05/26/2026
Check it out fam - Erin did a great interview with Oregon Voyager Magazine as part of their Portraits of Oregon series. Learn about Ag Connect’s early days, what brought Erin to Central Oregon, and where we’re headed next. 💚
“Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Is a small business ever a smooth road?
We have had to morph over the years to be able to stay in business and keep doing the work we want to do. In 2020, Ag Connect was primarily focused on serving restaurants when the covid lockdowns closed down all of those businesses – some permanently. At the same time, there was a huge amount of interest in local food, especially when it could be delivered. So, that became the focus: our weekly produce box numbers more than quadrupled nearly over night. While it was amazing to see the support for shopping local and to be able to continue to purchase the food that had been grown for restaurants for the community, it was a huge operational shift on a very short timeline while navigating employee and customer safety during the early days of the pandemic.
These days, much of our energy is spent maintaining the delicate balance between paying farmers and staff fairly, covering necessary costs (especially as rent and gas become increasingly costly), and keeping prices as stable and accessible as we can. While we are a business (not a non-profit), we are driven by our belief that the work of growing food should be valued, and that good food should not only be available to a select few. It’s a delicate balance, and it means that we’re constantly brainstorming new ways to support farmers and customers and looking to bring more people to local food.” 💚
