edibleportland.com | 7 On a Sunday morning in late Fall, I arrive at a gathering. It's the first day of the fourth season of the La Merenda Bean CSA. As I enter the house from the brisk of early autumn, the warmth of a few familiar faces and some new people greet me. There's someone I met at one of last year's pick-ups, and she's sitting in the corner pouring over a book of recipes, presumably dreaming about what she'll make with this year's bean haul. I pour myself a cup of coffee, grab a plate of homemade breakfast treats, and wait my turn to have my beans measured out like precious gems on a jewel scale. La Merenda farm is the dream of Katie Gourley and David Oberstein, who work at other farms and farmers markets in the Portland area. Neither comes from a farming background, but both have found their way to it through their passion for creating community through better eating. The name La Merenda is a nod to an essay by food writer Patience Gray about the importance of slowing down to share food, which inspired their project. David started working on a farm in New Jersey when he was 13. He eventually became a farm educator, teaching kids about soil health and where our food comes from. In 2016, he moved to Portland and took a job at 47th Avenue Farm, where he was introduced to bean farming as part of their winter rotation crops. Katie was in graduate school in Chicago for a degree in city planning. She circuitously found her way to a commitment to seed saving when she took a job at the largest farmer's market in the city. In high school, she had worked as a pastry chef. Still, this new job got her thinking more directly about food sovereignty and protecting Portland’s Best Beanie Babies By Adrian J. S. Hale Photos Courtesy La Merenda CSA
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