There is still a chance to win dinner for two by taking the first annual Edible Portland Reader's Survey.

Click here by May 31st to take the survey!

We want Edible Portland to be on your "must read" list every season, and to do that, we need to get to know you better. Tell us about you, why you read Edible Portland, and what you like and dislike about the magazine. Which department is your favorite? If you don't add your two cents now.... it could disappear.

Thank you for your time and feedback!

Readers Comments ( 0 )

"Couldn't be more timely! A film made to awaken our taste buds and our courage to create a food system aligned with what the earth needs and what our bodies yearn for. Good Food shows us it's possible. It's happening!"
- Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet and Hope's Edge

Something remarkable is happening in the Pacific Northwest; family farms are making a comeback. These farms, the farmers, ranchers, cultivators, and the food they produce, are the focus of the new documentary, Good Food.

• Brooke and Sam Lucy of Bluebird Grain Farms in the Methow Valley plant, harvest and sell organic grain on land they have recovered from years of disuse.
• The Hatfields, family ranchers in eastern Oregon who founded Country Natural Beef, explain how proper grazing of cattle can actually improve the environment.
• Hilario Alvarez, who came to the U.S. as a farm worker decades ago, shows off the innumerable varieties of colorful peppers that brighten his fields and Seattle farmers markets.
• George and Eiko Vojkovich of Skagit River Ranch raise chickens, pigs and beef for your table, all sustainably and naturally.
• Diane Dempster of Charlie’s Produce, talks about how offering local growers the ability to distribute is an important part of their business and commitment to the area.

Seattle International Film Festival Premiere:
Wednesday, June 4, 7 p.m.
Egyptian Theatre, 901 E. Pine St.

Saturday, June 7, 4:30 p.m.
SIFF Theatre, 321 Mercer St.

Good Food brings you close to the producers and the people that are helping to sustain and support the cycle of great food getting to our tables.

Readers Comments ( 0 )

Saturday, May 17, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Sunday, May 18, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Portland EXPO Center
www.greenerhomesandgardens.com

The 6th Annual Greener Homes and Gardens Expo features a ton of seminars and workshops designed to help us promote sustainability in our home and garden. Edible Portland's favorites include a honey bee seminar and a seed swap hosted by NW RAGE.

Produced by the ReDirect Guide, a benefit for the Habitat for Humanity ReStore
$3 suggested donation

Readers Comments ( 0 )

VegFest 2008 in Portland!

Friday, May 9, 7 p.m.
Howard Lyman
"Destroying the Earth a Bite at a Time"
Author of Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat

Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
VegFest Fair!

All events at: Benson High School, 546 NE 12th Ave., Portland, OR
Cost: $5 each day

In addition to tons of food, chef demos, and an experts table, the VegFest Fair features local and national experts speaking on the following:

Juan Castillo Hererra, a Peruvian Farmer's Perspective on Fair Trade
Mia MacDonald of Brighter Green on eating sustainability (What is meat's carbon footprint?)
Paul Shapiro of the Humane Society on animal welfare in today's food system

Readers Comments ( 0 )

How Portland deals with its trash is changing — residentially and commercially. In May 2008, Portland households will receive large blue bins into which residents will throw all recyclables except glass. The city's commercial food composting program has been in place since 2005. Within the next few years, the program could expand to include households.

A server at Bijou Café throws leftovers into a compost bin. Photo by N. Scott Trimble

WASTE NOT
FROM COMMERCIAL TRASH TO GARDEN GOLD
By Lizzy Caston
For Spring 2008

It’s bustling during Bijou Café’s brunch service. Tables are full with customers, servers briskly take and deliver orders, and the kitchen is humming — cracking hundreds of eggs, peeling and chopping mountains of vegetables, and dumping buckets of used grounds and paper filters from the coffee makers. By the time the morning rush is over, there is one thing left to deal with — garbage.

Unlike most restaurants, a significant portion of Bijou’s trash doesn’t end up in overflowing landfills. Instead, Bijou’s kitchen waste becomes wonderfully rich compost, which can be purchased in bulk and spread in gardens, nourishing the soil that grows the plants that become the future ingredients in our meals.

This is not an isolated initiative undertaken by Bijou. Nor is it a burdensome labor of love for those who work there. Bijou is participating in a program run by the City of Portland’s Office of Sustainable Development in partnership with Metro Recycling. The program, Portland Composts, reduces reliance on landfills, prevents the need to build new ones, and helps curb the negative effects of methane emitted by rotting food waste.

Started in 2005, Portland Composts has grown in participation from a couple of businesses to close to 200. (View an updated list.) Participants include several big institutions like Portland State University and Oregon Health & Science University, grocery stores like New Seasons Market and Safeway, and large restaurants like McMenamins and Burgerville.

Continue reading " WASTE NOT: From Commercial Trash to Garden Gold " »

Readers Comments ( 0 )

Portland celebrates its newest market — Parkrose Farmers' Market — this Saturday, May 3rd located in northeast.

Parkrose Farmers' Market
Saturdays, 8 a.m.–2 p.m.
May–October
Parkrose High School parking lot
NE 122nd and Shaver (near Sandy Blvd)

Opening Day features the 17-piece Jazz Express Band. Check their website for a great list of vendors and entertainment lined up throughout the year.

Readers Comments ( 0 )