This roadside farm stand is on Scenic Drive in North Albany, just north of Eagle View Drive.
Roadside farm stands make excellent destinations for bike rides, especially if they’re relatively close and getting there does not require you to climb any hills.
That’s what I was thinking after I stopped on Sunday afternoon at a stand on Scenic Drive in North Albany.
The place has a name: Scenic Organics Farmstand, which I didn’t know until I saw it on a map. It is one of many such roadside attractions in the Albany area.
How many? Well, I didn’t count them. But if you open Google maps and search for Albany farm stands, the image that pops up is peppered with more than a few red dots. Some denote actual commercial farms and not just roadside stands, and not all small roadside stands show up on the map, but you get the idea.
The idea is that there’s probably a roadside stand within your reach.
Ours is a state of administrative rules, and there are rules for food sold at farm stands too. They are called the Farm Direct Marketing Rules and they came out in 2012, the state Department of Agriculture says.
Compiled in OAR 603-025, in a nutshell the rules are that “retail vegetable and fruit stands are required to be licensed, except when the produce stand is on the farmer’s own property, only fruits and vegetables grown by the owner are sold, and no food processing is done.”
The rules allow farms to sell eggs and honey direct to consumers too, also without a state license. In addition, no license is required to sell preserved items if they meet a certain degree of acidity. That explains why at some unlicensed stands you can also get homemade salsa and similar stuff.
The rules pertain to food, of course, and farm stands sell other things too, such as cut flowers and sometimes potted plants.
Here’s a bit of gratuitous advice: If you visit a stand on your bike, it helps to have something like a bike trunk to carry stuff home. (hh)
Here is some of the stuff I saw at the farm stand I visited Sunday.
Homemade Salsa
Fresh ripe tomatoes with FLAVOR chopped (In winter used canned rather than the flavorless ones)
Medium Yellow Onion, rough chopped
1 or two large garlic cloves finely chopped
Salt – teaspoon to start, more if you like it or making a big batch
1 or more Hot pepper finely chopped (I like jalapeno, but whatever you like)
1 teaspoon chili powder, more to taste (I like Red Hatch from New Mexico or real Mexican chili powder)
2 Tablespoons to 1/4 cup of white vinegar. or more to taste
Stir it up and let marinate for 1/2 hour or so in the fridge.
Next, the important part…
Chopped fresh Cilantro and stir it in. Let it rest some, or not….
Bag of good Tortilla chips, and a beer. Or more…
We should all bow our heads and give thanks to the administrative state of unelected people in Salem.
An oligarch of experts keeps us safe. Simple, ordinary folks are ill-equipped to know the real dangers of unregulated farm stands.
Regulatory overreach? Violation of freedom and property rights?
Pffft….oversold concepts in Oregon. Bureaucracy serves the common good.
Now, fall in line and keep quiet.
What the heck? These comments are in the wrong pew!
Great photo, Hasso. This farm stand is so inviting! It is built industrial style and the there are many organic choices. The farm stands are fun shopping!
I’d love to see a list of all these farm stands. I love supporting local businesses