Tag: Lane Regional Food Hub

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.

The History of the Eugene Producers’ Public Market

Posted on by Julia Havens

Lane County Regional Food Hub CPW Community Planning Workshop

My Community Planning Workshop (CPW) team is working on the “Lane County Year-Round Regional Public Market and Food Hub Market Analysis.” Our project is an in-depth investigation into whether there is enough buying power in Eugene and Springfield to support a potential year-round public market and food hub.

Early in the research process we began sitting down with local food experts to talk about the challenges and opportunities facing our regional food system. Through these meetings, we learned that from 1915 until 1959, the Eugene Producers’ Public Market served as Lane County’s one-stop location for fresh local food. With that, we decided to take a moment to pause …one-two-three-four… and learn more about Lane County’s rich history of agriculture.

Since the time Eugene Skinner first arrived in 1846, agriculture has a played a major role in the lives of those who call the south Willamette Valley home. As Lane County farmers developed their craft, they began producing a larger and more diverse yield. Despite their success in the fields, the cost of transportation consistently kept Lane County farmers on the edge of economic hardship during these early years. These struggles led local farmers to organize around a mutual need for a central market place in Lane County.

On September 4, 1915, the Eugene Producers’ Public Market officially opened for business in a small open-air structure that featured 22 stalls facing a central walkway. On this first day, visitors flocked to the market, promptly buying numerous vendors out of stock.

By the late 1920’s, it become clear that the market needed additional space and an updated facility. The existing market offered little protection from the elements, which meant market users battled through wind, rain, and cold temperatures during winter months. On August 24, 1929 a new market hall, constructed of concrete, opened at the corner of Broadway and Charnelton Street. The new market boasted 91 permanent stalls, two refrigerated storage rooms (one for meat and one for vegetables), a retail grocery store, a pharmacy, and a lunch counter all under one roof. Open six day a week, the new market hall was met with wild enthusiasm and record sales.

With the onset of the Great Depression and a shift in the food shopping habits of many Americans, business at the public market began to slow down. On May 4, 1959 the Eugene Producers’ Public Market closed its doors.

Today, we are seeing a revival of the local food culture that thrived in the first half of the 20th century. As a result, the City of Eugene and Lane County (our clients) want to learn more about how they can build on this momentum. Now, as we move forward with our project, we can look to the legacy of the Eugene Producers’ Public Market to inform our work and help shape our findings.

The future is bright for local food in Lane County and team food hub has an appetite for learning more about how we can reach our full potential!

RARETraining2013 About the Author: Stephen Dobrinich is a first year Community and Regional Planning Graduate Student at the University of Oregon. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Stephen moved to Oregon in 2011 to serve as a part of the RARE AmeriCorps – Resource Assistance for Rural Environments program. While in RARE, Stephen served as Community Development Coordinator for the City of Creswell. He is interested in community and economic development.