Summer is produce season, and the Council on Aging of Central Oregon (CoA) is celebrating the harvest bounty with a freshly established partnership with Seed to Table. Thanks to weekly vegetable donations direct from the four-acre farm in Sisters, OR, CoA will be enriching meals offered through Meals on Wheels and Community Dining programs with kale, salad mix, tomatoes, summer squash, fennel and more, all in-season and picked that week. These two nonprofits are both dedicated to the health and wellness of the Central Oregon community, CoA through its meal programs and nutrition education, and Seed to Table through the K-12 Farm Based Education Program, the Feeding Families food distribution programs and the Sisters Farmers Market.
Seed to Table delivers large bins of ripe produce every Tuesday, and CoA Executive Chef Isaac Mastie incorporates them into the week’s menu. The 80 pounds of produce delivered in the first week became fresh garden salads, braised kale with garbanzo beans, and a roasted root vegetable medley. This partnership with Seed to Table will last through mid-fall, or until the farm goes quiet for the winter.
Seed to Table is a natural partner for CoA because they recognize that systemic injustices perpetuate conditions that sustain poverty and cause hunger. Both organizations are dedicated to improving health and wellness in our community and know that providing fresh produce to Central Oregonians is essential to that mission.
Cathay Lang, CoA’s Director of Nutrition Services, explains the importance of this type of partnership: “5.5 million seniors faced food insecurity in 2021 in the US and that number only seems to be climbing. It is imperative that we as a society provide regular, healthy and nutritious meals to our most vulnerable populations.”
Thanks to Seed to Table, CoA can continue providing fresh produce to Central Oregon’s seniors.
