I thought this was interesting enough to bump up from a press release –
Portland, OR (May 24, 2011) – Even though spring is in full bloom and Portland temperatures are reaching the 70’s, Portland Farmers Market is already planning for winter. Leaders of the nonprofit 501(c)6 organization today announced they are beginning a search for a covered space to set up a winter market on Saturdays in January and February 2012, a time when Portland Farmers Market in the past has hibernated, with all six of its weekly markets closed.
“We’ve been receiving requests for a winter market from both shoppers and vendors. A covered space would provide a comfortable gathering place for the community and would allow shoppers and especially our vendors—who are with us all day—to be protected from the elements,” said Trudy Toliver, executive director of the Portland Farmers Market. “This market will help fulfill our vision to play a central role in the regional food system by providing opportunities for local food growers and producers to prosper throughout the year in Portland.”
The ideal space would be an 8,000 to 10,000 square foot space that is protected from the wet winter weather in the central city on either east or west side. The site needs to be close to public transportation and have access to electricity and a water source. It should also be easily accessible by truck to allow vendors to drive their loaded vehicles as close to their stall location as possible. Options under exploration include adding tents to an existing market location, setting up inside of a warehouse with open garage doors or under the cover of an existing large awning, and others.
Jaret Foster, Portland Farmers Market’s senior market manager, added, “We’re planning for about 50 vendor stalls with a full variety of produce, meat, cheese, baked goods and prepared foods. We’re starting the search now, because our vendors need time to plant and prepare for this additional market.”
People who have suggestions of locations are encouraged to contact Portland Farmers Market at 503-241-0032 or email contact@portlandfarmersmarket.org.
sideline says
Go James Beard Market!
culinarykitten says
yes.
sidemeat says
gradually,
twitter becomes
a deep vein
of critical conversation….
Bingo! says
I bet it takes PFM less than 9 months to find a venue. The money sink that is the “James Beard Market” has been swirling around for at least 10 years.
truthypup says
a parking garage maybe? the hospitals all have a bunch
Jillius says
The space on 16th and NE Broadway, has been longing for a food and drink space, this would be fantastic! Years ago there were rumblings of a Zupan’s going in, sadly, it never happened. It has tons of public access, across the street from Kitchen Kaboodle, (sits beneath some condos), in the heart of my beautiful and popular, Irvington neighborhood, and now on the block between Kitchen Kaboodle and this space, hosts a very well received, Sunday market.
Please check it out!
Food Dude says
I like that space too, except there is a lack of parking. Didn’t a market try there a few years ago?
pdxyogi says
The space under the condos on 16th & Broadway is a great idea! True about a Zupan’s deal that fell through as the building was being completed. Nitpick @Jillius: It is in MY neighborhood, Sullivan’s Gulch not in Irvington, which starts on the north side of Broadway.
Bingo: Well said! Ron Paul has been the consummate flim-flam artist with his “James Beard Mkt” and has made it his career for ten years, sucking dry various fund sources while producing nothing. Reminds me of “Professor” Harold Hill in The Music Man. Watch as PFM gets it done by Jan ’12.
farmgirl says
If PDX Food Dude is indeed MZ, dear friend, then you should NOT be using the Beaverton Farmers Market logo on an article about PORTLAND Farmers Market. If you aren’t MZ, then please bone up and realize that PFM is the best, and not to be confused with others. Beaverton is lovely, the oldest and a brother in arms, but certainly not PFM.
best, Julia Wood, past Board Secretary, Portland Farmers Market
Food Dude says
You’ve completely lost me. MZ? I used a newspaper logo, not BFM.
(sidemeat – let this one go by)
gustoeater says
how about under paranoid park where they do the winter homeless food sourcing?
truthypup says
yes
Greg Dennis says
A year-round covered market for producers to sell quality ingredients would be wonderful. Not a copy of Pike Place, which is probably impossible to recreate, but just a clean, accessible and affordable place for honest local farmers and purveyors to sell their products. I hope one of these proposals is successful. The economics must be very difficult to figure out, given the relatively short growing season for local produce and the high costs of construction, land, etc. But as they say, if they build it, I will come!
laura says
how about the ex-Blockbuster space near 39th & Powell. Lots of parking; good transit access; near Clinton St, 42nd and other Bike Boulevards; close to St. Iggy, Creston and other schools for “meet the farmer” or “know your food” field trips; a supplement to Safeway and relatively nearby New Seasons oulets.
sidemeat says
But, maybe, a farmers market, by nature, is seasonal?
Sure, under a parking structure, in the ex blockbuster…
kettle corn and cabbages for six months…
THEN! the cornucopia! berries and stone fruit,
warm nights and scented air,
fresh flowers and young ladies in skirts…
under the parking structure,
in the ex blockbuster….
Like bikini car washes and parking lot carnivals
farmers markets can just be a summer thing
we’ll enjoy them all the more…
Anthony Boutard says
Hillsdale Farmers’ Market has operated through the winter for eight seasons, and we have been venders since the beginning. There are other winter markets as well. At Hillsdale, a wide variety of winter greens, roots and even fruits are available through the winter. Many apples, pears and squash, as well as sweet potatoes, reach their peak flavor after two or three months of storage. The Hillsdale market is open air, and people come even when there is snow on the ground, or a gale blowing. The winter markets are consistently our highest grossing markets. All of our vegetables are grown in the open, no greenhouses. Portland has a relatively mild winter climate and there is no reason why we shouldn’t harvest fresh produce through the winter. Winter farming is harder because the days are short and wet weather slows us down. Hillsdale, sensibly, operates twice a month rather than weekly. Personally, I prefer an open market, even in the winter. It is cleaner and healthier.
Anthony Boutard
Ayers Creek Farm
pdxyogi says
People’s on SE 21st runs a small weekly winter market too, although on a not-so-convenient Wednesday.