Fresh and local co-op

Scott Swanson

Of The New Era

It’s Tuesday evening in the parking lot behind Periwinkle Provisions health foods store in Sweet Home, and it’s the weekly food distribution time.

This isn’t a giveaway of leftover food. This is produce fresh from the farm.

Those gathering are members of a food co-op that started last year at Periwinkle, about six months after current owners Brandi and Robert Hawkins took over the store.

“There’s a need here in the community for organic produce,” said Brandi Hawkins. She said that while certain local grocery stores have “a small selection, it’s not necessarily fresh or local.”

Even stores such as First Alternative in Corvallis or Vinnie’s in Lebanon, which specialize in organic foods, may have produce that’s “been on three or four trucks,” she said.

The Hawkinses and some other interested people approached Persephone Farms, located just north of the intersection of Pleasant Valley and McDowell Creek roads, and worked out a deal in which they could buy produce weekly as a group.

“We’re doing it as a ministry, so we’re doing it as a nonprofit enterprise,” Hawkins said. “It was just to introduce the consumers to the farmers and the farmers to the consumers. We wanted to show there’s a need.”

She said about 30 people signed up last year, half of whom participated each week. Two weeks into this year’s co-op, 55 people were in the database, she said. Each is paying $15 for a share, which Hawkins described as “basically what one household would take home in a week.” Though just over half live in Sweet Home, they come from Brownsville, as far away as Halsey.

The general interest among participants appears to be the quality – and purity – of the fruits and vegetables.

“The main reason I’m involved is because I’m really invested in seeing locally organically grown, non-toxic, non-genetically altered produce grown in this area,” said Demelza Costa of Sweet Home, who has been a member from the beginning.

“I think it’s really important for people to be aware that this kind of stuff makes a difference,” she said. “It really does matter.”

Dorothy Hopper, another local participant, said she likes not just the pesticide-free vegetables but the fact that they’re grown locally.

“We are supporting a local farm by buying from them,” she said.

At the height of the season, participants last year were getting two grocery bags a week overflowing, Hawkins said.

Participants are encouraged to help out with bagging of produce and other activities, which can include data entry and efforts to publicize the co-op, to reduce their costs. Those who, due to work conflicts or other reasons, cannot work pay a $2.50 “convenience fee” but helping is preferred.

“We want this to be a cooperative thing,” she said. “A lot of people just want to pay the money.”

Hawkins said in a true Community Sponsored Agriculture arrangement, participants pay a farmer a fee, such as $500, at the beginning of the season and take what they get, depending on the weather and other factors.

In the Periwinkle co-op, people can participate week to week and can join or drop out at will.

“It’s pay and pray,” she said. “What happens with the farmer is what you get.”

This year’s first crop came midway in June. Each share amounted to a large paper bag containing two large heads of lettuce, some chard, green garlic and organic strawberries. Through the season, Hawkins said, participants will get various types of green lettuce (not iceberg), cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, winter squash, basil, parsley, cilantro, and and more. Shares are distributed on Tuesday evenings at Periwinkle.

How much and what is included in a particular week’s order depends on how many members participate and what time of year it is, Hawkins said.

“In July boy, Katy bar the door,” she said. “It really starts to pay for itself in July.”

Hopper said she’s tried some new varieties of vegetables since joining the co-op.

“I’ve been eating some things I wasn’t used to eating, but it’s good for my health and so I’ve been learning what to do with it,” she said.

Costa, who once worked at Persephone Farms, said she can vouch for the genuineness of the organic produce.

“When I first started there, they’d just gotten their Oregon health certification,” she said.

“I know for a fact that, early in the morning, when we were planting, they’d show up unannounced, take soil samples and check the outbuildings. They know for a fact that this stuff is organic.”

The quality of the locally grown produce is excellent, Hawkins said.

“I’ve never had produce arrive to me so pristine as it does when it arrives from Persephone,” she said.

“They have almost a whole pole barn dedicated to cleaning the produce, getting it ready for market.”

Hopper agreed.

“The lettuce is absolutely fantastic,” she said. “It’s all really good. I think we’re getting a lot of vegetables for what we’re paying.”

Hawkins said “a huge difference” between the co-op produce and that from area organic stores is that it arrives at Periwinkle the same day it’s picked.

“This is fresh. The farmer delivers it to us,” she said. “You don’t even usually see that at farmer’s markets.”

The goal now is to see the co-op expand and improve, Hawkins and Costa said.

“This is the second year we’ve done it,” said Costa, who would like to see a permanent organic produce outlet in the Sweet Home area. “It could be way better, but I’m delighted it’s working. People are getting the produce and they’re coming back. It’s working. We’re just doing this because we care.”

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