Oregon Agriculture — Grow it, find it, prepare it, enjoy it!
Celebrate Oregon Agriculture videos bring you tips for enjoying Oregon’s farms, ranches, and food artisans with your family. We have more than 37,000 family farms growing more than 220 amazing products. Because of our world-class soils and mild climate, many think we grow the world’s greatest food.
Join the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Specialist, Michelle Markesteyn Ratcliffe, for monthly segments featuring fresh ideas on getting your family involved in growing, cooking, and eating local foods. Michelle offers fun and easy tips for busy families on where to find and enjoy Oregon food and agricultural products. Michelle’s background includes a PhD in Agriculture, Food and the Environment from Tufts University. She lives in the Willamette Valley on a 4-acre farm with her husband and 2 young boys.
Celebrate Oregon Agriculture segments air on KATU’s AM Northwest and are brought to you by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Agri-Business Council of Oregon, Whole Foods Market, NORPAC and Edible Portland.
NATIONAL AGRICULTURE WEEK
In celebration of National Agriculture week, KATU’s AM Northwest produced a series of videos starring Oregon farmers, ranchers and fishers. Watch and enjoy the bounty of foods that Oregon produces!
VIDEO: GET YOUR FAMILY’S GARDEN STARTED
Learn simple ways to start a garden today, so you can reap the bounty this summer. Be sure to involve your kids — if they grow their own vegetables, they will eat them!
Helpful links:
VIDEO: GARDENING IN OUR SCHOOLS
Exposing kids to gardening does more than provide fun times digging in the dirt — it also helps them reap a host of healthy benefits. Schools are doing just that by showing kids where real food comes from — the ground!
Helpful links:
- How to bring agriculture into the classromm
- A map of school gardens in Oregon!
- Learn about FoodCorps
VIDEO: GO U-PICKING
Visit a nearby farm with your kids, meet the farmer, and pick a bounty of fruits and veggies!
Helpful links:
- Find a u-pick farm at Tri-County Farm Fresh
- Find a farmers’ market near you
- Find farm stands and farmers’ markets that accept Farm Direct checks and/or WIC Fruit & Veggie vouchers at myoregonfarm.org
- Find tips for canning, freezing and drying Oregon food at OSU Extension
VIDEO: GARDENING WITH KIDS
Introduce your kids to the bounty of Oregon by starting a backyard garden!
Helpful links:
- Find ideas on getting started with fall and winter gardening at OSU Extension
- Find a year-round planting calendar specific to Oregon at portlandnursery.com
VIDEO: A HEALTHIER SCHOOL LUNCH
Make sure Oregon fruits and veggies are on your back-to-school shopping list so they arrive for school ready to learn… and eat!
Helpful links:
- Check out your school’s menu and webpage to learn about what’s happening in the cafeteria. You can also go and eat lunch with your kids anytime.
- Learn about MyPlate, where you can also get tools for tracking your foods and physical activity
- Find tips and recipes for family meals that are tasty, healthy and affordable at Food Hero
VIDEO: GETTING KIDS TO SNACK HEALTHY
When it comes to kids, if they make it, they’re more likely to eat it! Michelle Markesteyn Ratcliffe, Farm to School Specialist for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, shares a delicious and nutritious recipe that’s fun for kids to help make using locally grown ingredients!
Helpful links:
- Find the recipe the Good to Go Bar here
- Learn more about Oregon hazelnuts
- Learn more about Northwest cherries
- Learn more about Oregon cranberries
VIDEO: CELEBRATING FARM TO SCHOOL MONTH!
October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate the connections that are happening between schools and local food. In this video, we meet an Oregon farmer helping to make kids’ school lunches some of the most nutritious in the nation.
Helpful links:
- Find tools to celebrate National Farm to School Month in your school at farmtoschool.org
- Find a Farm to School Month celebration near you
VIDEO: A HOLIDAY BOUNTY
From locally raised turkeys to fresh Brussels sprouts, the bounty of Oregon is on full display for the holidays.
Helpful links:
- Find a perfect tree for the holidays at nwchristmastrees.org
- Where to go for Christmas tree u-picks
VIDEO: SMOOTHIES WITH OREGON FRUIT
There are many ways to enjoy Oregon fruits and vegetables year-round. This smoothie calls for frozen strawberries and canned or fresh pears to make a nutritious, delicious wintertime snack.
Helpful links:
- Find smoothie recipes
- Learn more about Oregon pears
- Learn more about Oregon strawberries
- Find healthy, tasty and affordable recipes to make with your family here
VIDEO: OREGON’S GREAT WINTER VEGETABLE: KALE!
Watch how kale chips are made, and then have your kids help you make them at home. Crispy, delicious and satisfying, they’re one of our all-time favorite winter treats.
Helpful links:
- Recipe: Kale Chips
- Find Oregon winter greens at a nearby winter farmers’ market
- Find more healthy, affordable recipes using regional foods that your whole family will enjoy at Food Hero
