Cultivating Wellness: Our New Journey - Supporting Food Security at Warm Springs

Around The Bend Farms (ATBF) is thrilled to announce an alliance that promises a harvest of health and hope. We've recently embarked on a mission with the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance (HDFFA) to fulfill the VeggieRX program, aiming to nourish the lives of at least 30 members of the Warm Springs Reservation community, weekly throughout the harvest season of 2024. We are also working with administrators at the Health & Human Services to facilitate a healthy food system on the reservation.

Our newly leased .4 acre of fertile farmland in Deschutes River Woods stands as the canvas where our shared vision will flourish. Currently, the land is being tenderly prepared to over-winter, ensuring that when spring breathes life back into the earth, it will be ready to burst forth with a bounty of nutritious vegetables. This meticulous preparation has involved local goats happily eating weeds and volunteers generously contributing their labor efforts, as a testament to our commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly efforts.

The VeggieRX program is a beacon of wellness, where vegetables are prescribed to promote health, prevent disease, and nourish the body and spirit. In collaboration with HDFFA, we are dedicated to cultivating not just produce, but a thriving community where access to fresh and local vegetables is a reality for everyone, particularly the residents of Warm Springs.  Members will receive the vegetable boxes for free, included in which are accessible recipes for preparation of hearty meals.  Excess food grown at our farm will go to the Warm Springs Food Bank and Homeless shelter.

We stand on the grounds of reliability, organization, and ethical goodness. Our hands are in the dirt, but our vision soars high - envisioning a community empowered by access to healthy food. We invite you to join us in this meaningful journey. Your support and belief in our mission play a crucial role in sowing seeds of change and wellness in our community.

Together, let’s cultivate a garden where wellness blooms and communities thrive.

Successful food farming at The Giving Plate

The indoor hydroponic farm at The Giving Plate will be seeing some very exciting changes over the next several months. Our team is planning to increase the yield so that we can offer even more fresh produce to families in need in Oregon. We knew that this project would initially be a “test” to see how well the installation would perform, and it exceeded our expectations.

We thank KTVZ News for covering our story!

Now, we are at the point where we need to look at future growing capacity. The Giving Plate has seen their food demand increase tremendously over the past 2 years, and it’s safe to assume that the projection will show a continued increase. Our team is working collaboratively with The Giving Plate to ensure that fresh produce is widely available to their very deserving guests.

We Completed Our 2020 Project with a local Food Pantry in Bend

We started this project with the idea that we could help a local food pantry grow and serve fresh greens to their clientele. What we didn’t know was what would unfold during the process - a major pandemic that threatened the entire fate of the project. But…we were able to stay on track with it, and today that local food pantry is successfully growing lettuce and kale inside of their facility! It has also been a joy to work with The Giving Plate, and we look forward to continuing to support them in their endeavor to offer fresh produce to their guests. I am so proud of our team, and their level of hard work and commitment to see this project through is something that I hope to never forget.

You can read about our project in the Bend Bulletin.

There’s something really amazing going on inside of this room.

Our Project Manager uses a deft hand to transplant some lettuce seedlings. She uses the force to do everything else.