December 13, 2004
Brenna Bell, President of the Board
Try/on Life Community Farm
11640 S.W. Boones Ferry Road
Portland Or. 97219
RE: Letter of Support Acquisition and Preservation of Try/on Life Community Farm 11640 S.W. Boones Ferry Road
Dear Brenna,
The Friends of Zenger Farm are pleased to support this letter of interest to support the efforts of Try/on Life Community Farm to preserve it in perpetuity for affordable housing, farming, natural ecosystems, experiential education, and sustainable urban living. Their vision supports our efforts to promote sustainable food systems, environmental stewardship and local economic development.
Friends of Zenger Farm (FZF) was incorporated in 1999 to preserve Zenger Farm, a 16-acre urban farm and wetland in Southeast Portland and to transform it into a community learning center for sustainable food systems, environmental stewardship and local economic development. Zenger Farm is one of the last operational farms within the City limits. Friends of Zenger Farm utilize the combination of a 10-acre wetland adjacent to the 6-acre organic farming operation to provide unique “demonstrational” learning opportunities for both youth and families in subjects such as organic farming, stormwater management, wetland ecology, food security and local economic development.
While our programs focus on serving low-income residents of Outer Southeast Portland, we are convinced that model programs like Try/on Life Community Farm provide valuable opportunities for demonstrating sustainable living techniques for both urban and rural residents, promoting environmental stewardship for private landowners and educating the community about the role of sustainable urban agriculture in both the local economy and environment.
We support the efforts to create a lasting, living community that is called Try/on Life Community Farm.
Sincerely,
Wisteria Loeffler
Executive Director