18 | EDIBLE PORTLAND SUMMER 2025 The dining space at Astera offers a sense of intimacy that comes as much from its style—characterized by books, plants, and vintage framed images—as it does from its small size. So, when the server introduces the tasting menu for the evening, they address the entire room without raising their voice. It feels like a conversation, more than a performance, and the content of their short speech goes beyond the usual fine dining fanfare. The spotlight turns from the respected chef, Aaron Adams, and the night’s courses, toward the diners. “You’re all activists tonight,” the server says. Astera is one of only two Oregon restaurants to have partnered with Zero Foodprint, a nonprofit organization dedicated to illuminating and improving the connection between farms and restaurants, as well as our role as individuals within our local food system. They are joined only by Hayward, which moves from McMinnville to Carlton this July. Zero Foodprint was founded in 2014 in California to help Bay Area restaurants reduce their climate impact. A decade later, they have expanded into the Pacific Northwest and broadened their focus to encompass the entire supply chain, from restaurant kitchens to farm fields. Key in this is their Restore Northwest program, which offers grants to farmers and ranchers based in Oregon and Washington. “We want to equip eaters in the Northwest with a direct way of improving the way their food is grown,” explains Alana Williams, the Restore Program manager at Zero Foodprint. “Oregon has approximately sixteen million acres of agricultural land and yet there are currently no ongoing funding programs to support farms implementing climate-smart ag practices, so we’re excited to change that.” Williams describes climate-smart agriculture as “any agricultural practice that promotes biodiversity, both above ground and below in the soil,” adding that it comes down to “farming with nature rather than against nature.” Examples of these practices include applying compost, seeding cover crops, planting riparian forest buffers, and incorporating prescribed grazing methods for livestock management. Zero Foodprint’s northwest farm partners—10 so far—reflect the diversity of the region’s agriculture, including producers of everything from spelt and tomatoes to dairy and honey. Funding for these grants is made possible by generous contributions from a variety of philanthropic foundations, nonprofit organizations, and values-driven brands, as well as restaurants like Astera and Hayward, who have joined the Zero Foodprint Membership. As members, both restaurants donate 1% of their monthly sales to the organization. “Partnering with Zero Foodprint was a no-brainer for us,” says Chef Kari Shaughnessy of Hayward. “They go beyond the concept of ‘farm to table.’ It is one thing to source locally, it is another to actively give back to those small farms that keep us ‘farm to table’ restaurants in business.” Two Oregon Restaurants Partner with Zero Foodprint to Fund Climate-Smart Farming BY ELENA VALERIOTE
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