Saturday’s Fill Your Pantry event gives Central Oregonians a chance to buy locally grown items in bulk

(Update: Adding video, comments from the event coordinator and a participating farmer)

Discount bulk-buying event features Central Oregon growers' products

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- If you want to restock your pantry and stock up on plenty of locally grown food, there's a Fill your Pantry event on Saturday in Redmond.

Farmers, ranchers and producers are selling bulk quantities of their items.

The event coordinator recommends bringing a wheelbarrow or a cart to haul your food to your vehicle.

Fill your Pantry gives Central Oregonians a chance to buy locally grown items, in bulk, and save some money. 

Coordinator Megan Kellner-Rode said Friday, "This will be our seventh event, and every year it's just growing and growing." 

There will be 30 vendors, about 80 percent of whom are farmers. 

 "We started out in 2016 at this tiny Grange, and there's not a building that can house us," Kellner-Rode said. "It's so big, we're in the parking lot at the Fairgrounds. "

Fill your Pantry is a farmer's market that focuses on bulk-buying. There will be meats, vegetables, fruits and cheeses offered at discount bulk prices. 

It also helps area farmers sell their products as growing season ends and winter sets in. 

Ashley Thompson, the co-owner of Sungrounded Farm in Terrebonne, said, "This event has been so helpful for our farm. It's a really great way we can offer bulk food to people in Central Oregon at the end of the season, since it gets pretty cold here, and it's really hard to grow food through the winter."

Vouchers are accepted from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, or SNAP program and the Farm Direct Nutrition Program.

"We've got Double-Up SNAP Bucks, Double-Up food bucks for people, which has really helped for food access for people who maybe want to eat local that can't afford to shop at the more expensive local  grocers," Thompson said. "We've seen great support from them, as well as the rest of the community."

Here is the event organizers' press release:

The seventh annual Central Oregon Fill Your Pantry event, a bulk food-buying event featuring locally grown products, takes place Saturday in the OSU-Extension Service parking lot at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Fill Your Pantry is a community bulk buying event created so Central Oregonians can fill up their pantries, freezers, root cellars, and garages full of nutritious local products for the long High Desert winter.

Farmers, ranchers, orchardists, and producers will be selling large quantities of items: 10-lb. bags of onions, 20-lb. boxes of apples, mixed boxes of grass fed beef, gallon jars of kraut, etc. All items will be at discount bulk prices.

This is a great opportunity for farmers to sell food before the harsh Central Oregon winter and for Central Oregonians to save money and eat well all winter long. This event operates like a Farmers Market, except in bulk quantities. There will be no sign-up necessary to come; all are welcome! 

“With the volatile economy, ever-changing food prices, and transportation issues, now feels like the time to secure our food for the winter,” says Megan Kellner-Rode, event coordinator. “It is wonderful to know that we can rely on our local farmers to feed us all winter long.” 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/EBT) and Farm Direct Nutrition Program (FDNP) vouchers are accepted at this event. Bend Farmers Market will be present to exchange SNAP/EBT for tokens that can be used at most vendor booths, and will be offering up to $20 matching funds with the Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) program. This means that if $20 of SNAP funds are exchanged, $40 in SNAP tokens will be received! 

This year is going to be a bit chilly, so please bundle up! We also recommend bringing a cart, wheelbarrow, wagon, or anything that can help you haul a load of delicious local bulk vegetables, meats, and more! 

Help support and strengthen the Central Oregon local food system! For more information on what to expect, vendor information, and more, visit our website at www.centraloregonfillyourpantry.com.