Gorge Grown Food Network Brings Local Produce to Small Communities

Gorge Grown Food Network Brings Local Produce to Small Communities

I’m KayDee Gilkey with the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report.

The Gorge Grown Food Network is a regional food system in the rural Columbia Gorge region of Washington and Oregon.

A recent USDA grant has helped the organization to expand their mobile market service, which currently travels to four different farmers markets in the region. The grant will help to purchase a new refrigerated van -- or Veggie Express -- which will provide fresh produce to small remote rural communities.

Gorge Grown Food Network Director Rebecca Thistlethwaite shares more details about this exciting pilot project.

Thistlethwaite: “The Veggie Express is an idea to get to those smaller towns with fresh produce that is grown locally that is also brought to people in an affordable way. We purchasing it for wholesale prices and will sale it for wholesale prices so making produce affordable in these small towns many of which are pretty low income as well.”

Thistlethwaite explains the program is waiting until the fall to begin.

Thistlethwaite: “Once school gets back in session because we are actually going to be parking the Veggie Express at schools, at the end of the school day. So we have to wait until school is back in session. So we are going to try it for about 12 weeks in the fall. Plus there is great product availability in the fall here as this is a great fruit-growing region, especially apples and pears. They really come on here in the fall. If it goes well, we will try again in the spring.”

I’m KayDee Gilkey with the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.