OUR WORK

Oregon Rural Action has led the way in enhancing and developing local farmers’ markets throughout Northeastern Oregon.

We have compiled and published a Food and Farm Directory for Northeast Oregon in order to build our local foods systems and better make the connection between farm and plate.

In 2010 Oregon Rural Action joined U.C. Fit Kids in launching the first Farm to School program in Eastern Oregon. Already the program is making great strides in working to ensure that students in Union County have access to nutritious school meals that connect them with the agricultural economy of the area and support local foods and farmers.

Oregon Rural Action members have implemented a Food Literacy educational curriculum to be taught to La Grande 1st graders. Once a month, members of Oregon Rural Action volunteer to teach classes about where our food comes from and the various ways in which it is grown and produced.

As part of a coalition of family farm and environmental groups, Oregon Rural Action is working to make Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) comply to the Federal Clean Air Act and allow rural neighbors of these factory farms to have a say in their location.

Oregon Rural Action is working to increase access to healthy, locally grown meat. 

• Read more about the early stages of our campaign.
• Read our Local Foods Resolution.
  
  

Members of the Blue Mountain Chapter, Columbia Basin Chapter and Snake River Chapter have community garden projects meant to assist in the healthy food needs of low-income people in our area as well as promote greater homegrown prosperity.

Members of the Blue Mountain Chapter have worked to amend the La Grande municipal code to allow a small number of chickens and rabbits to be kept in backyards within city limits. Read about the campaign.

Social Justice

Working with the Oregon Food Bank, members of the Snake River Chapter of Oregon Rural Action have created a community garden to supply fresh produce to the food pantries.

Several years ago, Snake River Chapter members uncovered significant racial and personal bias within their local Malheur County Food Stamp Program and successfully implemented policy and procedure changes to insure fair and equitable treatment of all.

Snake River Chapter members also were successful in their efforts to reform the local water shutoff policy in Ontario in order to ensure that low income residents did not lose their access to water for missing a payment.

Oregon Rural Action has participated in a state-wide coalition advocating for fundamental health care reform and lobbying our local state representatives to support measures to increase access to health care for our rural Eastern Oregon residents.

Locally Generated, Clean, Renewable Energy

Drawing on the Energy Policy Position that members created in 2001, Oregon Rural Action has long supported small-scale community-based renewable energy development. The Board of Directors reaffirmed this position in 2010 amidst rising controversy throughout the rural West over mega wind farm projects. Read their statement.

Oregon Rural Action sponsored two community forums on residential solar hot water heating systems resulting in fourteen homes in Baker and Union counties converting their homes existing electric or gas hot water heaters to a solar.

Oregon Rural Action members are addressing Climate Change. Due in part to the testimonies and letters of our members Oregon now has in place the most comprehensive Renewable Energy Standard in the nation. Many Eastern Oregon counties are already reaping the economic benefits of renewable energy development such as wind energy, biomass and biofuels production.

Oregon Rural Action took part in WORC's Homegrown Prosperity Renewable Energy Tour, hosting a converted school bus that was painted green and rain on biodiesel. Members put on events in communities throughout Eastern Oregon to promote local foods, renewable energy, green construction, energy efficiency, and good paying jobs for rural areas.

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