_{January 21, 2011}

We hope you've heard about Zenger Farm - the non-profit runs a 6-acre farm in East Portland, hosting schoolkids on field trips, running day camps in the summer, and offering lots of free classes for gardeners (and aspiring gardeners!).

The Zenger Farm property also includes a 10-acre wetland that's part of the Johnson Creek Watershed and offers a great setting to teach kids about sustainable farming practices and urban ecosystems.

Now, we're excited to hear that the farm has acquired 7 adjacent acres - the Furey farmstead - and will use them to create the Furey Community Garden. The new Community Garden, writes Steve Law in this week's Tribune, will allow 30 families from the East Portland neighborhoods surrounding the farm to grow their own food.

The farm will also establish a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program called Zenger Shares, which will provide close to 70 Portland families with fresh produce during the growing season.

Commissioner Fish is working hard to help expand access to fresh, locally-grown food to all Portlanders. We're opening new community gardens all over town - with the goal of adding 1,000 new plots by the end of 2012 - and are helping support farmers markets wherever we can.

We're lucky to have non-profit and private sector partners across Portland working toward the same goal. Congratulations to the Zenger Farms staff and volunteer crew on this exciting announcement!