CSA Program
Our flagship program is providing CSA boxes from BIPOC farmers to Black + Brown families as part of our efforts to end food insecurity in Portland.
Learn more below and support this program.
Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) is the direct to consumer process of buying shares of crops directly from local farmers. This concept was coined by Dr. Booker T. Whatley, a Black Farmer who taught at Tuskegee University, and his original model was based around labor.
Dr. Whatley invited folks living in urban areas to return to rural land and assist with 2 of the most labor-dependent aspects of the season - planting + harvest. In exchange for this labor, the folks who helped were given produce that they could preserve for winter. This was a solution not only for loss of agriculture labor but a way to address food insecurity as many folks who had left rural areas now were living without access to gardens.
The CSA model was adopted by whites in the 80’s and morphed into the model that we know today. This looks like basically purchasing a subscription at the beginning of the season, and in return the farmer will provide you with a box of fresh foods as they harvest it.
At EGC, we purchase the CSA shares from BIPOC farmers and deliver the produce, along with other pantry and protein staples from local food businesses, to over 400 food insecure families in Portland, weekly.
CSAs are a great way to support local farmers, promote urban farming efforts, and get delicious, environmentally-friendly food.
What are CSA Boxes?
How We Got Started
Equitable Giving Circle understands that income instability often leads to food insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated this fact all too well as we also saw economic hardship disproportionately affect Black + Brown communities. In order to combat the impact of generations of discrimination-based social destabilization, lack of access to equitable resources, and the sudden and massive food supply disruption in 2020, EGC began supplying boxes of locally grown food to the families who needed it most.
We also only purchase CSA shares from BIPOC farmers, making ours one of the most unique and impactful farm share programs around! We deliver our food boxes weekly (Tuesday - Friday)through a mixture of paid drivers and volunteers.
Currently our CSA program is located at : 4212 NE Prescott Street, Portland, OR 97218
Our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program is a comprehensive year round food program. Under the leadership of Tamar Green, we are currently serving over 400 BIPOC families with weekly produce boxes, pantry items, and monthly proteins via direct home delivery and our weekly Free Market. We have been working with these families for five years and have not interrupted service through fires, snow, or heat waves. It is important to change the relationship with food insecurities as an entire community and create consistent access. Our model is proactive, and a reimagining of how we can work with both our resourced communities and our local agriculture community to support our most vulnerable community members. .
We have resources in abundance and we must share. It is also important that we serve community members with integrity, dignity, and care. We never serve folks with expired items, or things we personally would not be honored to receive. 24% of our community faces food insecurities which has a larger ripple effect on education, safety, employment, and more. By addressing food injustices with ongoing comprehensive food support families are able to pivot out of a space of scarcity and hardship and able to move towards a space of thriving and wellness.
EGCs CSA Program has two main components:
Weekly Delivery- where EGC delivers produce, pantry items, and proteins to Black + Brown households across the metro area. Currently we deliver to 225 households each week. Each family receives about 25 lbs of farm fresh produce a week.
Weekly Free Market PopUp- every Thursday we host a free food pantry for Black + Brown community members. We have beautiful fresh produce, pantry items, proteins, plants, and other small gifts for folks. Our goal with our weekly popup is to turn it into a free store that is open to Black community members three days a week and will also include things like laundry soap, diapers, toilet paper and all of those household essentials in between. At our weekly Market we also host OHSU regularly for health screenings and vaccines, we host other organizations who have relevant programming for our community, food demos and have themed celebrations regularly. Market is so much more than just a food distribution hub. It is a safe gathering space for the community.
At our weekly Market we regularly have food demos, themed celebrations, our Community Wellness Program distributing household items, other organizations passing our resources or information, OHSU doing health screenings, and most recently we had a DJ at Market. Market is a vibrant community gathering space.
In addition to our direct food work our CSA Program hosts a monthly Blood Pressure Group, and a twice a month Walking Group at Wilshire Park. Every 2nd + 4th Saturday at 11am. As well as working on the first edition of a community cookbook.
Frequently asked question : Do we take food donations? Yes, We accept BULK food donations, if they are fresh, not expired or expiring soon. Giving oppressed people gleaned food is a playbook out of chattel slavery and we work hard to not uplift harmful norms like that. We prioritize monetary support to be able to purchase the items our community needs the most.
Our CSA Program and food assistance efforts are no small feat. We need your support to continue feeding our community. If you set up a recurring donation of $40 per month, you will provide a box of local food to a family experiencing food insecurity.