With love for all and food for all

It is with great sadness that the Food Web mourns the loss of longtime volunteer Russ Farmer. For years, and without fail, Russ played a pivotal role in our weekly farmer’s market, interacting with NCFW customers as they picked up their orders. His love and support for the organization saw him disburse thousands of orders over the years from multiple locations as the organization evolved. An avid early morning barefoot walker, Russ was a part of the rhythms of my family’s mornings; the sight of him gingerly walking over the dewy grass a sign that the bus was on its way, that work was calling. My daughter spotted a footprint on the sidewalk weeks ago as we walked to the bus stop, and, without skipping a beat, pointed to it and cheerfully said, “I know who was here!”  

Small organizations like ours rely on the support of the community to do the work that we do. Without volunteers like Russ, we wouldn’t be around. We don’t take lightly the significance of Russ’s enduring commitment to the Food Web, and we know how lucky we were to have Russ’s energy pushing us forward all of these years. While the market will look and feel different in the months ahead without Russ’s presence, we will think of him each week as the orders go out, and each morning as the grass dries in the morning sun.  

We will miss you, Russ.

Andrew Morgan

Board President

NCFW

Dear Community,

If you have stopped by on a Thursday recently to pick up a grocery box or market order, you know that the heart of North Coast Food Web lives in the smiles that greet you. Our community food network is built entirely on the relationships, care, and dedication of the people who show up for it every week. Lately, our root system has experienced some profound and painful shifts, and I want to share those changes with you directly.

First, we are grieving the loss of one of our beloved Thursday volunteers, Russ Farmer, who passed away last month after an accident doing what he loved, racing his motorcycle. For over 10 years, Russ brought a steady energy to our pickup days, and his absence leaves a deep ache in our hearts. We will be forever grateful for the time, energy, and love he poured into our Thursdays, and we carry his spirit forward in the work we do every day.

Alongside this personal loss, NCFW is navigating a season of organizational restructuring. We continually evaluate how to best serve our region; recently, it became clear that the legacy model of our online farmers market program was no longer financially sustainable. To address this structural deficit, and to ensure the long-term health of our community food network, we had to make the incredibly painful decision to phase out two of our market-related staff positions, and we will not be rehiring for them. As Executive Director, these are the heaviest decisions I have to make. It is deeply difficult to say goodbye to team members who have poured their hearts into greeting our neighbors. I share in the sadness of seeing these familiar faces step away from our Thursday pickups, even as we make the responsible, necessary choices to secure NCFW’s future. With three fewer familiar faces greeting you on Thursdays, things will look and feel different. We ask for your patience and grace as our remaining small team and volunteers stretch to fill these massive shoes. For those of you who have reached out to us with compassion, thank you.

While the shape of our team has changed, our core promise to this community has not. Whether you are walking through our doors supporting local producers by  picking up either your online market purchase, or your healthcare-referred pantry box, our mission remains exactly the same. Thank you for holding us close during this season of transition. Your notes of kindness, your patience on pickup days, and your continued support mean more to us now than ever.

With deep gratitude,

Jesse

In this newletter…

• Salad and Song fundraiser tomorrow, June 30th! 

• Razor Clamming & Cleaning Demonstrations with NCFW staff, Ellie Dunklee

• Library of Things Cooking Demonstration summer schedule

• Information about Neighbor’s Garden

• New volunteer opportunities

Food Web News

Neighbor's Garden Launches July 1, 2026!

Neighbor’s Garden is a pilot Food Access Program, which will operate alongside our weekly Free Food Box service. Neighbor’s Garden is a Medicaid Program we are championing to provide local and regionally sourced food to eligible people in Clatsop county. We will be providing up to 24 weekly food boxes to members who are approved by Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization.

What’s Available Now?

It’s undeniable at this point—we are witnessing summertime! Summer’s luxuriously long days feed plant growth as well as the beings who eat plants. This means milk, butter, cheese, chickenand duck eggs, and fish are all in abundance. Sugar snap peas, edible flowers, steamer clams, flower bouquets, fresh garlic, and spring onions have been around for a few weeks and are being joined by shelling peas, snow peas, broccoli, new greens, carrots, and herbs galore! And don’t forget our staples:fresh pasta, bread, pastries, chocolates, skin food, mushrooms, beef, pork, and honey.

A warm welcome to our first new vendor of the summer, Underwater Bagel Society! This Astoria-based small business offers bagels using the traditional boiling process for a shiny, glossy exterior. We are mad about these, and you will be too. They’ll be hitting our online market soon, so keep an eye out!

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.

Starting July 1st, the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) is officially treating Food as Medicine!

NCFW is stepping up as the regional hub to accept Medicaid from eligible individuals as payment for locally grown and produced food, ensuring these state healthcare dollars stay in our community. This is a grant-funded pilot program we’ve named Neighbor’s Garden.

If you want your products purchased for this program, we will work closely with you, developing together a sustainable operation in which we:

1. Sell your excess produce.
2. Work towards a model that informs your crop planning to meet demand.
3. Help address any barriers to scaling your operations.

We’re looking for three types of partners:

1. You have surplus right now and want to sell it.
2. You want to expand your yield next year and want us to help you plan the rows.
3. You want to keep your production exactly where it is, but you’d like a more stable outlet for what you’re already growing.

NCFW is committed to working together with you, food recipients, and community partners to ensure this program is a success for all, and to nurture NCFW’s long-term strategic growth.

How to get started: Don't worry about the paperwork yet. Just contact Lindsay at Lindsay@northcoastfoodweb.org or 603-689-4959 to let her know you're interested or to learn more.

Salad and Song - June 30th

Please join us tomorrow! North Coast Food Web will be holding a Salad and Song event June 30th from 6–8 p.m at Obelisk Brewing in Astoria, OR.

Free to attend, there will be salads from some of your favorite local vendors available for a sliding scale donation, musical performances from local musicians, and a small raffle. We’re very excited to talk local ingredients with you all! Come by and spend some time with your local food community at this summer edition of our biannual Soup and Song fundraiser. We will continue our Soup and Song event this fall. 

Witness: Cooking Demonstrations on the Horizon!

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

Next Friday. Ellie will be leading a Razor Clamming Demonstration at Peter Iredale beach at 8 a.m. followed by a Razor Clam Cleaning Demonstration at our office at 1450 Exchange St, Astoria OR at 12 p.m. There will be extra clam tubes available to borrow, but if you intend to harvest any clams at the demonstration please be sure to purchase a shellfish license from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife prior to attending!

At the end of the month, 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 dehydrating.

Needed: Volunteers to Join our Team!

If you care deeply about local food and want to help farmers and neighbors thrive, we’d love to have you on our team. NCFW is looking for reliable volunteers to help us keep our operations running smoothly. Most of our volunteer shifts take place throughout the day on Thursdays and Fridays. Volunteers would help with ingredient portioning and packing, delivery driving (fuel mileage reimbursement provided), and onsite food pickup.

Contact info@northcoastfoodweb.org

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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