The Intersection of Local Food Systems and Health Clinics: CSA Partnerships for Health
By Margo Hartenfeld, Slow Food Youth Network Portland Board Chair
“Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Partnerships for Health connects clients, who are referred by their health clinics, with fresh, seasonal produce from local farms. ”
“Eat more vegetables.” We’ve all heard the doctor’s orders. This advice doesn’t sound motivating or enjoyable if you aren't used to eating vegetables in general. How can people access more fresh vegetables when there are barriers such as time, cost, and transportation? How can people incorporate more vegetables into their diets if they are unfamiliar with fresh produce and they’ve never cooked with it before? For some in the Slow Food Portland community, you might be thinking about the abundant fresh vegetables and fruits that grow in the Pacific Northwest region, and the countless ways you’ve learned how to use them in your daily cooking. There is privilege and value that comes from knowing how, where, and when to access fresh produce, having the time and space to cook it, and feeling the joy it brings to know you’re supporting local farms.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Partnerships for Health connects clients, who are referred by their health clinics, with fresh, seasonal produce from local farms. The program started in 2015 as a partnership between Multnomah County Health Department and Zenger Farm. The Health Department saw barriers their clients had to accessing fresh vegetables that were negatively affecting health outcomes. Many chronic health conditions that exist today are the result of foods people generally have easy access to. Why do we have more convenience stores, fast food chains, and access to calorie-dense but not nutrient-dense foods in certain areas? The racial and socioeconomic inequities that have shaped Portland are among the top reasons.
Clients are referred to CSA Partnerships for Health by their primary doctor or community health worker. They receive a weekly CSA box from a local farm with enough vegetables to be incorporated in the diets of 2-4 people. Every week a newsletter containing information about the farm, a highlighted produce item, and a recipe that uses one or more of the items in the box is included to help facilitate the connection between the farmers and the clients. The boxes are fully paid for with grant funds and Medicaid Flexible Spending funds. The boxes are delivered to the clients’ homes each week, eliminating one more barrier in the challenge to access fresh produce. Let’s be real, carrying a box full of incredible produce for the week can get heavy!
The 2021 summer season served around 300 clients with produce from Zenger Farm, Full Cellar Farm, Mudbone Grown, and 47th Avenue Farm, led by program manager Nicky Ulrich. Due to Covid-19, the pickup model for the CSA boxes was changed to a delivery model in 2020. Every week, Tuesday through Friday, the intern team met at one of the farms and loaded the CSA boxes into our cars. The routes stayed fairly consistent throughout the season, which meant I got to know a few of the clients of the program. The excitement from fresh produce was abundant. “Tuesday is my favorite day of the week because I get vegetables!” and “Each delivery day feels like Christmas!” were some of the things clients would say to me. There was enthusiasm about recipes they used and produce they hadn’t tried since they were children. Sharing these special moments with people in my community helped me see just how connected we are to our local food and to one another.
I joined the program this past summer with a passion for public health, fresh produce, local farms, and zero delivery experience. Shout out to all the delivery drivers out there - we see your hard work! Throughout my time interning, I delivered CSA boxes four days a week, helped pack CSA boxes on Friday mornings, and created a weekly newsletter with the help of the awesome newsletter team and assistant program manager, Kelly Randolph. Most of my deliveries were in South East Portland, Gresham, Troutdale, and North Portland, with the intern team delivering to many areas in Multnomah county.
We all have our own unique relationship to vegetables. There’s some we love, some we might not be able to eat due to allergies or health conditions, some we flat out never want to try again, and that’s all good. The goal of this program isn’t to force people to eat foods they don’t enjoy, but to help people access fresh, local produce they might not have the opportunity to otherwise, and find what works for them. For the winter season we will be delivering CSA boxes one day per week, and working on a cookbook to share with clients in future seasons.
If you have a personal recipe that uses local produce and you’re comfortable sharing it with us, we welcome it with open arms! You can email the recipe to sfyn@slowfoodportland.org, because the kitchen is where the magic happens when we cook, eat, and share.
Further Resources:
CSA Partnerships for Health: https://zengerfarm.org/csa/csap4h/