Spring has arrived in Northeast Oregon!  The time has come for sowing this year’s crop of fresh vegetables.  There’s nothing sweeter than peas straight from the garden in June or a freshly picked tomato in August or an over-wintered carrot pulled from the soil in April…  Gardening is a hobby with tasty rewards!  It is also the first link in our local food system.

Most of us don’t spend a lot of time thinking about where our food comes from.  We know that our food is grown on farms but what happens after that?  Where are the farms?  How does the food get from the farm to the supermarket?  Studies show that the average tomato travels about 1500 miles to get to your table.  As the cost of transportation rises, we should be concerned with how this will affect the cost and availability of food.  How can we build a stronger and more stable food supply?  One thing we can do is support local food producers by seeking out and buying from farmers and retailers who sell locally grown foods.

There is more locally produced food available than you might think.  However, local growers experience many challenges in trying to sell their products in Northeast Oregon.  “Our biggest challenge is probably getting people to eat in season and try new varieties” says Michael Bettis of Cop Copi Farms in La Grande.  It is true that most of us don’t give a thought to what is in season.  We have become accustomed to having everything available all year round, even if it doesn’t always taste good.  Finding markets is another challenge for family run farms because the big supermarkets where most of us do our shopping have contracts with large companies and don’t allow the sale of local products.

Andi Sexton’s family of Sexton Ranch near Haines raises natural beef and lamb.  Their biggest challenge lies in government regulations which require processing at USDA approved facilities.  The nearest facility is in Idaho, a 2 ½ hour drive from her family’s ranch and even further for those producers in Union and Wallowa counties.  This adds significant time and cost to their product.  But in the end, “building friendships with customers and finding out first hand what they desire in terms of product” makes it worth finding a way to sell locally, says Sexton.  “It is very satisfying to know we are providing a safe, quality product and customers know exactly where their meat is coming from.”

Sandy Sorrells, owner of Ten Depot Street Restaurant and Mamacitas in La Grande, refuses to buy meat from big companies because of poor quality and is working with local producers to have their meat packaged “restaurant style”.  Sorrells buys from Northeast Oregon farmers whenever she can.  In the summer, she purchases up to 90% of her produce locally and uses potatoes from Baker and Wallowa counties through the winter.

When all is said and done, it really comes down to the exceptional taste and nutrition of these fresh foods.  While beautiful, much of the commercial produce we find at the supermarket is of poor quality.  Produce in our current food system must be a hardy traveler.  To withstand the journey, many fruits and vegetables are picked before they are ripe.  In contrast, “food grown here in the region is probably picked the very day you buy it at the farm stand or farmers’ market” says Lisa Breckenridge, an organizer of the Pendleton Farmers’ Market.  When you compare a fresh, ripe, red strawberry to one that was picked green, you find the green one does not have the quality of taste, texture or nutrition.

As individuals, we have the ability to influence our local food system through the marketplace.  So next time you are making your shopping list, think about your options before you head off to the store.  You may discover that what you’re looking for is at the farmers’ market or the farm stand down the road.  And you might even be amazed by the abundance you find, all grown here by families in Northeast Oregon.