Made in Oregon

I wrote last week about the impact of choosing local, this week I thought I’d share some local gems with you. These food makers all operate out of Portland area or at least in Oregon (a couple aren’t officially Oregon companies, but are produced here). With Oregon having the highest rate of unemployment in the entire nation, it’s worth choosing local brands when you can, success for these businesses means they can provide more jobs for people right here in our area.

Arico Natural Foods – gluten free and dairy free goodies from Beaverton

Bob’s Red Mill – based in Milwaukie, Bob’s line of more than 400 products includes whole grains flours, cereals, and mixes

Boyd Coffee

Carlton Farms – this pork producer buys from small, local farms and they have very high standards for humane treatment of their animals

Dave’s Killer Bread

Kettle Foods – delicious kettle fried potato chips and nut butters from Salem

Kobos Coffee

Mission – not an entirely local company, but their McMinnville plant is likely the producer of their tortilla products sold locally

Nice Cubes – maker of frozen organic baby food, products are not only produced locally but most are also locally grown, available in Whole Foods and New Season’s stores

Norpac – this Lake Oswego company offers an extensive line of frozen fruits and vegetables under the brand names Flav-R-Pac, Westpac, and Santiam

Oregon Chai

Ore-Ida – this Pittsburg, Pennsylvania company employs over 1,000 workers at it’s primary production facility in Ontario, Oregon

Organically Grown Company – the largest wholesaler of organic produce in the Portland area, use their Organic Food Finder to find their produce in your neighborhood http://www.organicgrown.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=finding

Pacific Natural Foods – this Tualatin company makes a complete line of broths, soups, and non dairy milks, among other things

Painted Hills Natural Beef

Stash Tea – if you haven’t visited their Tigard retail store, it’s a must for tea lovers

Stumptown Coffee

Tazo Tea

Tillamook Cheese – not just cheese, a full line of dairy products including sour cream, butter, and the best ice cream you can find anywhere

Yogi Tea

I haven’t even scratched the surface here, Oregon has TONS of great food companies, not to mention all the fantastic local wines and microbrews.

Next time you're in the grocery store, be on the lookout for these local brands!