By Ellen Spitaleri
Laura Masterson loves growing food for people, and in 1996, when she moved to a house with a double, oversized lot on SE 47th Ave. in the Woodstock neighborhood, she came to that space with a mission to grow fresh, local produce year round. That mission is still going strong 30 years later, still in that same location, now called the 47th Ave. Farm.
One of the reasons for the success of Masterson’s 30-year mission is that she started small, using the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model. “I gathered my friends together and explained about the idea of a CSA, telling them they could become shareholders and visit the garden once a week to pick up produce,” she said.
The significance of having a successful CSA in the Woodstock area, Masterson says, was she was lucky enough to “be in the right place at the right time,” just as the CSA concept was growing.
Starting small with friends and neighbors as shareholders eventually allowed her to expand, and helped her figure out what kinds of produce people wanted, so nothing goes to waste.
A CSA presents the opportunity for people to partner with farmers by providing financial assistance to them so they can bring shareholders the freshest, sustainably farmed produce. Masterson’s CSA is unique, in that it offers fresh produce in the spring and summer, but also continues from November through April, providing greens, root vegetables, herbs and more. Masterson noted that she does have some shares left but noted that people should go to the 47th Ave. Farm website to see what options are available.
“People can buy a sampler share or a single box or a half-share,” she said. She likes the model where people come together once a week at 47th Ave. Farm during the summer growing season and once every other week during the winter season. They gather around a big wooden table and choose their own produce from what is on offer, so it “keeps the community in the CSA.” She added that she relishes the opportunity to interact with the shareholders and she also loves to hear them sharing ideas about how to use the fresh produce.
Masterson has also partnered with local farmers to offer eggs from Terra Farma in Corbett and fruit from Kiyokawa Family Orchards in Hood River. She noted that she also partners with SE Portland restaurants, supplying produce to Gino’s, Nostrana and Bergerac, among others.
Although shareholders come to the Woodstock site to pick up what is on offer, Masterson noted that most of the produce is actually grown at her Grand Island farm in Dayton, which has “some of the best soil and water in the Willamette Valley.”
Masterson acquired that 38-acre location more than 10 years ago, when she decided she really wanted to work the land with horses. “I plow with them, I cultivate with them and I even weed with them,” she noted.
The Dayton location also gives her the opportunity to offer full-time employment at the farm; positions include farm manager, a tractor person and a harvest crew. “It’s great for me, as there are more people helping out and I am teaching the next generation of farmers,” Masterson said.
For now, Masterson is delighted to have found her true calling running her CSA at 47th Ave. Farm in Woodstock. People in Portland “love food, they love farmers and they love buying local,” Masterson said.
Her spring and summer season CSA began May 19, with offerings of spring greens, including baby broccoli and baby chard. She added, “There are lots of shapes, flavors and textures in mustard and Asian greens—it is an explosion of colors in the freshness of spring.”
For more information about 47th Ave. Farm’s CSA program, visit 47thavefarm.com.
Laura Masterson shows off a cornucopia of fresh veggies available to her CSA shareholders, including leeks, kale, potatoes and cabbages. Photo by Kim Bui.
