What We Do
Food Roots’ Programs and the Work We Do
Food Roots' programs engage individuals, families, schools, businesses, and community partners to help achieve our mission.
School and Community Gardens
Food Roots has provided resources and support for 12 community and school gardens throughout Tillamook County. We continue to assist community and school garden development throughout our region. Food Roots Gardens include Tillamook Junior High School Learning Garden, East Elementary School Greenhouse, and the Sacred Heart Community Garden. Our gardens serve as an outdoor classroom and community meeting place for folks of all ages, while producing fresh vegetables year round (and fruit in season).
Education and Outreach
Food Roots' Education programs provide formal and informal hands on and classroom education for folks of every age. Currently, these include Root Troop Garden After-School Club (for 4th - 8th graders), TOPS (Tillamook County's Alternative High School) gardening programs, Tillamook Junior High Garden Club, East Elementary Garden Club, Food Roots' Youth Summer Gardening Program, gardening with little ones at Tillamook Bay Child Care Center, and working with the Teen Parent Program. Year round food production, cooking and eating what we grow, regional food systems, and entrepreneur training are a few of our focus subjects. We provide curriculum and educational resources for teachers and community members. You'll also find Food Roots presenting and sponsoring community food, garden and farm events throughout the year.
Community Development
Food Roots advocates for local food production and access, and increasing the infrastructure needed for these. We promote community collaborations and make connections between neighbors, gardeners, farmers, producers, food businesses, consumers, schools, churches, hunger relief taskforces, community organizations, and government. In 2008 Food Roots convened Tillamook County's Community Food Assessment (CFA), helping to identify important changes people want to see in our food system. We will conduct a similar event in 2012, called FEAST. (Look out for more details to come) This process has helped Food Roots and the community to lay the groundwork for our food system vision. Food Roots works with area farmers markets and other healthy food access points to ensure that all consumers have access to the people who grow local foods. We believe that all people, no matter their income, have that right - so we support and work with community partners to do SNAP (food stamp) and other low-income food access outreach and education.
Area Farmers Markets that accept SNAP/EBT and other programs like Farm Direct Nutrition Program (FDNP) and Woman Infant and Children (WIC) healthy food vouchers:
Economic Development
Food Roots’ Microenterprise Program (and with strategic community partnerships) provides food system entrepreneurs with training, technical assistance, asset building opportunities and referral/connection services. These small food-related entrepreneurs include farmers, gardeners, producers, processors, distributors and retailers in our region (Tillamook and Clatsop Counties). We also provide referral services and resources through our Microenterprise Resource Library to individuals or organizations that are outside of our constituent base on the North Coast. By supporting these food system entrepreneurs, we are strengthening our local food system through increased and diversified production, and building relationships between consumers and producers.
Through our partnerships with OMEN (Oregon Microenterprise Networks) and CASA of Oregon, Food Roots is an administrator of Small Business Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). IDAs are a State of Oregon matched savings program that enables low to moderate income families/individuals to save in order move up and out of poverty. Types of IDAs include small business start-up or expansion, secondary education or professional development, and homeownership. Keeping in-line with Food Roots' mission to cultivate a healthy food system, our IDAs are eligible to food system related small business ventures. For more information about a Food Roots administered IDA: eligibility, requirements, and how you can apply, click here.
As a resource for youth and adult microenterprise development, Food Roots provides small business technical assistance and small-scale sustainable agriculture production resources through our Microenterprise Resource Library. It is our goal to begin work on a virtual resource library in the near future!
Food Roots partners with Clatsop County's North Coast Food Web to produce the North Coast Food Guide, a web-based and paper copy food guide. It’s a great tool for folks wanting to find local food and to know, first hand, who is producing it. FarmTable (formally called The Community Table) a Food Roots' farm stand incubator at Tillamook Farmers Market is another project that connects micro-farmers directly with the consumer. This direct market green grocer venue provides gardeners and micro-farmers of all ages a place where they can sell their agricultural products during market season and a wonderful opportunity to socialize, develop relationships with their customers, and gain appreciation for the hard work they do to produce our local food.
