Volunteer Spotlight

Food Microenterprise Workshop Series

Did you know that many local food business entrepreneurs have started their business ventures either selling products at a farmers' market or using the premium quality ingredients available from vendors at a farmers' market?

The food business entrepreneurship program of the OSU Food Innovation Center Experiment Station (Portland) and the PCC Small Business Development Center are sponsoring a 12-session workshop series that will begin on September 11, 2007. Getting Your Recipe to Market focuses on building a specialty food business from the ground up. Participants will learn how to produce, promote and profit from their business. At the conclusion of the series, participants will hold a mini trade show to gain experience presenting their products and business goals to food buyers, brokers and investors. This is a great way for someone with a food product idea to start a new business.

Interested participants must complete a concept readiness interview as a part of the application process. The 12-week course is scheduled for Tuesday evenings (6:00 - 9:00pm) and costs $1995.

Featured Vendor: Gilson Marine Farms

Hollywood Farmers' Market regulars have been savoring oysters from Gilson Marine Farms since 2001, but few of them likely know of the complex behind-the scenes activities that have brought these delicacies to the Hollywood District each Saturday for six years. Gilson Marine Farms began with a vision to establish a "floating ecosystem" to supplement shrinking land-based farming. Bringing this vision to light involved years of negotiating government regulations, learning how to apply these guidelines, and employing this knowledge to produce the tasty oysters for sale today.

The first step in oyster farming is acquiring a lease from the state of Oregon, which involves the approval of approximately fifteen government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels, a process that takes a year and half to complete. Gilson Marine Farms leases four plats with two in Netarts Bay and two in west Tillamook Bay, two of the cleanest coastal areas in Oregon. A member of the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, Gilson Marine Farms has been active in promoting the concerns of shellfish farmers including environmental, health, regulatory, marketing, and research issues.

John, Dawn, James, and Peter of Gilson Marine Farms are proud of their products and rightfully so. At the Hollywood Farmers' Market, shoppers can buy fresh oysters ranging in size from petite to large, all harvested - handpicked - the night before. In addition, shoppers get tips on how to prepare the oysters to maintain their freshness and enhance their flavor. This season, Gilson Marine Farms has also featured abalone, made possible after further government approval and the establishment of a new greenhouse aquaculture system. With the conversion of one of its four plats to clam farming, Gilson Marine Farms plans to add clams to its future offerings. 

In the coming weeks, market patrons can look for Kumamoto oysters and a new treat - oyster shooters.

- Edited by Lee Smith, HFM Volunteer