Is anyone allowed to gather signatures at the farmers markets?
PFM sites that operate as a licensee of the City of Portland recognize the injunction entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in Gathright vs. the City of Portland, which limits PFM’s authority to control the activities of members of the public attending the market.
Does PFM have gift certificates?
Does PFM have merchandise?
Visit the market information booth to purchase PFM-branded t-shirts, tote bags, cookbooks, beanies, and tea towels.
What does PFM do to reduce waste at their markets?
PFM is dedicated to reducing the ecological footprint of our five markets and inspiring community change. We encourage waste reduction at our farmers markets in the following ways:
Durable Dining Program
Durable Dining is PFM’s initiative to encourage more reuse and less waste at the markets by having hot food vendors at select markets serve their goods exclusively on reusable dishware.
Our market operations team worked with vendors to switch from disposable to durable dishware when the City of Portland changed its commercial composting rules to disallow non-food waste.
Hot food vendors at the Portland State University, Shemanski Park and King Farmers Markets have replaced compostable dishware with durable, reusable bowls, plates, cold cups and flatware.
How does Durable Dining work?
After enjoying a meal, shoppers return their used dishware to the vendor or a conveniently located dish return station throughout the markets.
Customers can also find recycling & waste receptacles and drinking and hand-washing water stations.
Our market staff sorts dishes throughout the day and returns to vendors weekly for washing, sanitizing and service at the next market.
Is Durable Dining more environmentally friendly?
Landfill output at the PSU Farmers Market was reduced significantly, from an average of 25 garbage bags per market to nine.
The market staff works hard to ensure that the compost stream is clean and free of nonorganic matter.
While the resources used to clean the dishes have an environmental footprint, the City of Portland’s Sustainability at Work website shows that the cost benefits of durable dishes triumph over disposables after as few as 17 reuses.
Water Bottle Fill Stations
PFM does not allow the sale of disposable water bottles. Shoppers are encouraged to bring their reusable bottles or cups and use our water bottle fill stations at our markets.
Reusable Shopping Totes and Produce Bags
PFM encourages shoppers to bring reusable shopping bags and totes to the farmers market. If you forgot your bags, we have totes and bags available for purchase at the market information booth.
What happens to the leftover food at the end of the market day?
PFM works with local social service agencies to establish the gleaning of food contributions at the end of each market day. These agencies are an excellent resource for distributing your unsold product to the local community in need.
Does PFM allow peddlers at their markets? May I come to the market unannounced and sell my crafts/merchandise?