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Ready-To-Make Meal Kit Fundraiser

HDFFA’s Harvest Box Fundraiser is Friday, October 7th! Pre-order a locally sourced meal kit to help support local food access

The High Desert Food & Farm Alliance (HDFFA) is celebrating its 3rd Annual Harvest Box Fundraiser– thoughtfully curated meal kits featuring local ingredients from Central Oregon farmers, ranchers and specialty food producers.

You can choose from two options: a ready-to-make meal kit for either two or four people, or a two-person VIP meal fully prepared by chef Thor Erikson of the Cascade Culinary Institute (CCI). Both are available now for pre-order.

Each meal kit is designed by HDFFA and includes all the ingredients needed for a three-course meal: recipes for an appetizer and entree, a prepared dessert, your choice of beverage and a Spotify playlist for you to enjoy while you cook. Choose between Vietnamese style Pork Meatballs w/ Brothy Rice or Roasted Cauliflower Steaks w/ Chermoula, Crispy Chickpeas and Garlicky Greens. Kits are available with vegetarian, dairy and gluten-free options. The delectable VIP meal is designed and made by a Cascade Culinary Institute chef and will be ready to eat as soon as you pick it up!

To participate, purchase your meal kit online at HDFFA’s Store by Friday, September 23rd. On October 7th, folks can pick up their order at the Cascade Culinary Institute where HDFFA will deliver right to your car! Interested in delivery? Pay an extra $10 and HDFFA will deliver your meal directly to your home. Event details are on HDFFA’s homepage or at hdffa.org/harvestbox22.

“Since 2018, HDFFA has provided over 13,600 meals through our Fresh Harvest Kit project. This annual fundraiser takes that meal kit model and allows us to showcase many of the remarkable Partners we work with, while also raising awareness and funds for our programs. We hope this event further connects our community to local food in a fun and interactive way.” -Katrina Van Dis, Executive Director

HDFFA believes everyone deserves good food–defined as fresh, affordable and culturally appropriate foods that are sustainably produced in Central Oregon. As part of their mission, HDFFA improves access to local food from regional farmers for limited-income residents through various programs. Proceeds from this event will support their Food Access and Agricultural Support programs. This includes the Fresh Harvest Kit project: HDFFA collaborates with local farms and hunger relief agencies to offer meal kits at regional food pantries and community organizations. These ready-to-make meal kits combine fresh vegetables and pantry staples, along with a recipe, to create a nutritious and delicious meal on a budget.

Capital that Builds Communities
It's about more than the rate of return for Craft3's Turner Waskom who specializes in financing rural and start-up businesses in smaller communities.
It’s about more than the rate of return for Craft3’s Turner Waskom who specializes in financing rural and start-up businesses in smaller communities.

As Turner Waskom sees it, Craft3 is filling a much-needed funding gap for Central Oregon businesses. The Bend office of this Ilwaco, Washington-based community development finance institution makes loans to companies that are unable to access traditional funding sources. “We’re also mission driven,” said Waskom, Craft3’s vice president and senior lender in Bend. “We want to build economic, ecological and family resilience in rural communities.”

Craft3 lends to startups and long-term businesses that may not qualify for a traditional bank loan for a variety of reasons. The company may be too new, not meet a bank’s requirements or need a complicated financial solution. Craft3 receives its funding via investment partnerships and loans from nonprofit foundations and large financial institutions, and lends money at a slightly higher-than-average interest rate. “We’re never anyone’s final solution, but we’re good partners,” said Waskom.

Since opening its Bend office in 2013, Craft3 has provided vital capital to well-known Central and Eastern Oregon companies. It facilitated a $10 million loan to Fry Foods last year, so that the company could purchase and reopen an onion processing plant in Ontario, Oregon. The deal will create more than 300 jobs in one of the most economically depressed areas of the state.

Craft3 was also instrumental in helping Skjersaa’s ski shop maintain its business and relocate. It provided funding to help Redmond-based Straw Propeller grow and Rat Hole Brewery to launch. Craft3 has also invested in the Bend Venture Conference and Cascade Angels. So far, there is a steady need for capital sources, and Waskom anticipates that will continue. “There’s such a strong entrepreneurial spirit here,” said Waskom. “I can’t believe how many small businesses are growing in the area.”

— Kelly Kearsley

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