Cully Community Market Portland, OR
sustainable urban farming + economic opportunity + community marketplace
www.cullycommunitymarket.org

Cully Community Market is a new twist on an old favorite. This unique neighborhood farmers market is focused on providing economic opportunity to a historically underserved neighborhood while providing affordable access to healthy, locally grown foods. Each Sunday neighbors gather to buy, sell and trade things they've grown or created and connect with their community. 

According to the 2010 census, the Cully neighborhood is the most diverse neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. It has also been labeled a "food desert" which means that people haven't had very many good options for healthy, affordable foods. Visionary Cully residents started the market in 2009 with dreams of growing the weekly event into a cornerstone of our community. Cully Community Market brings together a wide range of neighbors and celebrates our diversity.

The market gives increased access to nourishing, locally produced foods- including produce from our neighborhood's own urban farm. As a free launch pad for emerging entrepreneurs, the market encourages neighbors to sell their wares including fruits and vegetables grown in their yard and patio gardens. These "Community Tables" are a highlight of the event and draw a wide range of participants from kids selling crafts to DIY rainwater collection systems, to garden grown fruits and vegetables.  We also feature a prepared food vendor that are participants in a local program that gives micro loans, mostly to Latina women, so that they can set up mini-restaurants such as food carts and fair vending booths.

We are committed to making the market as green as possible by recycling and composting as much as possible.  Food scraps that are collected and composted and returned to our neighborhood gardens and farm. We also partnered with a local restaurant to provide dish washing services for our reusable dishware. Using reusable dishes not only decreases our waste, it creates a picnic atmosphere where people sit down to enjoy tamales, yakisoba noodles, or baked treats with their neighbors.

The market runs on all volunteer labor with a very modest budget based on small grants from local businesses and the City of Portland. Getting a Green Grant would allow us to expand our partnership with the prepared food vendors, take even greater steps to green our market by adding in more reusable dishware. The grant would also help us get into a partnership with a local food preservation group so we can teach people how to pickle and can food so that they can enjoy the summer's bounty all year round. This partnership would also provide an opportunity for another budding businessperson to sell the preserved goods outside of the market season. With a grant we'd also be able to reach out to even more neighbors with cooking classes that use neighborhood grown produce in culturally distinct dishes. 

Our Mission: "We are working together to make affordable, healthy food available in our community, to bring neighbors together, and to create a place where people can sell or trade the things they grow or make in our neighborhood. This outdoor market is a community gathering space, nurturing cross-cultural relationships and economic opportunity in our neighborhood."