Members of the community crop-sharing can pick up their weekly box of fresh produce at Evergreen Family Farm, La Grande, shown here on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, or at the farmers markets in La Grande or Joseph. Boxes can also be delivered to customers doorsteps for a small fee.

LA GRANDE — Agriculturalists Sarah Fischer and her husband, Nik Hackney, anticipate a good community crop-sharing season this summer at their business, Evergreen Family Farm, 62402 Evergreen Road, La Grande.

“We established Evergreen Family Farm in spring 2020 after we purchased our property here in the summer of 2019,” Fischer said.

Her husband, Hackney, is a seventh generation Eastern Oregonian who has always loved farming. He started as a teen with a big garden at his grandmother’s house on Booth Lane. As a young adult, his agricultural interests led him to visiting other countries, including Norway, to learn how they grow foods organically.

“He also spent years working at a well-established organic farm in the Willamette Valley,” Fischer said.

Fischer, who has a degree in English literature, also enjoys farming and worked with students on a farm school. Fischer and Hackney’s occupations intersected in 2015 at a farm where they both worked called Up the River Organics outside of Eugene.

One might say their relationship grew organically from that point. After they married, they rented a place on Mount Glen Road, where they established their first farm business, Mount Glen Family Farm, during 2018-2019. There they experimented with community crop-sharing for the first time, and Fischer’s co-workers at Eastern Oregon University were their trial-run customers. This experience seeded the ground for a long-term program on a farm of their own.

In the summer of 2019, they bought their property on Evergreen Road, where they are currently operating Evergreen Family Farm and developing their crop-sharing business.

Community crop-sharing

Community crop-sharing caters to people who love to eat fresh foods and organically grown produce. At Evergreen Family Farm, customers may subscribe to a season of weekly fresh produce and/or fresh-cut flowers.

“For 20 weeks from mid-June to late October, people can sign up and commit to the whole season and they receive a box of fresh produce at peak season every week,” Fischer said.

The boxes come in two choices to accommodate family sizes. The standard box holds seven or eight different produce items for a $28 a week subscription, and the small box with three or produce items is $18 a week.

“Once you sign up, you can choose to pick up your box at the farm or at the farmers markets at La Grande and Joseph, or have them delivered to your doorstep for a small fee,” Fischer explained.

About midsummer Evergreen Family Farm shows its appreciation for its subscribers by hosting a pizza party and, in the fall, giving away free pumpkins.

WIC, SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks

There are several food programs available that help families buy Evergreen Family Farm produce and eat healthier meals. These programs include WIC, SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks.

“If people pick up their boxes at farmers market, they can utilize their SNAP benefits to buy the box and use the market’s Double Up Food Bucks to buy double the quantity,” Fischer said. “So, a $20 SNAP purchase turns into a $40 value using the Double Up Food Bucks program.”

The main goal at Evergreen Family Farm is to be sure that everyone who wants fresh food every week, all summer, can get it regardless of their economic circumstances.

Other outlets

Besides participating at area farmers markets, Evergreen Family Farm also sells wholesale produce to the Liberty Theater Cafe on Adams Avenue in La Grande. Once the season gets started, Fischer said they stock the refrigerator there during cafe hours.

In addition, through a Northeast Oregon Regional Food Bank grant, Evergreen Family Farm will supply a large wholesale order each week to the regional food bank that will be distributed to families in Baker, Wallowa, Grant and Union counties.

“In late summer,” Fischer added, “the public can participate in our U-pick sunflowers.”

People can sign up for a subscription to Evergreen Family Farm’s crop-sharing program at www.evergreenfamilyfarm.com. Information is also available on the farm’s Facebook page.

The farm also puts out a weekly newsletter for subscribers with recipes and farm updates.

Evergreen Family Farm grows a variety of foods. This year’s vegetable crops include salad greens, spinach, potatoes, radishes, tomatoes, turnips, cucumbers, green beans and sweet corn.