Reflections, celebrations, and updates from the Klamath Grown Team, giving you a glimpse into what’s happening behind the scenes. This month’s update is from Executive Director, Rose Clarke:
Our team has been catching our breath a bit as we celebrate our recent successes!
On 10/14, we wrapped up our third successful year of the Summer Harvest Box Collaborative CSA program. This year, 54 households purchased shares and received 16 weeks of seasonal local food. More data, impacts, and testimonials will be shared in the coming weeks as Program Manager Delaney crunches the numbers and looks over customer survey input. Congratulations on another amazing year, Delaney; thank you for all your hard work creating beautiful boxes each week! I also have to call out our Volunteer Extraordinaire, Julie Muller, who helped pack Harvest Boxes and custom orders most weeks, and to our KG Driver, Jake Bennett, who somehow managed to deliver 19 Harvest Boxes PLUS our normal online orders and satellite locations every Wednesday! It truly takes a team to put on a program like this.
Last week, we launched our first Fall Harvest Box CSA - a bit smaller and shorter (only 6 weeks!) but still a HUGE benefit to our local Producers and fun for our customers to enjoy the flavors and colors of the season!
The Harvest Box program will likely expand in 2027, as it is a winning model for everyone involved. Stay tuned for more as we reflect on lessons from 2026 and make plans for 2027.
With the launch of the Fall Harvest Boxes, we also kicked off our first season of a new Klamath Veggie Prescription (Rx) Program thanks to RHTP funding through the Oregon Community Food System Network. This funding allows us to designate up to 20 sponsored shares of Harvest Boxes for community members struggling with diet-related chronic illness and food insecurity. We are partnering with the Sky Lakes Wellness Center Lifestyle Change program to enroll eligible Cascade Health Alliance members this Fall, and will have more shares available in the Spring. If you are interested in learning more, contact Delaney: delaney@klamathgrown.org / 541-238-5156
Thursday 10/22 was the Oregon Crunch at Once, a statewide Farm-to-School celebration which we’ve been planning for throughout the year! Students at schools throughout Klamath County crunched into fresh carrots from Klamath Falls and Bend, or apples from the Rogue Valley, in a show of appreciation for fresh local food. Thanks to pre-season planning, Sweet Union Farm on Crystal Lake Rd was able to grow carrots for the City Schools, Head Start, and Friendship Academy. We connected the County School District to Kitchen Sync Strategies and Agricultural Connections, and they were able to source carrots from Boundless Homestead in Bend.
This was a perfect example of the web of collaboration required to get food from farms to plates!
17 Local Producers, One Collaborative Booth
We finished the 2026 Klamath Falls Farmers Market season with a busy and beautiful final market last Saturday. Our Collaborative Booth pilot, which we ran for eight weeks during September and October, was a response to a lack of produce vendors at the Market this year, and was only possible thanks to an anonymous sponsor who supported the staff time required to assemble product, sell, and pay 17 participating Producers. Thank you, appreciated sponsor!
We learned a lot and will be debriefing with Farmers Market, Producer, and Partner representatives to make improvements and aim to support these sort of “incubator booths” around the County next year. Alessandra, our Communications Manager (who wears so many more hats!) dedicated the past two months of her weekends to this effort we’re so thankful that she was willing to step up to make sure people could get their veggies at Market!
We also really appreciate the support of Farmers Market Manager, Charlie, board members Renea and Patty, Discover Klamath staff, and the many Farmers who stepped up to help at the booth.
Harvest Fundraiser Success!
ALSO on 10/24 (it was a really busy day!!) we held our second-ever Farm-to-Table Fundraiser hosted by The Tasting Room in downtown Klamath Falls! The weather was absolutely perfect - sunny with a crisp fall breeze - and chefs Eric and Sarah Basangan had prepared an amazing spread of delicious cozy dishes. The whole afternoon was complimented by the best selection of Oregon wines, including my favorite Frontenac made by Volcanic Winery in Merrill. Between ticket sales and the 50/50 raffle, the day raised $2,685 for Klamath Grown!
The Harvest Party was the culmination of our month-long Harvest Fundraiser, our first ever fundraising campaign. Our goal for this campaign was to establish a foundation of monthly donors to help offset monthly expenses, and to support Klamath Grown during a time of growth and transition as we get our feet under us with our first organizational strategic plan.
Highlights of the Harvest Fundraising Campaign:
You helped us raise $9,154.88 total in the past month!
12 local donors have committed to contributing $330 per month
PLUS our $100 per month incentive match from Scanlan Financial Group = $430 per month / $5,280 per year total to offset base operating expenses (rent, utilities, software subscriptions)
We held four amazing events during the campaign, which also helped us meet people and raise awareness for what we do.
Our total amount raised fell short of our $20,000 goal, but we absolutely consider this a huge win and we appreciate EVERYONE who helped by donating, volunteering, promoting our events, and by supporting our very tired team members along the way.
Our Board and Staff will be meeting in November to prioritize and round out our Strategic Plan, including what we want to accomplish in the next three years. Our goal is to have our plan in-hand by January, and I look forward to sharing it and working with our team and partners on achieving those goals!
Finally, looking forward to 2027, we are so thankful to have received a $17,000 Economic Development grant from Klamath County to Grow and Sustain Growers! This, together with recently awarded funding from the Circle of Hearts Giving Circle and the Roundhouse Foundation, will allow us to do some wonderful work next year. We will be calling together a project kickoff meeting with partners in the coming weeks. For more information, contact Rose: rose@klamathgrown.org / 541-203-3563
Throughout all this, our year-round local food market has marched on and will continue through December 16, after which we will break for the holidays. Our team recently reflected that time at Klamath Grown is measured by days till the next Wednesday - it’s challenging and amazing at the same time! Thank you so much to our Market Manager, Trace, for keeping things moving each week and for working with Producers and Customers to address questions and concerns!
Please come see us, say hi, and enjoy free live music sponsored by the City of Klamath Falls at our First Wednesday market on 11/4 from 3:30-6:30pm.
THANK YOU for being part of our network and for sharing our vision of a resilient local food system in the Klamath Basin.
- Rose Clarke
