The Food Action Team aims to increase the demand and consumption of locally and sustainably produced food, support home gardening, and ensure that all community members have access to enough food for a healthy & active lifestyle.
Food Action Team Volunteers manage multiple events each year to increase local food consumption and collaborate with other community organizations to support home gardening and a robust, resilient food shed.
PROJECTS & EVENTS
Corvallis Public Seed Library
The Corvallis Public Seed Library is a collaborative project between the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition and the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, with educational support from the OSU Extension Service. Located at the Corvallis Library downtown, the Public Seed Library is volunteer run, and stocked exclusively with donated vegetable, herb and flower seed commercial packets. It offers free seeds and educational events including lectures by local area experts, and pop-up plant clinic tables staffed by Benton County Master Gardeners to help answer vegetable gardening questions. Open to all for personal use. This is a seed-sharing library to share sustenance — to help people grow more food locally, and to benefit pollinators and home garden ecosystems, too.
Farm to Table Month
Farm to Table Month is an annual event that encourages local restaurants to source more ingredients from the Local 6 area. Local 6 refers to products grown, produced, or processed by farms or businesses owned and operated within the six counties touching and including Benton County (Benton, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, and Polk). The goal of this event is to increase the percentage of locally produced food consumed by the community in order to create a vibrant and secure local food system.
It’s On Us Corvallis
It’s On Us Corvallis pays local restaurants to make meals for the community. IOU Corvallis helps the local economy by distributing gift cards to locally owned businesses so people who may not otherwise be able to afford to eat there can, and can pay full price.IOU Corvallis distributes gift cards through local start-up Kuto.
Garden Resource Guide
The Corvallis Garden Resource Guide is your one-stop shop guide of home garden resources for those interested in growing their own food. The guide is updated every January. Printed guides are available or view a PDF online and print your own.
Neighborhood Planters Kiosk (NPK)
Neighborhood Planters Kiosks (NPKs) are colorful front-yard kiosks hosted by Corvallis residents to share their love of gardening, growing food, and community. Weekly flyers are posted with educational materials and announcements. To view previous posts visit their blog. This project is managed in collaboration with the Corvallis Evening Gardening Club, Benton County Master Gardeners, and the City of Corvallis Civic Beautification & Urban Forestry Group.
Edible Garden Tours
Tours stop at several gardens, where residents give a brief overview of their garden — how they transformed the space, selected what to plant, and overcame any challenges. Between presentations there is time for questions and exploration.
A list of valuable gardening and food resources can be found here.