Local Link is an event designed to help wholesale buyers and chefs; regional farmers, ranchers, and fishers; distributors; and community food system organizations to connect and do business.
The event brings together a growing network committed to building thriving local economies, vibrant urban and rural communities, and equitable access to good food.
In 2019, we welcomed more than 100 buyers and sellers to come together at the Redd, and we’re looking forward to reigniting this critical opportunity for relationship building.
An info session held Wednesday, 9/7, with high level information about Local Link as well as more specific guidance for selling to schools and hospitals.
Download the slide deck.
Vendor Fair
The vendor fair was a fantastic networking opportunity, designed specifically for institutional food service buyers and chefs to connect directly with regional farms, ranches, and fishers and good food businesses. See the full list of vendors who participated in 2019.
Meaningful connections
Vendor fairs are attended by several businesses producing culturally relevant foods, who make fruitful connections with buyers. For example, during the 2018 event, Portland Public Schools (PPS) committed to purchasing 15,000 tamales from Salsas Locas for school lunches.
“One of the ways we express our culture is in the foods we eat. Having culturally relevant foods in the schools is twofold; it reminds students of the foods they eat at home and it teaches other students about new cultures and new foods!” — Lucy De León, owner of Salsas Locas
Partners
About the Redd on Salmon Street
Spreading across two blocks in Portland’s historic Central Eastside, the Redd is an Ecotrust development designed to support local food enterprises, connect chefs, foodservice directors and entrepreneurs to independent farmers, ranchers and fishermen in the region, and help scale a robust food economy across the Pacific Northwest. The Redd is quickly becoming an integral part of an ecosystem of new ideas around food system reform. Learn more.