With love for all and food for all

Dear readers,

North Coast Food Web is positioning itself to double down on what matters most: our mission. We are committed to helping our local vendors sell their food while getting that very food directly into the hands of community members who need it. That purpose drives everything we do. Here is what that looks like in action:

Supporting Local Vendors Directly: We charge only a 10% fee for vendors to sell goods to customers on our online store. Not only do we provide the platform, but we also host and coordinate every pickup. (That percentage slightly increases only if a vendor utilizes our cold or dry storage.)

Investing in Visibility: We spend money advertising our community food network across both print and digital media—including taking out full-page ads in KMUN’s The Current this past year to support community radio while highlighting local growers.

Direct Food Purchasing: We buy food directly from local farmers and producers at full, fair value to distribute in our weekly Free Food Boxes, and soon will provide weekly orders to eligible Oregon Health Plan members.

Sharing Community Space & Access: We offer space for farmers, producers, and neighbors to exchange goods free of charge.

Providing Hands-On Education: We purchased specialized kitchen equipment for the Astoria Public Library’s Library of Things, and are coordinating free community classes led by local chefs we pay to teach neighbors how to cook with fresh, local ingredients.

Supporting Infrastructure: We invested in launching our Kitchen Network, collaborating with local nonprofits, private businesses, and the education sector to secure affordable commercial kitchen space for local food entrepreneurs.

At the core of every single initiative is a common thread: making sure the direct financial benefit goes straight to the farmer and producer. While NCFW is just one part of how growers market their harvests, we know our community food network is a vital pillar of our regional economy. Look at what that impact meant in 2025 alone:

• $131,979 paid directly to local producers

• 2,973 online market orders filled

• $33,498 spent directly by NCFW on food purchases—funding our Free Food Box service and buying excess farm harvests to redistribute to partners like The Harbor and Feeding Empty Bellies.

One way to think about our work is simple: NCFW is purchasing food from local producers, just like you when you shop our online market. As we set out to purchase even more local food in 2026 than we did in 2025, we aim to maintain fair, sustainable prices for our vendors. But how do we keep this going? Local agriculture carries a true cost. It takes real human care, fair wages, and dedicated labor to grow food the right way. Healthy, local food is expensive to produce—and it should be valued as such. While we are immensely grateful for the grant funding that supports our programs and staffing, grant dollars almost never cover the direct cost of purchasing food. Grants support how we do the work, but keeping local farms thriving and putting fresh meals on community tables rely on paying what real food is actually worth.

Whether you order through our market, join us for a library class, or support our food purchasing efforts, you are directly sustaining our local growers and feeding our region. Thank you for building this food future with us.

With deep gratitude,

Jesse

In this newletter…

• A new vendor sells bagels!

• Opportunities for farmers

• Salad and Song success! 

• More fun classes with Astoria Public Library! 

• Parking at NCFW

Food Web News

Salad and Song Wrap-up

Thank you to all who participated in our Salad and Song fundraiser last month! Because of you, we raised over $4,000 for our Free Food Box service, all while eating salads sourced from local farmers and listening to the croonings of local musicians OnDek and Lindsay Bones.

We are especially grateful to the volunteers who made throwing this event possible. From our development committee, who put together beautiful salads and dressings, to our Thursday volunteers and our volunteer board members, who showed up to greet and serve and share good food news. We love that we have these opportunities to celebrate the bounty this community has to offer, with the very same community that offers it. 

Neighbor’s Garden Update

Neighbor's Garden is a highly collaborative pilot project we are spearheading with Care Oregon. To date, NCFW has referred over 25 members. Care Oregon is working diligently to approve these applicants. Then, we start ordering local food for weekly boxes! We are thrilled to be able to offer this service beginning in August.

Parking

Our landlord has requested the parking be used for vendor loading and loading only. The parking lot is a migration route for Fort George employees who travel between building with food and beer and supplies. You can pull up in front of the parking lot and our building to pick up your orders. Keep your hazards on so you don’t run a risk of ticketing.

CSAs

We are a CSA pickup location for Blackberry Bog Farm, Glory B Farm, and Roza Flowers on Thursdays, alongside NCFW online market order pickups. When you come in, make sure you tell us that you are here to pick up from the NCFW online market or for a CSA. 

We are thrilled to have a new food producer vending on our website!

But wait..can you keep a secret? 

The Underwater Bagel Society is a mysterious entity operating out of somewhere in Astoria. Nobody knows exactly how many Society members dwell amongst us. What we do know is that these traditional New York-style bagels are hand-rolled in small batches, cold-fermented, boiled, and finally baked into something of another time zone.

Sell with North Coast Food Web! 

Are you a farmer or producer looking to sell your products locally? We invite you to become a part of our ever-growing, local market community! 

Interested in applying? Reach out to us via email at market@northcoastfoodweb.org or through our market phone at 971-326-0598. We look forward to hearing from you! 

Sign up for our weekly market newsletter for updates about what is available, who is popping up, weekly recipes and more.

We are kale-ing it, but as always, we could use some support! If you’d like to help us keep the good going, please consider making a donation to support NCFW projects and programs.

Our pilot Neighbor’s Garden program has launched! We will begin ordering food weekly for new clients in the coming weeks!

Available: ODA Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF)

Application deadline: August 7, 2026.

In recognition of increased farming costs and supply chain disruptions for specialty crop growers, the USDA is providing a one-time payment to farmers for crops grown in 2025. The program pays farmers on a per-acre basis of specialty crops grown in 2025 and reported to the FSA by April 24, 2026. Payments range from $25-$650 per acre by crop.  Learn more about ASCF and apply here.

Learn: Coastal Bean Variety Trial Field Day

Wednesday, August 5^th from 5–7 pm at 46 North Farm (Olney, OR)

Register at beav.es/CBVT2026 by 8/3/26.

This year, OSU Extension is collaborating with 6 coastal farms to conduct dry bean variety trials to learn which bean varieties perform best on the Coast. Come walk the plots with OSU Extension Grains and Pulses Specialist Brigid Meintz to learn all about growing dry beans on the coast, and which varieties are performing best. Lots of yummy snacks and time for connection and conversation.

Learn: What Agritourism Farms Should Know

Tuesday, August 25, 11 am – 12 pm

Register at beav.es/f97. 

Agritourism can be an important diversification tool for farms, but what do these operations mean to customers? Learn about the latest agritourism customer sentiment research from OSU Extension, and discover how the insights can be applied to current marketing strategies and offerings.

Library of Things: Drying & Pickling Mushrooms– July 28th

Library of Things will be hosting a Drying and Pickling Mushrooms demonstration with chef Kenzo Booth July 28th from 5:30-6:30pm at the Astoria Library, 450 10th St.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) Kenzo Booth of Astoria’s beloved Busu will be leading a demonstration on mushroom preservation, just in time for the season’s first mushrooms to appear! He will be pickling and also preparing mushrooms for dehydrating.

Astoria Co+op’s Change for Community – All of August

Each month the Astoria Co+op’s Change for Community committee chooses a local nonprofit organization to fundraise for at their registers. This month, North Coast Food Web has been selected! Watch out for the option to round up your receipt at check-out. A big thank you to Co+op and our community for continuing to support the Food Web.

KMUN Block Party – August 1st 

KMUN is hosting their annual block party this Saturday, and we will be watercoloring with vegetable dyes outside of our space at 1450 Exchange St. from 1–5 p.m. Come say hi! The entire block will be shut down to make a safe, pedestrian-friendly space, and there will be music and games available, as well as food and drinks for sale. Free entry for all, it’s going to be a great time!

Library of Things: Blueberry Jam –

August 5th

Library of Things will also be hosting a blueberry jam making and preserving demonstration with Brian Medford August 5th from 5:30–6:30 p.m at the Astoria Library, 450 10th St. Join us for this deliciously sweet demonstration and prepare to be inspired!

On Air: Beach Grass Roots with NCFW – August 13th

As part of the Astoria Co+op’s Change for Community fundraiser, Emily Hoard will be talking with us about all things North Coast Food Web on KMUN’s show ‘Beach Grass Roots’. The episode will air August 13th at 9 a.m. on 91.9 FM. Be sure to tune in to learn more about what’s new at NCFW! The episode will also be available online later that day at Beach Grass Roots Archives - KMUN and wherever you find podcasts.

More Cooking Demonstrations on the Horizon!

These classes are designed to feature items you can check out of Astoria Library’s Library of Things, along with seasonal foods from the area, and the immense knowledge of our local chefs. No sign-up necessary!

We’ve partnered with BottleDrop Give, Oregon’s container deposit program! Every can, bottle, or glass container you return helps fund our mission of connecting farmers, fishers, and food makers with our community.

Pick up a blue bag today, or donate to North Coast Food Web from your personal BottleDrop account!

Get Involved!

Our work to cultivate a resilient and equitable food system on the North Coast wouldn't be possible without our community of volunteers, our wonderful Board of Directors, and the donors that fund our programs!

1450 Exchange St.

Astoria, OR 97103

Office: 503-468-0921

Market: 971-326-0598

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