The 5th Annual Portland Fill Your Pantry and Winter Vegetable Sagra was a fantastic success! On Sunday, December 8, 2019, thirty-one local, socially-responsible farmers had solid sales at an otherwise-slow time of year. Chefs gave tasty samples of dishes made with many of the winter vegetables that were being sold, cheerful volunteers kept the coffee hot and helped load heavy carts, and over 1000 shoppers have now filled their pantries (garages, freezers and sheds) with fresh, pesticide-free, vegetables, meats, nuts and more grown right here in the Pacific Northwest. While the final numbers haven’t come in yet, approximately $85,000 dollars were circulated in our local economy at that one day event. Thank you so much to all who were a part of it.
The partnership with Culinary Breeding Network and Eat Winter Vegetables to host the Winter Vegetable Sagra concurrently with Fill Your Pantry made the day festive and a true celebration of Oregon’s bounty. Attendees visited with chefs, got introduced to – and tasted – vegetables such as celeriac and Tetsukabuto squash, learned from the Garlic and Radicchio Exploratorium, took home new recipes and swapped cookbooks.
Farmers and ranchers are on the front lines feeling the effects of climate chaos, and they are also best poised to do something about it. Fill Your Pantry is one of the many solutions we offer to help promote regenerative agriculture, support local producers and keep money in our local economy. And have a good time while at it!