Linn Benton Food Share continues to find innovative solutions in their mission to fight hunger in our communities. Partnering with a variety of local farms in their Intentional Production Program provides pre-growing season funding to sustain small farms in the off-season. It also allows Linn Benton Food Share to select specific crops they need to distribute to food pantries and meal sites after the crops are harvested.

This program is a win-win-win as it provides the food share with the crops they need, financial stability for the local farms, increased food sustainability for our community, and high-quality, healthy produce and grains for recipients and food sites.

Meet Pitchfork and Crow

One of the champions of this program is a small, husband-and-wife, certified organic farm in Lebanon called Pitchfork and Crow. We talked with them recently about their experience working with Linn Benton Food Share through the Intentional Production Program and learned about the greater impact it is making on their family.

There are many facets of life that require compromising the ideal outcome in hopes of progress. From our viewpoint, the Intentional Production Program is not one of these. Our overarching goal as small scale vegetable farmers is to help feed our community, and this program helps make that possible.

Finding solutions to our societal hunger issues doesn’t seem like easy work that Linn Benton Food Share is tasked with. However, given the fact that Linn and Benton Counties contain so much prime farmland and an agreeable growing climate, it’s obvious that if any place should be able to feed itself, it’s us. By choosing to support local farms through the Intentional Production Program, Linn Benton Food Share has made getting fresh, local food directly to those who need it most as easy as it can be. 

With no strings or red tape, we’re able to make a commitment ahead of the growing season, plan for early-season expenses, and grow food that seamlessly enters their distribution system and gets delivered directly to a food bank and soup kitchen just a few miles from the farm. It’s almost too simple to believe.

The Intentional Production Program helps us connect with a different group of community members that we’re otherwise not able to reach. Beyond the monetary benefits, this partnership has also helped us feel more connected to our immediate community.

We fully appreciate their willingness to prioritize supporting the local economy and local farmers as they work toward ensuring those who need food have access to food.

A vital part of our mission at Community Services Consortium is to help build stronger, more stable communities in our region. Partnerships such as the one with Pitchfork and Crow reassures us that we are fulfilling that mission. Nourishing people through this partnership both physically and financially makes us proud of the work we do and will continue to do.

To learn more about how you can get involved, click here.