May 2025 Newsletter

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Klamath Grown Brings Fresh Local Food To The Community

Last summer, 40 boxes of local, seasonal produce were delivered each week to families all around Klamath County and we're ready to send out boxes again this year! These lucky folks were the first to participate in Klamath Grown’s brand new food box delivery program which began this past summer. We partnered with 13 producers to run a Harvest Box program, our name for a collective Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The producers grew and delivered the food to our pickup site, then Klamath Grown packed local food boxes with mixed vegetables, fruits, honey and jam throughout the summer season. One participant who looked forward to receiving their Harvest Box each week said, “This is a gem in our community and we are grateful to be able to enjoy and support it!”.

Klamath Grown is a non-profit food hub that supports local growers and producers and operates a year-round online farmers market. It’s our mission to bring people together around local food, and this program did just that by delivering fresh produce to many different groups in our community. We wanted to organize a Harvest Box program because we are always looking for more ways to get healthy food to those who need it. After talking to our partners, it was clear that the people they serve were asking for more fresh and local food options. We also heard from our farmers that CSAs are frequently requested by their customers, but they often don’t have the staff capacity or time to organize them during the busy summer season.

It took a lot of people and organizations working together to make this program come work. As the Program Coordinator, it was my job to communicate between our partner organizations and our farmers to ensure success. Along with selling these boxes on our Online Market, we also collaborated with two local organizations supporting food access in Klamath County. We received grant funding from Cascade Health Alliance and the USDA to supplement Harvest Boxes for Klamath Tribal Health & Family Services (KTHFS) Diabetes program and Integral Youth Services (IYS) Mobile Hub program. With the help from Aislyn Ukpik, Joseph Tibay, Taylor Hampton, the Klamath Grown team, we served a total of 190 families with the boxes including providing recipe cards, newsletters, and educational materials to help people learn how to use the variety of produce in their box.

If you’re not familiar with CSA programs, the idea is that customers pay up-front for a box containing a mix of the fresh produce from a local farm throughout the season. This is ideal for families or people who travel and might miss out on weekend farmers markets, or are busy and have limited time to shop.The CSA model also benefits farmers who have high costs at the start of the season (seed, labor, supplies, etc) bringing in revenue early before they have any product ready to sell. These programs often lead people to eat more vegetables and fruits, and the boxes typically contain a wider variety of produce than a customer would normally buy. Many of these programs, ours included, also contain recipes and educational materials to help consumers use the items in their box.

After such success in year one, we are happy to offer this program again next summer! Interested in joining us? Sign-up for our newsletter to be the first to know about the 2025 Harvest Box program and reserve your spot! You can also find local food year-round on our Online Market: http://www.klamathgrown.org/market. We currently offer 3 different pick-up locations in Klamath including: Sky Lakes Medical Center, Running Y Resort, and Herald & News Building. You can also stop by our pick up site at the Herald & News Building (2701 Foothills Blvd) on Wednesdays between 4-7pm to shop for local food in-person.

A special thanks for our participating Harvest Box producers:

Belweather Farm, Bonnie Nork, Danish Honey Farms, Easy Growing, Ella Bella Farm, Fresh Green Organic Garden, Maranatha Farm, Red Buttes Farm, Rosemary & Maxine's Best, Sweet Union Farm, Temple Mushrooms, Whole Life Gardens

Black-Eyed Peas and Greens

Comforting and filling, this recipe is easy to make for New Year’s luck any time of the year.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chopped celery (optional)
½ cup chopped bell pepper or 2 to 4 Tablespoons chopped hot pepper (optional)
4 cups low-sodium broth (try vegetable or chicken) 
1 cup dry black-eyed peas, soaked in 3 cups water for at least 6 hours and rinsed (see Notes)
1 teaspoon paprika (regular or smoked)
1 teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt  
3 to 4 cups trimmed and chopped fresh collard greens (about 6 medium leaves) (see Notes)
1 teaspoon vinegar or hot sauce

Directions

1. Wash hands with soap and water.

2. Rinse fresh vegetables under running water before preparing.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet or soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and other vegetables, if desired.  Stir and cook until onions soften, about 5 minutes.

4. Add broth, black-eyed peas, paprika, thyme, pepper and salt.

5. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the peas are tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.

6. Add the greens and stir until they are wilted. Return the mixture to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for 10 to 30 minutes or until the greens are as tender as you like.

7. Add vinegar or hot sauce. Serve with rice or cornbread.

8. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes

• Save stems after trimming from the middle of fresh greens to cook with onion, garlic and other vegetables.

• No fresh collard greens? Use 1 bunch or about 12 ounces of fresh spinach, chard, kale or other leafy green. You can also use 2 to 3 cups frozen greens or 1 to 2 cans (15 ounce) drained greens. Cooking time will be less in step 6 depending on the greens used.

• No dry black-eyed peas? Use 3 cups frozen black-eyed peas or 2 cans (15-ounces) black-eyed peas that have been drained and rinsed. Cooking time in step 5 will be less.