local food, which is really promising because Lane County would benefit tremendously from increased local food consumption.

 

Evelyn Perdomo Lane Regional Food Hub CPW Community Planning WorkshopAbout the Author: Evelyn Perdomo is a first year Community and Regional Planning Graduate Student at the University of Oregon. She is originally from Daly City, CA. Her professional experience includes working as a Project Assistant for an affordable housing developer in California.