01 June 2012

Funky Kenton

Kenton Market opens today, June 1st at 3 pm. If you get there early/on-time, there will be an actual ribbon cutting, with what we believe are Portland’s only giant pair of scissors, an apt tool for a community that boasts a statue of Paul Bunyan. The Kenton Market, will happen every Friday on McClellan at Denver Ave from 3 to 7 through the end of September.

One of the most important parts of opening a Farmers Market in a neighborhood is that you have to be invited in by the community members (in this metaphor, PFM is Vampire Bill and Kenton is Sookie). PFM, it’s farmers, growers and ranchers are excited to be teamed up with the Kenton Neighborhood Association and excited to work with local restaurants and neighboring businesses including Cason’s Fine Meats, E-San Thai Cuisine, Kenton Station, Pizza Fino, Po’shines Café, Posies Bakery and Café, and others will stay open to engage with market vendors and shoppers on Market nights.

Another great Portland community member, Urban Gleaners will be participating in the new Market. Urban Gleaners collects leftover and unused food and distributes to organizations who help families working through household food scarcity issues. This is doubly nice because food banks aren’t always able to work with fresh produce. You can read more about Urban Gleaners here or you can respond to a message from Emily at Urban Gleaners: “Urban Gleaners will be picking up for the next few weeks from the Portland Farmers Market Kenton location. Fridays at 6:45pm. Let us know if you are interested helping us collect this bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables for during the month of June! Email us at emily@urbangleaners.org

As someone who has resided in the 97217 zipcode for the last decade, the addition of a Farmers Market is another positive step for neighborhoods that haven’t always had a full service grocery store within a mile of many of its residents. Our food options, which have dramatically improved over the last ten years are going to get a little better.

Big thanks to Weinstein PR for putting together the list of vendors below.

Our Kenton Market Vendors

About 20 vendor stalls will crop up every Friday on the streets of Kenton. Six vendors new to the Portland Farmers Market family – The Good Food Farm, Island’s End Farm, Bushel and Peck Bakeshop, Hot Mama Salsa, Scoop Handmade Ice Cream and Taco Pedaler – will join the Kenton Market lineup.

Overview of New Vendors

  • The Good Food Farm – The Good Food Farm in Silverton, Oregon, grows a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Their wide selection of summer vegetables includes more than 30 varieties of tomatoes both heirloom and hybrid. In addition, they have three acres with 26 varieties of sweet cherries.
  • Island’s End Farm – Based in Cathlamet, Washington, Island’s End Farm grows high quality, organically grown vegetables, promotes the enjoyment of eating leafy greens, and continually nurtures the soil in which they have grown their vegetables for more than 30 years. They also sell small batch kraut, kim chi, jams and jellies.
  • Bushel and Peck Bakeshop – This new NE Portland bakery specializes in modern, nostalgic baked goods.
  • Hot Mama Salsa – Owner Nikki Maria Guerrero hand makes small batch salsas inspired by family recipes. The ingredients she sources locally are grown specifically for her products. Products include salsas, hot sauce, chili oils, chili powders, and blends, and homemade tortilla chips made from white corn.
  • Scoop Handmade Ice Cream – From Portland, Scoop starts with local cream and milk and adds fresh local fruit and berries, organic fair-trade cocoa and other tasty flavors to create delicious hand-crafted, small batch ice creams. Their flavors include Salted Caramel, Triple Threat Ginger, Oatmeal and Brown Sugar, Avocado, Thai Iced Tea and more. They also make vegan sorbets, including strawberry balsamic, basil pineapple and dark chocolate marionberry.
  • Taco Pedaler – Taco Pedaler is a NE Portland green business, serving authentic tacos on traditional Mexican tricycles. Their meats come from Carlton farms, the produce is sourced from local produce venders, and their salsas are made fresh. They pride themselves on being pedal powered and bike to each location with joy.

Farmers and Ranchers

Bakeries and Food Artisans

Prepared Food Vendors

* New vendor

Other Market Locations
With the opening of this location, Portland Farmers Market will operate eight weekly markets – four neighborhood markets: Kenton in North Portland, Northwest in Northwest Portland, King in Northeast Portland and Buckman in Southeast Portland; and four downtown markets: PSU, Pioneer Courthouse Square, Shemanski Park, and the Winter Market. As with all other Portland Farmers Market locations, Kenton market shoppers eligible for SNAP benefits will be able to receive $1 tokens using their Oregon Trail Card to purchase fruit, vegetables, meat, bread, cheese and some baked goods.