It’s been since 2021, episode number 76, that we interviewed Stacey Givens, Farmer/Chef/ and Owner of The Side Yard Farm & Kitchen, Portland, Oregon. The Side Yard Farm & Kitchen is a 1-acre plot of land located in a mixed business/residential core area of the city. This urban farm’s philosophy is seed-to-plate, meaning they grow and create meals all from the same plot of land. The company feeds around 15,000 meals annually through restaurants, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes, donations, catering, and farm events. Stacy grew up in Southern California, the youngest child in a big Greek family. With that background, Stacy was immersed within a deep food culture. Her mother taught her how to grow, forage, and preserve food as women in Greece had done for generations before. Stacey gained her first experiences in the food industry at the age of fifteen working in kitchens from Los Angeles to San Francisco and then to Portland. It was in Portland that she found a home and community and founded the Side Yard Farm & Kitchen in 2009. Stacy worked the land and built her catering business up, gaining such notoriety such as winning the Local Hero Award, plus being been featured on Food Network’s Chopped, TIME Magazine and NBC’s Today as well. It took until May of 2020 for the company and the community behind her to purchase the land outright to solidify their place in the community and also preserve it for farmers of the future. Now to catch up to the present with Stacy; what’s changed? The biggest change has been personal with Stacy, she is now the mother of a soon-to-be one-year old. Not only has sleep deprivation been a big change for Stacy, becoming a mother has also affected her business. When she was around six months pregnant, her back began to hurt from the extra load on her body and she was not able to work the fields as much as before. Unfortunately, the pain has continued to haunt her and Stacy has needed a physical therapy regimen to deal with it. All this has changed her role at the farm and not being out there lugging a wheel barrel and joining in the planting and harvesting has taken away one of Stacy’s big joys in life for the time being. However, Stacy is determined to get back out there and you can bet that will happen. Stacy talks enthusiastically about the community outreach programs on the calendar that take place at the farm and she runs through the calendar of events that is jam packed for the next couple of months. The company has brunches, movie nights and other events where everyone is invited and can purchase a ticket online. One spotlight group is the grief group, where those in grief can gather. Many bring a dish that was the favorite of their lost one and can share both laughs and tears with others grieving for a lost one. You can follow the farm on Instagram and Facebook.  If you want to attend one of their events, pull up their website: https://www.thesideyardpdx.com/. Our hosts: Twitter - @sarahmasoni and @spicymarshall, Instagram - @masoniandmarshall.

#176 Definitely Not a Side Business - Stacy Givens, Side Yard Farm & Kitchen

Meaningful Marketplace Podcast