Gee Creek Farm

2013 Season Welcome

Posted on June 1, 2013     Leave a Comment

Our community is comprised of people like you, who want to enjoy farm fresh naturally grown food without pesticides or man-made fertilizers and picked at the height of ripeness and flavor. In recent years we have expanded what we offer our members to include: locally milled and whole grain products, dried beans, prepared foods, sprouts, herbal medicines, a farm school, building classes, summer camp, farm dinners and more. Sign up for our summer wholesale farm club and get your choice of super fresh locally grown produce and more at great prices. Join our winter food co-op and join our many members as we buy pure naturally grown and organic food in bulk and save.

By cooperating together we get more than just great food; we get to support good stewardship of the earth, the creation of good local jobs, and do so much more. For us, it is about choice and empowerment. We get to choose what kind of agriculture we want and how our food is grown. On our farms, in our mill, kitchens, shops, studios and farm house, we create, learn, teach, share, eat and connect with each other and with those who come to visit, work and learn. We are intentional about what we are doing here, about what we want from our life and are aware of the effects we have on the world.

We can and do make a difference with our choices and work. It is a homegrown plan to make things better; to create clean, pure food and services by us, for us. We welcome your support; join the farm and share in the benefits that go far beyond receiving a weekly share of fresh, naturally grown food at modest prices. Because we strongly feel clean fresh food is a requirement of all people we have programs to make membership affordable with payment plans and even honor food assistance programs. For more information on membership please see our Farm membership section below.

Check out our website to have a look at the services and projects that we cooperatively offer. Maybe you have always wanted to learn how to grow a garden or build an affordable home using local materials? Maybe learning more about herbal and alternative/natural medicine or whole foods cooking interests you? Maybe you have some special knowledge you want to share with others? Our farm community desires to be a place where these needs can be met. This year we will host a community bulletin board and calendar to assist desired connections. Please check back often to see what programs and opportunities are being offered and consider, if so inclined, offering one of your own.

By working together we can do great things.

We are continually honored to be able to serve our community, to be entrusted with growing their food, doing so in a way that heals the Earth, and sharing what we know with those who come to learn. We are grateful to the support we have received from our members past and present and to the community at large. We are also grateful to the many others who make our farm community possible. Special thanks go out to the Emter family that has been so kind to let us farm their land. We thank the businesses we serve, like Organics-to-You and Peoples Co-op who regularly buy our wholesale produce; they are our partners in feeding good food to the community. Thanks go out to the wonderful people who run the farmers markets we attend and to those who run/have run markets anywhere; your hard work has allowed local agriculture to grow. We must also include our suppliers and customers and all the amazing folks who have worked here as employees, interns and volunteers. And of course we have a deep gratitude to our family and close friends. The efforts of all of these people have helped us become a community in the truest sense of the word. Thank you all!

Last year we embarked on a more formal change in direction. For many years we functioned as most farm enterprises do, as a family farm. Several years ago we started hosting guest workers and enjoyed the sharing and interaction those visits provided. People came to stay with us from around the globe and it was exciting to meet and engage with them. It was great to observe the near universal enjoyment of working together to grow food in a sustainable way and then sitting down together to share good conversation and the food we grew together. These visits showed us that ecologically sensitive farms have more to offer than just fresh, local, chemical-free produce; there is something special in this life on the land.

With these experiences fresh in mind we made the decision to encourage our community members to experience a closer connection to us, our farm and the Earth. We want more than a farmer-consumer relationship with those who buy and consume what we grow and process. We began this effort last season by hosting educational and social events at the farm. We hosted work parties, field-to-table dinners and farm tours. Going forward we hope to continue this outreach and will be developing programs that we hope will draw more folks to our farm. We want to share the knowledge and pleasure of working the land – creating what we need together to live a more self-sufficient, healthful and fun-filled life. Have a look at the classes and programs we will be offering throughout the year and make a plan to visit our community farm, you’ll be glad you did!

Ecological Farming: This year, we will continue our work of providing jobs, education and food grown without man-made pesticides or fertilizers at a “Beyond Organic” level of safety and environmental sensitivity. As we strive to find better and more responsive ways to live sustainably on the Earth, we plan to explore the development of a certification that reflects a “beyond organic” standard of environmental stewardship. We will also continue our development of inventions, like our Eco-winder, to make small scale farming viable and sustainable.

Below you will find links to the programs we will be offering this year. Please note that we have added a NE Portland distribution location to our newly organized Food Co-op so now most close-in quadrants of the city will be served by our low-cost, pure and natural food service. We look forward to seeing you at the markets, stands and farm this year. Have a happy and healthy 2013!