OREGON COMMUNITY FOOD SYSTEMS NETWORK’S FARMER & RANCHER DISASTER RESILIENCE AND FOOD HUB WORKER SAFETY & INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT PROGRAMS AWARD $2.3 MILLION TO OREGON FARMERS, RANCHERS AND FOOD HUBS

The 2023 Oregon Legislature allocated to the Oregon Community Food Systems Network (OCFSN) $2.65 million for the Farmer & Rancher Disaster Resilience Grant Program and $1.5 million for the Food Hub Worker Safety & Infrastructure Grant Program  for the 2023-2025 Biennium. The first round of grants from these programs were made in May 2024. 

The farmer and rancher grant program awarded $1.6 million to 114 small and historically underserved farmers and ranchers across Oregon to implement projects to increase their resilience to disasters like extreme weather, heat, smoke and drought.  Funded activities include implementing irrigation, shading, cooling, soil health and other resilience projects. 

“The survival of our farm – and that of countless others grappling with climate disasters – is at stake. Farming has never been easy, but climate change is making it exponentially harder every year. We tip our hats to the Oregon legislature for allocating these urgently needed funds to support local and regional food systems, small family farms, and diversified, climate-forward agriculture in our state,” commented Zoe Bradbury DeSurra of Groundswell Farm LLC, a grant recipient. 

The food hub grant program awarded $700,000 to 20 Oregon food hubs and regional food system infrastructure projects to  invest in expanding the capacity of disaster resilient local food economies. Funded activities include purchasing and installing infrastructure and  worker safety and efficiency equipment such as: refrigerated vehicles, walk-in coolers and freezers, commercial cooking equipment, ventilation systems, pallet jacks, vehicle safety retrofits, hydraulic carts, anti-fatigue mats, protective gloves, and shade equipment. “OCFSN’s funding would greatly increase the capacity of our food hub, Oregon’s smallest, most remote food hub. Increased capacity means more people in Wallowa and Union counties accessing high-quality, nutrient dense food grown by their neighbors. It means paying local farmers and ranchers a living wage,” shared a food-hub grantee. 

These grant programs build off the successful OCFSN 2022 Farmer and Rancher Disaster Relief Program and Food Hub Network activities  and were created with guidance from farmers and ranchers, food hub experts and other food systems experts and leaders from across Oregon. 

“OCFSN and partners send our thanks to all the farmers, ranchers, organizations, agencies and the State Legislature for their participation and support in making these programs a success,” Andrew Collins-Anderson, OCFSN Farming for the Future Coordinator. 

There will be a  second round of funding for these grant programs. Program details and requests for proposals will be posted on the OCFSN website: ocfsn.org.

Farmer & Rancher Disaster Resilience Grant Program Outcomes:

• 110 applications awarded to  English-language  applicants 

• 4 applications awarded to Spanish-language applicants

Characteristics of Awardees

• 89 - Beginning farmers and ranchers (first 10 years of farming)

• 41 - Black, indigenous or people of color producers

• 39 - Producers located in counties with a drought declaration in 2022 or 2023

• 13 - Military veteran producers

• 11 - Immigrant or refugee producers

• 8 - Single caregiver producers

• 7 - Trans or gender non-conforming producers

Location of Awardees

• 39 - Willamette Valley

• 21 - Portland Metro

• 20 - Southern Oregon (includes Klamath and SE Oregon)

• 13 - Central Oregon

• 8 - Northeast Oregon

• 7 - Mid Columbia

• 5 - North Coast

• 3 - South Coast

Total Acres of Awardees

• Total cultivated acres of awarded farms - 4,766 acres

Number of Disaster Resilience Projects by Category (many awardees had multiple project types)

• 71 - Irrigation and Water Efficiency 

• 50 - Shading and Cooling

• 40 - Soil Health Management 

• 32 - Purchase, Rental or Refurbishment of Equipment

• 19 - Other Crop Management

• 15 - Other 

• 14 - Ecosystem Management  

• 3 - Monitoring or Research 

• 2 - Planning

Food Hub Worker Safety & Infrastructure Grant Program Outcomes:

• 20 applications awarded to English-language applicants

Historically Underserved Food Hubs Awarded

• 9 Black, indigenous or people of color led food hubs

• 6 Single caregiver food hubs

• 5 Trans or gender non-conforming food hubs

• 3 Immigrant or refugee food hubs

Location of Awardees

• Willamette Valley - 9

• Southwestern Oregon - 5

• North Coast - 4

• South Coast - 4

• Portland Metro - 3

• Central Oregon - 2

• Eastern Oregon - 1

Projects made possible by the grant

• Refrigerated vans for delivery between regions

• Walk-in fridges, chest freezers, scales, reach-in coolers

• Rolling carts, anti-fatigue mats, protective gloves, canopy for outdoor pop-ups

• Pallet jacks, electric jacks, rackable pallets

• Produce boxes, bulk bins, mobile shelving, storage containers

A huge thank you goes out to Tahoma Peak Solutions for their three amazing training sessions on Native American History, Indigenous Communications, and Outreach and Working with Tribes provided to OCFSN members. We will be sharing resources from that series as they are finalized. Below are the descriptions of the three sessions. Thanks to all who participated.

Session Descriptions:

Training #1 Native American History 101 (90 minutes) | June 13, 10am

Understanding the history and context that led to the contemporary Native American experience is essential when working across all sectors of U.S. society. In this course we cover 500 years of history, moments in history that have modern day implications,  important policies that affect Native people and communities today and the fundamentals of Tribal Sovereignty.

Training #2 Indigenous Communications (90 minutes) | June 27, 10am

There is a great need for knowing how to appropriately communicate with and discuss Native communities and people. To do that well, it requires an understanding of contemporary Native people and communities. In this training we cover invisibility and institutionalized erasure of Native people in contemporary society, common myths and misconceptions about Native people and how to avoid these when discussing Native communities, the new emerging narrative about Native people, language to avoid, and terminology and communications best practices.

Training #3 Outreach and Working with Tribes (90 minutes) | July 11, 10am

The approach needed to meaningfully engage Tribes and Native communities is unique and contextual. In this training we cover the foundations of Tribal governance, outreach to tribes best practices, how to cultivate and sustain generative working relationships with tribes, and what not to do in outreach to tribes.