Sauvie Island Center

Mission

Located on historic Sauvie Island farm land, once home to the Multnomah People of the Chinook Nation,  the Sauvie Island Center is a farm -based education nonprofit that educates youth and the whole community about food, farming and the land. We celebrate diversity, and cultivate food equity with our words, intentions and actions, prioritizing service to under-resourced communities.

Bottom Line for Portland

On a typical day, if you visit our teaching garden located on Topaz Farm, you might find 2nd graders from James John Elementary harvesting goji berries from the food forest section of our Grow Lunch Garden, 5th graders from Harrison Park School tasting - and dissecting - edible flowers, or Rigler Elementary kindergartners planting garlic. Since our founding in 2005, we have helped more than 20,000 children learn about the science behind how our foods grows while developing positive attitudes towards fresh, locally-grown vegetables. Together, we are growing healthier children and more resilient communities.

Quote

“We are growing [seed starts] in our classroom and coming here bridged the gap,” 3rd Grade Teacher from James Templeton Elementary School

“Kids enjoyed watering in the garden and pollinating flowers. I think it was a positive impact seeing many types of plants and eating from the garden. Thank you for beginning with the land acknowledgement,” Parent Chaperone from Faubion Elementary School

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We aim to engage youth and the community in building equitable and sustainable food systems through culturally-responsive programming and hands-on learning.  More than 70% of the students enrolled in our partner schools identify as BIPOC, and more than 50% of them live in households with annual incomes below the national threshold for poverty. As a farm-based education nonprofit, we believe that all children have the right to know where their food comes from and how it is grown. 

Incentives

The early bird gets the worm! For the first two weeks in November (one per week), individuals donating more than 25$ to the Sauvie Island Center will be entered to win these fabulous prizes 

November 1st - gift card from Portland Nursery

November 7th - gift card from Portland Nursery

November 14th - private garden workshop with our Garden Manager

Special Incentive: Win a FREE WEEK of Summer Farm Camp. Anyone who donates 100$ or more, at any time during our campaign, will be entered to win a free week of camp for any child entering 2nd to 5th grade (this prize is transferrable). 

Our friends at Umpqua Bank offered a donation match of $1000, and thanks to you, we've fulfilled the offer! 

BUT WAIT. We have a second match available. Our partners in farm-based education, Topaz Farm, have offered a $2000 match! Every dollar you give in December will be doubled thanks to our friends at Topaz. 

Partner(s)

This year we are excited to offer incentives from our friends at Portland Nursery. Their support of our “Gardens that We Love” campaign includes Portland Nursery gift cards in various amounts. Donate on specific days, be enterred to win these additional, Sauvie Island Center- specific incentives, then use 'em to  fall (even) more in love your garden!

We are also thrilled to have support from both Oakshire Brewing and Rangoon Bistro in the form of sales donation days.  Check out our events page for details on when to dine at either (or both) Oakshire Brewhouse and Rangoon Bistro. A portion of the sales from those days will go to support farm-based education!  Bonus points for attending the Rangoon Bistro event as we are partnering with three other farm and garden based education non-profits for the event: Growing Gardens, Grow Portland,  and Zenger Farm.

Each term students from Portland State University's Capstone program lead field trips and help us to maintain our teaching garden.

We are grateful to other business partners who have provided financial support for our programs in 2023 including: Environmental Resource Management, Portland Nursery, Providence Health & Service, Tillamook Creamery. 

And as always, we are grateful to Topaz Farm for sharing their beautiful farm with us! This family-owned and operated 130-acre working farm on Sauvie Island is just 20 minutes from downtown Portland. Since their opening in 2020, they've used all-regenerative practices; no spray, no herbicides, no pesticides. Crops are fed by taking care of land, soil and water.