October 2026 Newsletter

Published October 29, 2026

  • OCFSN’s Associate Director, Andrew Collins-Anderson, facilitated the Food Systems & Community Resilience Panel at the 2nd Oregon Resilience Summit (ORS) last week in Sunriver. ORS gathered 250+ attendees with these four goals in mind:

    1. Strengthen and broaden cross-sector partnerships

    2. Take stock of our current disaster landscape

    3. Build relationships before we need them

    4. Engage through joy.

    We were honored to share the stage with six incredible folks working across the local food system in Oregon.

    Panelists:

    Other food system representation at ORS included American Farmland Trust, OSU Extension, Rogue Food Unites, and Oregon Agricultural Trust.

    Learn more about how to amplify the importance of public policy, advocacy, and uplifting local food in the upcoming 2027 Oregon Legislative Session with Friends of Family Farmers.

  • 40 of our 58 member organizations voted unanimously to bring Madeline on!

  • Gather virtually with Oregon Community Food System Network (OCFSN) as we close out the year on December 16 from 10-11:30am. Register online. 

    Agenda:

    • 2026 Reflections

    • Presentations from member organizations (ignite talk style)

    • Working Group highlights and collaborations

    • 2027 Goals: including strategic dashboard, Portland Convening, and more!

    We are collecting submissions of Stories of Connection, please fill out this form if you are interested in presenting or sharing your story.

    Topic: Share an important collaboration formed through this network or a call for partners

    • Format if you are selected to present: 5 minutes of presentation time and maximum of 5 slides

    We only have space for 5 presenters during the Mini-Convening but we want to share your highlights so please let us know below if we have permission to share your story on our website. 

    Ps. Save the date for our In-Person Full Network Convening March 17-19th Portland!

  • The Invitation for Session Proposals is now OPEN for the 2027 Community Food Systems National Gathering! The name and theme that will guide us to Asheville, NC next April:

    MAKING OUR WAY: Mobilizing Community Wisdom for Collective Action

    There is no roadmap for the moment we are in, no blueprint for building the thriving, resilient, equitable food systems our communities need and deserve. So, together, we make the way by walking it: doing what we can with what we have, drawing on the wisdom of those who came before us, and learning from the communities already showing us what's possible.

    This gathering has been taking shape in the same way. We have been weaving it together alongside food systems leaders serving on both the national and local planning committees. Together we have been listening, learning, sharing ideas, and allowing our collective wisdom and experience to guide where we're headed.  

    That spirit of collaboration and co-creation is a big part of why we're gathering in Asheville and Western North Carolina. Appalachia carries generations of knowledge about living from the land, making do, organizing, creating, resisting, and relying on one another. It is also a region actively navigating change and recovery today. We want this gathering to be shaped by this unique place - its people, histories, foodways, creativity, resourcefulness, and perseverance - and what it can teach all of us about building from where we stand.

    Session proposals are due November 15, 2026.

    See the full invitation for session proposals here.

Food Systems and Resilience Panel at the 2nd Oregon Resilience Summit in Sunriver on October 22.

Working Group Updates

  • Missed a meeting? You can find recordings of working group meetings on OCFSN’s Youtube Channel and other materials in our Public Google Drive.

    Stay looped into the latest news for each of the working groups by joining the mailing lists: How to Use OCFSN Google Groups.

    • Our most recent meeting featured Amy Gilroy from the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Amy joined us to share more about the Regional Food and Agriculture Business Center pilot project. To learn more, check out the slides here.

    • Upcoming meetings will cover:

      •  “Improving Consumer Access to Local Food with Five Food Hubs” LFPP project  which included the development of a Food Hub Marketing Toolkit (date TBD)

      • Worker Safety: Heat Illness Prevention and Wildfire Smoke Exposure (Nov 3 from 1-2:30PM)

      • Findings and learning from our own “Marketplace Improvement Project” (Dec 15 from 1-2:30PM)

  • Our next meeting will be in January 2027!

    • HRSN Fruit & Vegetable and Pantry Stocking benefits launched July 1st 2026. Learning collaborative participants have so far experienced lower referral volumes than expected. Over the past few months we have worked to understand the internal processes of Medicaid Managed Care organizations (CCOs), engaged in problem solving together, and shared experiences across regions and healthcare partners.

    • Curious about the HRSN rollout across the state? Check out the OHA HRSN Data Dashboard. This tool is updated quarterly and currently includes data through June 30, 2026.

    • FAQ Updated September 30th, find answers from OHA, CCOs, and current HRSN service providers in the OCFSN Quarterly HRSN FAQ  EN / ES

    • Upcoming Webinar: Building an Effective Nutrition Education Program for HRSN Join us Monday November 2nd at 12:30pm for a foundational look at the Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs) that define service provider qualifications, service description and activities, and member eligibility for HRSN Nutrition Education. Guest speakers from Adelante Mujeres will share practical experience, educational frameworks, practices for person centered and trauma informed care, and systems they developed for providing nutrition education for populations with similar needs as those eligible for HRSN. Intended primarily for an audience of community-based organizations that are interested in building new nutrition education programs or in aligning their programs with HRSN, this event may also be useful if you are a healthcare provider, operate a food is medicine program in Oregon, or are a contracted HRSN provider for other service types. This event is open to the public. Register Here!

  • Below are some meeting updates and scheduling requests. For those interested, after the synopsis there are more details on past meetings and share some opportunities. I'm looking forward to connecting with folks soon! If you would like to stay connected to other farm TA providers in Oregon, join our Google Group by emailing farmingforthefuture+subscribe@ocfsn.org. This list is used by OCFSN staff and farm service providers from across Oregon to share program updates, event/meeting reminders, funding opportunities, and other resources. 

    • There are scheduling conflicts for our Nov 19th BFR and Nov 25th Farm Viability Meetings. I am cancelling those meetings (remember to take those off your calendar). I propose that we do a full working group virtual meeting in early December to connect, share successes and challenges and discuss how we can support each other in 2027.

      • Please complete this poll to find a time in early December.

      • Draft Agenda Ideas (suggestions?):

        • How has the year played out for your work? What new tactics are working for you? What challenges are you and your farmers facing?

        • Preparing for 2027 funding opportunities (specifically USDA opportunities)

        • Virtual needs sharing and discussion

    • Update on Working Group In-Person Gathering

      • I have been working on organizing an in-person working group gathering in December, but Chemeketa wasn't available on the days that worked for most folks who completed the previous poll.

      • Here is my proposal: if folks would like to meet for a day in-person at Chemeketa in January please complete this poll. If you would rather wait to do a working group gathering at OCFSN's 2027 in-person convening March 17-19 in Portland (just announced!), please don't complete the poll. If I get fewer than say 10 submissions to the poll we will meet at the March convening. Thanks for bearing with me on that y'all!

    • A reminder that we have this updated Working Group plan that aligns us with OCFSN’s new Mission, Vision, Values, Goals and Strategies. 

    Meeting Minutes and Updates:

    • Materials from the Oct 15 Session - The Plan for a Resilient Oregon and Food Systems

    • I'm excited that at our Jan 27th Farm Viability Meeting, Viva Farms from Washington State will join us to share and discuss their 2026 National Farm Viability Conference Presentation - Case Management Approach for Farm Viability. Case management has been a common topic discussed in our group and I'm looking forward to connecting and learning from these folks.

      • November 25th meeting will be rescheduled for a full working group meeting in December

    • Beginning Farmer and Rancher subgroup

      • August Meeting notes

      • Heard from Teagan on her efforts on a Oregon AgrAbility initiative. Oregon Partners Meeting on Supporting Farmers & Ranchers navigating pain, disabilities, injury, or age‑related changes. We’ll introduce the national AgrAbility https://www.agrability.org/  model and share our current work regionally and plan to expand across the state through an Oregon AgrAbility Initiative/Network (in development).

      • November 19th meeting will be rescheduled for a full working group meeting in December

    • Virtual Farmland Access Convening | May 28

      • Recording

      • OCFSN hosted organizations working on Farmland Access from across Oregon to present on their farmland access work and discuss opportunities for collaboration. California's Kitchen Table Advisors presented on their Land Access Ecosystem Building program and participation on the CA's Agricultural Land Equity Task Force whose report has many recommendations that can be informative to the farmland access work and policy in Oregon. This is the first of multiple of these farmland access discussions.

      • Next Meeting: TBD

  • Food systems advocacy orgs are gearing up for what is likely to be an eventful 2027 Oregon Legislative Session. With federal cuts to SNAP and Medicaid on top of the affordability crisis, the Oregon Legislature has many hard choices to make to balance the budget while providing for Oregonians in need. We hope you can join us at an upcoming meeting.

    Meeting links:

    Running Agenda and Notes (find updates from the October meeting)

    Coalition Tracking Spreadsheet

    Working Group Plan

    Upcoming Meetings:

    • Working Group Meeting - November 16th at 3pm, Zoom, calendar

    • 2027 Legislative Session - Community Food Systems at the Legislature Virtual Network Convening - December 7th 2:30-4pm, Register Here 

      • For the December CFS at the Leg virtually convening, everyone will need to register for that as the invite will go to the full network.

  • October is Farm to School Month, come join OFIC's monthly meeting next week on Tuesday, October 20th at 1PM to learn more about how Joyce Douglas (farm coordinator) and the Springfield Public School Farm operate a farm within the institution. For the Springfield Public Schools Farm, the collaborative process of growing fresh produce on a school site in meaningful amounts specifically for service to students in cafeterias has been a work in progress, navigating many of the issues that the Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative seeks to address. This has included land access, logistics, crop planning, internal procurement, community engagement, and funding. Come join us if you are hoping to learn more about on site institutional farms! 

    See more about Farm to School Month here:

    • Our current OFIC documents and resources are linked here 

      • If you have a key resource for either producers or institutions regarding farm to institution to be added to the webpage, please email Aliza McHugh at ofic-coordinator@ocfsn.org

    • Food Education Training Manager at FoodCorps. We are seeking a dynamic Food Education Training Manager with strong skills in classroom teaching, curriculum design, adult learning, and project management. $82,400/yr. Learn more here. 

    • Program Evaluation Specialist at American Farmland Trust. Salary Range: $70,000.00 - $80,000.00 annually. Learn more here.

    • Marketing & Communications Director at Rogue Food System Network. Salary range $75,000–$85,000. Priority deadline Friday, October 16 at 5:00 pm. Learn more here.

    • Finance and Operations Manager at Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon. Salary Range: $75,000.00 - $85,000.00 annually. Priority deadline October 9. Learn more here.

    • General Event Planning and Outreach support for Slow Food South Willamette. We need volunteers to help plan and promote our future events — farm dinners, tastings, community gatherings, and more. We're planning more events for 2027 and beyond and we are looking for people to help with outreach, communications, logistics, and community connections. No experience necessary. Interested in doing any of these things? Email Vanessa at  slowfoodsouthwillamette@slowfoodusa.org.

    • Thursdays and Fridays in Astoria. North Coast Food Web is looking for reliable volunteers to help with food box assembly, volunteer delivery drivers (fuel mileage reimbursement provided), and onsite food pickup. Contact info@northcoastfoodweb.org for more info.

    • Backyard Harvest, Community Orchard, and other volunteer opportunities at Portland Fruit Tree Project.

    • Apply for Food System Leadership Network’s Community Food Systems Mentorship Program, where participants spend five months working alongside an experienced mentor, connecting with a cohort of peers, and creating space to reflect on their leadership practice, reconnect with what sustains them, and explore what’s next both personally and professionally.

    • Apply: Are you 1000 Friends’ next summer legal intern?Our 2027 summer legal intern will have the opportunity to work with our staff attorneys to provide technical and legal advice and, when appropriate, legal representation to clients. Applications are due Friday, October 30. Learn more and apply.

    • Apply to EMSWCD Headwaters Farm Business Incubator Program. Our partners at East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District are accepting applications for the 2027 cohort of the Headwaters Farm Business Incubator Program through Monday, November 30. Learn more here.

    • Next Generation Farmer Fund. A $1M+ initiative providing direct financial support and technical assistance to beginning farmers and farmers under 40 who are stewarding land through more sustainable farming practices. Applications are open until December 1, 2026. Learn more and apply. 

    • SBA Disaster Loans available for Oregon businesses impacted by 2026 wildfires, ongoing drought. The Oregon Department of Emergency Management is reminding eligible small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, aquaculture businesses and most private nonprofit organizations that they may qualify for U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loans following the severe storms and wildfires that occurred July 15 - August 24, 2026. These low-interest, long-term working-capital loans help organizations meet ordinary financial obligations they are unable to meet because of the disaster. The deadline for economic injury filing is July 1, 2027. Visit the MySBA Loan Portal to learn more. 

    • Apply for OFMA’s Paid Regional Market Leader Cohort. Participants gain a dedicated space to build peer relationships, refine market management skills, and help shape statewide programming, and will receive a $3,000 annual stipend. If you’re ready to help shape the future of Oregon’s farmers market community, please apply by Monday, November 30. Learn more and apply here.

    • Due November 1 at 11:59pm ET. The Better Food Policy Fund’s 2026–2027 Grant Program is now open!

      • Food policy councils can apply for up to $20,000 per year for two years—a total of $40,000 in unrestricted funding. Learn more here. 

    • [Ongoing] AFRI Rapid Response to Emerging and Re-emerging Pest and Disease Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems (A1713). Learn more here. This program area priority is designed to rapidly deploy strategies and fill knowledge and information gaps to protect the Nation’s food and agricultural supply chains—and the people who support and rely on them—during and after the emergence or re-emergence of pests and diseases associated with animal production systems and/or the emergence or re-emergence of invasive diseases, insects, and weeds associated with plant production systems and/or toxins affecting the health of either plant or animal production systems. All applications must directly address 

      • 1) effects associated with the emergence or re-emergence of pests and/or disease in animal and/or plant production systems or within the food supply; and 

      • 2) one or more of the following emphasis areas: 

        • One Health

        • Plant/Animal Health

        • Ecosystem Health 

    • [Open Grants] The Ford Family Foundation - Technical Assistance Grants, Good Neighbor Grants, and larger funding requests. Learn more here. 

    • [Reviewed Monthly] AgWest - Farm Credit’s Rural Community Grant

      • AgWest Farm Credit is dedicated to enhancing the economic and social wellbeing of rural communities across the West. Their Rural Community Grant program offers funding to nonprofit organizations working on projects that improve rural areas in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Eligible projects include facility improvements, equipment purchases, and capital enhancements to support community infrastructure and prosperity.

  • Don't forget about the OCFSN Food Systems Events Calendar - we update it with events that pass through our email and listservs! Y'all are busy!

    • November 2 at noon: Join Friends of Family Farmers’s Muckboots in the Capitol webinar on community policy and advocacy updates before the start of Oregon’s Legislative session. Register here.

    • November 2: Building an Effective Nutrition Education Program for HRSN webinar w/ guest speakers from Adelante Mujeres. Register Here!

    • November 3 at 11am: OFMA November Peer Learning Circle. This month, OFMA Program Manager Amanda Cross will introduce the new Regional Leadership Cohort and dedicate some time to answer any questions you might have about the program. Register here. 

    • November 3 at noon : SOPs That Stick: How to WRite, Teach, and Enforce Procedures in Your Shared Kitchen. Register here.

    • November 5-6: 1000 Friends of Oregon Affiliate Partner Conference in Corvallis. Learn more here. 

    • November 8 at noon: Fill Your Pantry hosted by Slow Food South Willamette will have a booth set up at the Fill Your Pantry event at the Lane County Fairgrounds, hosted by our friends at Willamette Farm and Food Coalition. Preorders open online.

    • November 9 at 9am: Food Justice and Food Sovereignty Training with Oregon Food Bank. Build community power in addressing hunger and its root causes and learn the importance of following Indigenous knowledge and leadership to heal and guide our actions. Register here.

    • November 10 at 4pm: Resisting Data Center Expansion: Perspectives from Farmers and Organizers. Not Our Farm is looking forward to hosting a conversation about resisting the expansion of data centers from a food sovereignty and food systems perspective. We will hear from organizers and farmers organizing against the construction of data centers in their respective communities. Register here. 

    • November 12 at 1pm: Midterm Election Results and Upcoming Anti-Hunger Landscape webinar with Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). Register here.

    • November 15 at 11am: FSLN Community Food Projects Community of Practice space. a virtual space for a variety of community food systems-related topics - both around organizational development and management (like evaluation, community engagement) as well as programmatic / thematic areas (think cooperative development, community kitchens). Register here.

    • November 16 at 4pm: Save OR SNAP Coalition Call. Email Amanda at amanda@oregonhunger.org for the meeting invite.

    • November 16-18 (Bellingham, WA). Tilth Conference. Check out the preliminary event schedule. Scholarships are available for farmers, Extension agents, Conservation District employees, and food system educators/consultants who support farmers. Scholarships will cover 100% of registration fees (lodging not included). Applications are due by Monday, September 14 at 11:59 p.m. Learn more and apply.

    • November 18 at 9am: Cost: LandLogic Training: Strengthening Behavioral Health Support for Oregon's Agricultural Communities. Free to attend - RSVP HERE - Zoom link will be sent on November 16th OSU Extension Event Page 

    • November 17: Oregon Hunger Task Force Meeting (monthly on second Tuesday). Zoom link.

    • December 2: Oregon Arts & Agriculture Holiday Market in Portland. Join us as a guest, vendor, or sponsor and get plugged into our diverse community of land use advocates! Learn more here.

    • December 7 at 2:30pm: 2027 Legislative Session - Community Food Systems at the Legislature Virtual Convening. Register here.

    • December 16 at 10am: OCFSN End of Year Virtual Mini-Convening. Register here.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Our next newsletter will be published in December 2026.

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