Sunday, October 13, 2013

"Meet the Flower Farmer" Event at New Seasons Market

This week New Seasons Market hosted a "Meet the Flower Farmer" Event in several of their Portland, OR stores.  I had the privilege to represent Resendiz Brothers at the Cedar Hills New Seasons Market in Beaverton, OR, where I promoted our farm fresh flowers and shared our California farming story with many of their customers. 

New Seasons Market, based in Portland, is a locally owned grocery store that works directly with local farmers, ranchers, fishers and producers - my favorite kind of market!  So, I decided to arrive a little early that morning to experience this store for myself.  Upon arrival I was greeted with an amazing floral department, where I found gorgeous bountiful bouquets, house plants, wreaths, outdoor perennials, annuals, pumpkins and even planters and vases. 




Yes, flowers are my weakness! But I do have a love for fresh baked bread, artisan cheeses, quality wines and farm fresh fruits and vegetables too.
 

 Artisan breads are made from scratch daily in the old-world tradition.


 There's over 100 artisan and farmstead cheese to choose from.


The wine department, where global meets local, offers the best of the Northwest and beyond. You can even bring in your used corks and they'll recycle them courtesy of Cork ReHarvest!


From the farm to the neighborhood store, there are shelves of fresh, local and organic produce.




Throughout the store the walls are graced with pictures 'faces' of many of the farmers, fisherman, ranchers and producers who are now a part of the New Season's family.


When I arrived at my greeting table, I was welcomed by this wonderful introduction board - love the creativity and thoughtfulness that went into this sign!


It was great to finally meet Katie Trudeau, New Season's Floral Merchandiser (on my left) and Maria Fowler, Floral Department Manager (on my right).  Katie, who is definitely serious about buying local and often says, "Not many people think of buying local when it comes to flowers. Making beautiful selections available from local growers is how we're making a difference, one stem at a time".




During my visit I encountered many very proud Oregonians and rightly so. But I also met several customers and employees who were fond of California Grown too!

New Seaons Market: Pride in locally grown, locally raised and locally produced!


Finally, my trip to Portland wouldn't have been complete without bringing a little of Oregonian savor back to California and I did just that. So far, I've whipped up the 'Thyme Roasted Chicken, and Red Wine braised Short Ribs' - Some Tasty Farm-To-Table Dishes indeed!


2 comments:

  1. Wow! What a great journey! A wonderful blog post Diana. Great to see so many examples of how New Seasons works to provide locally grown produce and floral to their customers. I personally appreciated all of their effort to focus on the farmer, Resendiz Brothers included!

    By the way, you had the best signage! Congrats! ~ @kaseycronquist

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  2. HI Diana, what a great story you've captured in words and images. You are building important connections for flower retailing and the floral consumer - and I'm so impressed with your work. More beautiful flowers for more of us to enjoy - #americangrown #slowflowers, Congrats! Debra Prinzing @dkprinzing

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