With love for all and food for all

I feel much gratitude as the Food Web moves into September. A warm thank you goes to Molehill Microfarm, who have been donating beautiful produce for our Free Food Boxes. On the south slope of Astoria, Molehill grows an incredible amount on less than an acre. They will eventually join as a vendor, so keep a lookout! A huge thank you also goes to Fede Astoria for their surprise financial donation this week supporting our programs. Also, our volunteers just rock. They are amazing, showing up every week to pack food. Neighbors helping neighbors!

A shoutout to the OSU Seafood Lab, a partner in our kitchen network. Their 3,500-square-foot facility hosts local producers through our kitchen network, strengthening and sustaining our regional food system. The Liberty Theatre has been another crucial partner, opening up their kitchen space to support local food makers as part of that same network. Please reach out if you have any questions about how to access these kitchen spaces for production.

I learned this week that OSU has spent nearly a century pioneering freezing technologies that preserve our fish and vegetables. NCFW is  actively experimenting with freezing local vegetables, partnering with one of our vendors. This will help stretch regional harvests and ensure less goes to waste. Eventually, we will be offering freezer items for sale and they will also be in Free Food Boxes and Neighbor’s Garden boxes.

We just wrapped up a fantastic slate of educational classes in partnership with the Astoria Public Library, and we will keep that momentum going! Thank you to our library and their staff! Keep a lookout for upcoming opportunities to learn more about what’s available at the Library of Things and how to use those resources. Meanwhile, our community impact continues to expand. We’ve increased our Free Food Box service to 18 boxes each week, filled with fresh food from our vendors, alongside up to 10 weekly boxes through our Neighbor’s Garden program. Over 90 people are currently on our referral list for review by Care Oregon. While the process has been slow, we saw an exciting wave of approvals roll through this week.

I want to close with one more note of gratitude to the poet Wendell Berry, who died this week. Being from a rural community myself, his poems, essays and books reflected my love for my small community, and inspired my studies in community development and my devotion to community service in rural communities. In a piece I read this morning by another favorite author of mine, Barbara Kingsolver, she wrote, “The possibilities of life in a small place are a mirror to the world, because let’s face it, every place is its own kind of small.”  This is the inspiration I take into September.

This month’s newsletter is full of good info, including a special pickling event on September 17th and other events. Thanks for reading! 

Food Web News

We are in a small space with expanding programs, and so unfortunately we need to revise what this space can and cannot store.

An update on what we can and cannot accept:

Egg cartons? NO

Paper bags? YES, Please! We have a consistent need for these at the market!

Mason jars? YES, we are having a jar exchange at the Picklin’ Party 9/17!

Cardboard fruit punnets? YES

Cardboard boxes? NO

Neighbor’s Garden Update 

Our Neighbor’s Garden team attended the Community Baby Shower in Seaside and the visit was a resounding success. We had approximately 30 expectant or new mothers stop by our table and 25 of them registered with us for our Neighbor’s Garden program. Anyone who did not have Columbia Pacific CCO insurance was informed about our Free Food Box service. A big thanks to our volunteer Jessica, who helped approximately one third of our applicants whose primary language is Spanish complete referrals.  

As we are nearing our 60th day following the program launch, we are starting to get movement from the Payor on this program. We have been actively engaged with the Payor on a daily basis to help get members approved for weekly food boxes. At the time of this update, we have 6 people approved for the Neighbor’s Garden Fruit and Vegetable boxes, which will provide members with almost 30 servings of fruits and vegetables each week for 6 months (24 weeks). While 6 might not sound like a lot, the movement is what is important, and the sooner we can follow up with those soon to be mothers from the Community Baby Shower.  

–Keith

Left image: Keith and Jessica table at the Community Baby Shower.
Right image: The first Neighbor's Garden Fruit and Vegetable box!

Friday Pick Up Now an Option!

You’ve been asking, and we’re listening! The pick-up window for online orders is now extended to include 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays! You do not need to let us know which day you’ll be picking up, and all orders will still be ready beginning at 3 p.m. on Thursdays. As a reminder, please do not arrive earlier than 3 p.m. on Thursdays because we are likely still packing orders.

NEW vendors in our online market!

Sell New producer: 9th and Q!

Daphne’s own Silqet Ra is making refrigerator pickles, cheese/vegetable and vegan dips, and hummus..and she’s selling them on our market! So far we have had the pleasure of experiencing her carrot relish, bread and butter pickles with zucchini, vegan and vegetable/cheese dip, hummus, and pickled beets. Welcome 9th and Q, and cheers to the beginning of a very palatable journey.

Jammers Jam Co.

Every jar of jam features a scannable code that unlocks original music!

In May 2026, Tyler Berry started Jammers Jam Co in Astoria, Oregon, combining two of his favorite things: great jam and great music. And with a last name like Berry, making jam seemed like a pretty good fit! Jammers Jam Co prioritizes Pacific Northwest-grown fruit whenever possible to create their small-batch fruit jams, syrups, and BBQ sauces using natural ingredients and a focus on quality and flavor.

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! 

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

If you’d like to help us keep the good going, please consider making a donation to support NCFW projects and programs.

Sell cottage foods with us!

Cottage foods include products such as baked goods, confectionery items, and pickles that small business owners may produce in an uninspected home kitchen and sell through certain avenues. If you are interested in learning if your products qualify and want to meet the criteria to sell them through the North Coast Food Web, please reach out to Lindsay@northcoastfoodweb.org.

Did you notice the photo at the top of this newsletter?

Casey at Molehill Microfarm wants to help you turn your lawn into an edible garden with his skid steer. If you would like him to come over for free and till up some earth, please let us know and we'll connect you!

Registration is now open for Small Farm School 2026!

Wednesday, September 16th will be a full day of classes, hands-on workshops, and networking opportunities designed specifically for small-scale farmers and land stewards. Early registration ends Sept. 3rd. Click here for more information.

Soil Moisture Sensor Short Courses

In partnership with North Coast Food Web, Clatskanie Farmer Collective, Tillamook Soil and Water Conservation District, OSU’s Coastal Small Farms team received grant funding to offer these short courses for participating farms to build three Watermark sensors and receive a sensor reader (a $324 value total) for only $50, including lunch, at the workshops.

Spots are limited: applications for the Soil Moisture Sensor Short Courses will be accepted between Sept. 1st and Oct. 19th at 11:59 p.m. Applicants will be notified of whether they have been accepted by the end of the day on Oct. 20th For scholarship information or questions, contact Shannon Rauter, Clatsop County’s OSU Ext. Service’s Master Gardener and Small Farms Program Coordinator, at 503-468-3981 or shannon.rauter@oregonstate.edu.

Thursday, October 8^th, 12–1 p.m.

Soil Moisture Sensors 101 Webinar: Exploring Practical On-Farm Uses of Soil Moisture Sensors [FREE]. A recording will be available after the class. To register, go to http://beav/es/SMS101

Monday, November 2^nd, 12–4 p.m.ANDTuesday, November 3^rd, 12–3:30 p.m.

Soil Moisture Sensor Short Course at the Clatsop County Fair & Expo Center in Astoria, includes lunch [$50]. To register, go to beav.es/sen.

Picklin' Party – September 17th

Thursday September 17th from 3-6pm we will be hosting our first annual pickling party in the parking lot outside of our building at 1450 Exchange St. There will be pickling demonstrations by local chefs Silqet Ra and Alex Hoffman, pickle samples, produce for sale, and a jar exchange!

Library of Things: Get to know Canning – 

September 22nd

Library of Things will be hosting a canning demonstration with Emily Reilly September 22nd from 5:30–6:30 p.m. at the Astoria Library, 450 10th St. Get ready for Emily Reilly, the OSU Extension SNAP-Ed/Family and Community Health Program Coordinator for Clatsop and Columbia County, to demystify canning techniques so that you can preserve this season’s harvest safely! As usual, the event is free and requires no pre registration. 

Starting a Small Food Company, Checklist for Success – September 1st

The Clatsop Small Business Development Center (SBDC), in collaboration with North Coast Food Web, presents this free online workshop to help entrepreneurs learn what it takes to launch a food product. The workshop is led by food entrepreneurship and development expert Sarah Masoni, the Director of Product and Process Development at Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center in Portland. Click here to access the recorded webinar!

Food and Beverage Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp –

5 sessions starting October 13th 

Clatsop SBDC also presents a Food and Beverage Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp. In collaboration with North Coast Food Web and Astoria Co+op, SBDC has partnered with local experts to deliver a comprehensive program that will cover how to create and sell your product while building a successful packaged food or beverage business that is able to scale up as your business demands. Click here for more information.

Food Corps: Food Education in the Classroom Microcredential

Are you an educator? Grow your teaching practice and empower your students through Food Corps’ six-week food education microcredential, in partnership with Teacher’s College, Columbia University. There are multiple sessions, with the next one starting September 7th:learn more or enroll!

Oregon Farm Corps Farm Launch applications are open!

Are you a beginning farmer or rancher? This 6-week program provides business-related technical assistance and business plan writing for beginning farmers and ranchers. Apply by September 28th. Learn more and apply at the following link: APPLY FOR FARM LAUNCH

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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