Need Food?
Free Local Harvest Food Boxes Now Available Oregon Producers Feeding Oregon Communities
Grants Pass, OR: The Josephine County Farm Collective announces free locally grown food boxes available to residents who are experiencing hunger throughout Josephine County. Residents can build an ala carte box of food items through an online marketplace and pick up from one of the ten centralized locations available. Food items include organic and locally grown fruit, vegetables, beef, chicken, herbs, eggs, seasonings, breads, bagels, nut butters, rice blends, jams, wheat flour, coffee beans, goat cheese and more! Each box is valued at $42, but you can customize it to be less or more to meet your needs. Harvest boxes can be ordered through the Josephine County Farm Collective website at www.jcfarmcollective.org The ordering period opens each week on Mondays and closes Tuesdays at 6pm with pick up scheduled for the following week. When checking out online, use coupon code, “OFB2023”. Ten boxes a week are available until food supplies and/or funding is depleted.
The Josephine County Farm Collective is a food hub made up of small farms, ranches and businesses who produce food, cut flowers and animal sourced fiber. Their mission is to provide the community with greater access to local agricultural products and educational opportunities while strengthening the economic viability of producers through collaborative efforts. This regional food hub of local producers works together to share resources, provide education and mentorship, and deliver fresh, healthy food to our community.
Since June 1, 2023 the Josephine County Farm Collective has delivered over 2,000 lbs of fresh, locally grown food to the Josephine County Food Bank. This food is distributed, usually the same or next day, through the 13 food pantries geographically located between Wolf Creek and Cave Junction. Executive Producer, Carrie Juchau, states “The rural geographical sprawl of farms makes outreach to residents very difficult. Our producers come from seven surrounding counties in Southern Oregon. As a result, an online farmers marketplace with delivery and multiple pick up locations was formed to better serve the community.” This free community food distribution is made possible by grant funds awarded by Oregon Food Bank and Oregon Food Hub Network, a working group of Oregon Community Food Systems Network. This local procurement funding provides a living income for producers and delivers unparallelled food freshness through the community. Together these producers, with community partners, are attempting to fill the gaps in the traditional food supply system by building a resilient and robust local food system network.
If you would like to learn more about the Josephine County Farm Collective, volunteer or donate to our mission, please contact us through our website at jcfarmcollective.org.
Josephine County Farm Collective
Carrie Juchau, Executive Director