By Helena Egbert and Elizabeth Nielsen
Title: Ten Rivers Food Web Records, 1996-2017
Predominant Dates: 2006-2016
ID: MSS TenRivers
Primary Creator: Ten Rivers Food Web (Corvallis, Or.)
Extent: 5.8 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: The Ten Rivers Food Web Records are arranged in 8 series: 1. Ten Rivers Food Web Board Materials, 2006-2017; 2. Organizing and Event Materials, 1996-2016; 3. Community Food Land Trust, 2011-2017; 4. Benton County Food Freedom, 2013-2016; 5. That's My Farmer, 2008-2017; 6. Funding, 2004-2015; 7. Publications and Reference Material, 1999-2016; and 8. Executive Director and Staff Electronic Records, 2008-2016.
Date Acquired: 00/00/2018
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
The Ten Rivers Food Web Records document the establishment, leadership and administration, and extensive programs and activities of this local community organization in Benton, Lincoln, and Linn Counties of western Oregon. The Ten Rivers Food Web was formally established in April 2005 as a result of a Food Summit held in Corvallis, Oregon, in late 2004 that brought together individuals involved with and concerned about food and its production and distribution. The energy and desire to strengthen local food security led to the formation of the Ten Rivers Food Web with a goal of seeing more of the food grown in the local “foodshed” (roughly Benton, Lincoln, and Linn Counties) processed and consumed locally.
The collection includes extensive born-digital materials, including photographs, videos, and director and staff electronic records, that are available upon request. Born-digital videos are available for viewing online.
The Ten Rivers Food Web Records document the establishment, leadership and administration, and extensive programs and activities of this local community organization in Benton, Lincoln, and Linn Counties of western Oregon. The records provide a local perspective on community organizing, addressing food insecurity and hunger, promoting healthy eating and nutrition based on local foods and food sources, and fostering sustainable agriculture.
The records document the leadership and administration of the organization primarily through board materials, which include agendas and minutes, chapter and board policies, handbooks, staff reports, and strategic plans. The collection includes extensive documentation of events and programs sponsored by Ten Rivers Food Web to educate and inform the community, raise funds, and promote local food sources. These events and programs were held throughout Benton, Lincoln, and Linn Counties. Records pertaining to the establishment of a community food land trust and the organization’s support of a 2015 ballot measure in Benton County prohibiting the cultivation of genetically engineered organisms are also included. Reference materials and publications on hunger in Oregon and community health and food assessments by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon as well as files pertaining to generational land transfer are part of the collection.
Materials documenting That’s My Farmer – a program of Ten Rivers Food Web to connect community members with local farmers and encourage purchasing of local food – form a substantial component of the collection. Educational programs and Ten Rivers Food Web’s involvement in assisting SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients buy food from their local farmers’ markets and the fundraising to provide incentive matching funds are documented extensively. Fundraising to support all the programs and activities of the organization – through grant applications, special events to raise money, and direct donations – were a major effort of the Board and are documented in these records.
Of particular note in the collections are materials pertaining to the establishment of the Emergency Food Pantry at Oregon State University, which is now a program of the Human Services Resource Center, and documentation of the roles of Oregon State faculty Joan Gross and Nancy Rosenberger in providing research support during the establishment of the organization and serving in volunteer leadership positions.
The collection includes a substantial component of born-digital records (43.5 Gbytes in more than 30,000 digital files) – some of which are also available in the collection in analog (printed) form. The bulk of these born-digital files are described as Series 8; however, born-digital records are described as part of other series as well. The born-digital files provide extensive documentation of the organization beginning in about 2011. In addition to documents (primarily *.doc and *.pdf), the collection includes digital photographs. Born-digital materials in this collection, including photographs, videos, and director and staff electronic records, are available upon request. Born-digital videos are available for viewing online.
The records were created and assembled by multiple individuals with different roles in the organization, including founders, volunteers, board members, staff, and executive directors. The following people were identified in the records and are referenced in the detailed description of the collection: Xan Augerot, Kate Dolkas Joan Gross, Harry MacCormack, Lynn Martin, Jen Christion Myers, Cassie Peters, Chloe Rico, and Nancy Rosenberger. Because of the manner in which the records were assembled and transferred, there is substantial duplication within and between analog and digital materials.
The Ten Rivers Food Web was formally established in April 2005 as a result of a Food Summit held in Corvallis, Oregon, in December 2004 that brought together individuals involved with and concerned about food and its production and distribution – farmers, educators, hunger activists, realtors, seed companies, food retailers, students, government officials, and consumers. The energy and desire to strengthen local food security expressed at the Summit led to the formation of the Ten Rivers Food Web (TRFW) with a goal of seeing more of the food grown in the local “foodshed” (roughly Benton, Linn, and Lincoln Counties) processed and consumed within the foodshed. The organization is named for the ten rivers that are present in this local area: the Siletz, Yaquina, Alsea, Luckiamute, Marys, Long Tom, Willamette, Calapooia, North Santiam, and South Santiam Rivers. Community conversations and open forums which had begun in the late 1990s, continued in the early 2000s regarding increasing hunger and food insecurity, and formed a strong foundation for the 2004 Food Summit, which served as the launch point for establishment of TRFW.
The primary goals and projects of the Ten Rivers Food Web were focused on issues of food literacy;, local farm coordination; revival and establishment of community processing facilities; bringing together farms and institutional kitchens (schools and restaurants); and increasing food security and access to fresh, locally-grown food for low-income communities. Oregon State University faculty Joan Gross and Nancy Rosenberger provided research assistance and later served as officers and members of the TRFW board. TRFW was instrumental in the establishment of an Emergency Food Pantry at OSU, which is now a program of the Human Services Resource Center.
The organization was approved for tax-exempt status in 2007; received grants to support outreach, organizing and research; and offered a variety of programs and activities including That’s My Famer SNAP incentives for purchases at local farmers’ markets; Fill Your Pantry; Seed to Supper; FEAST: Food, Education, Agricultural Solutions Together; Farm to Fork; Cooking Matters; Chef’s Show Off; and Terra Madre.
In 2011, Ten Rivers Food Web was one of 4 organizations selected by the Meyer Memorial Trust to receive a $300,000 grant over 3 years. This funding allowed TRFW to hire staff to serve as community food organizers in Benton, Lincoln, and Linn Counties as well as an Executive Director to oversee operations and development. Programming expanded significantly during this period.
Harry MacCormack, organic farmer and co-founder of the organic certifier Oregon Tilth, is a founder and Board member of Ten Rivers Food Web.
More Extent Information: 8 boxes, including 1 oversize box; 43.5 Gbytes (30,549 files, including ~1000 digital photographs, 7 digital videos, and 13 digital sound recordings)
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Note: These records were donated by the organization, Ten Rivers Food Web, to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in 2018.
Related Materials: The Special Collections and Archives Research Center's holdings include numerous collections documenting farming and food in Oregon. These include several collections that are aligned with and complementary to the Ten Rivers Food Web Records -- the Corvallis-Albany Farmers' Market (MSS CAFM), Extension Family and Community Health Program (RG 252), and Oregon Tilth (MSS OrTilth) Records. An oral history interview of Harry MacCormack conducted in 2017 is available online.
Preferred Citation: Ten Rivers Food Web Records (MSS TenRivers), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Processing Information: Electronic records summing to 56.3 Gbytes (93,843 files) on 38 digital storage media, including an external hard drive, were received with the donation of these records in 2018. In the course of review, arrangement, and description, the total quantity of processed records was reduced to 43.5 Gbytes (30,549 files) by removal of some duplicated files and files that were not appropriate for long-term retention.
Ten Rivers Food Web (Corvallis, Or.)
Augerot, Xanthippe
Gross, Joan
MacCormack, Harry (1942-)
Agriculture--Oregon--Benton County.
College students--Oregon--Corvallis--Economic conditions.
Corvallis-Albany Farmers' Markets
Farmers' markets--Oregon--Albany.
Farmers' markets--Oregon--Corvallis.
Farmers' markets--Oregon.
Farmers--Oregon.
Food security--Oregon.
Natural Resources
Oregon State University--Students.
Sustainable agriculture--Oregon.
Ten Rivers Food Web (Corvallis, Or.)
University History
Born digital.
Digital audio formats.
Digital moving image formats.
Digital photographs.
Information artifacts.