Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Maher.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Agricultural Connections was started in 2010 with the goal of making fresh, locally grown produce available to Central Oregonians on a regular basis. At the time, Bend didn’t have a regular farmers market, and many of the phenomenal farms we have in Central Oregon today did not yet exist, so Agricultural Connections would bring fresh produce from farms in the Willamette Valley every week. Over the years, Ag Connect grew up alongside farms, restaurants, farmstands, and markets as a reliable way for home cooks and chefs to access top quality seasonal produce that is grown as close to home as possible.
While Ag Connect has grown and changed over the years, we have remained a small team dedicated to our twin goals of making local as easy as possible for our community and supporting our farmers with fair pay, reliable purchasing, and a collaborative approach.
I (Erin) have been a part of Ag Connect for five years, going from local food fan/customer to owner and operator during that time. I have not always been in food – I thought that I was going to be an academic! I happened to get a job on a food truck while working on grad school applications and quickly realized that I was so much more energized by the tangible, human-to-human experience of feeding people than my hours in the library. I resisted for a while, but slowly but surely more and more of my work and life revolved around food, until I officially quit my research job to work on the food truck full time. From there, I became fascinated by the logistical puzzle of getting trucks and food and catering and people where they needed to be most efficiently. As I became very familiar with how much time and effort it can take to get fresh food where it needs to go – and with how poor the quality of conventially grown wholesale produce can be – I was drawn more and more to local food and food systems work. Tasting the difference between carefully harvested, fresh-from-the-field salad mix and the wilted, sad mesclun shipped across the country ignited my desire to work with local food and farmers and provide support for others who want to do so but maybe don’t have the time to go to the market or the resources to sign up for a CSA. It’s a passion I share with my two team members, Amanda Long and Kadie Vita, who also have extensive restaurant and food systems backgrounds and a strong belief in the power of food in community.
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.
Personally, 2020 was a watershed moment for me as well. I had been running operations for a 20-location restaurant chain in Boston for a number of years when the pandemic brought that business screeching to a halt. As I scrambled to figure out how to keep the team and business afloat, my father, who lived in Bend, suddenly and unexpectedly died. I came to Bend to sort out his affairs and to wait out the covid lockdowns at the same time. The sudden distance – physical and emotional – from my work finally let me realize that I was deeply burnt out from long, demanding, and high-stress days and being on call to deal with any problems that came up nearly 24/7. I wanted to spend time outside, I wanted to go back to working with my hands, I wanted to be in community rather than just surrounded by employees. I quit the operations job and never went back to Boston. At first I wasn’t sure that Bend would be my permanent home, but I quickly fell in love with the natural beauty, the friendliness and passion of the people I’ve met here, and of course how rewarding I find it this work.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Agricultural Connections is your Central Oregon online farmers market and grocery delivery service. We work with home cooks and restaurants to get you fresh produce, meat, fish, and artisan goods that are always as seasonal and as local as possible. We work directly with small farms and ranches practicing responsible and sustainable agriculture in Central Oregon, as well as producers in the Willamette Valley, the Columbia Gorge, the Oregon coast, and (for select items, like citrus) beyond. We also work with food makers and businesses to offer access to local flour and grains, pasta, dips, preserved foods, and more. Nearly everything we carry is made or harvested to order so that it’s as fresh as possible and we can limit food waste.
Our signature weekly produce box is always made up of the freshest fruits and vegetables, and customers also have the ability to make your own customized order. We offer pick up and delivery throughout Central Oregon.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What a tough question! If I had to narrow it down to one thing, I think I would say real respect for the work it takes to grow food and get it to the table, and the hardworking people who both do and support that work. Coming from the restaurant industry, I’ve unfortunately witnessed too many people be treated as interchangeable and unimportant. I love working with food so much because it is sustaining, it is connective, and it gives us an opportunity to create and enjoy together. In order to really do that, I think you have to be treating each person who links the earth to the plate as a real human being who deserves dignity and is providing a valuable service to the community, from the farmers to the delivery drivers to cooks to the eaters.
Pricing:
- Harvest box (assorted local produce, available weekly, three sizes): $20-$42
- Home delivery in Bend: $7, or free with $100 order
- Home delivery in Sisters, Redmond, Sunriver: $9, or free with $100 order
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.agricultutalconnections.com
- Instagram: agriculturalconnections
