Small farms in and around Portland are continuing to feed hungry Oregonians thanks to a $300,000 grant from a local conservation district that offset federal funding cuts last year.

Why it matters: The funding is helping nearly two dozen small farms continue providing fresh food for those in need.

Driving the news: The board of the East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District heard about the federal funds being cut off and in January partnered with the Oregon Food Bank to provide grants to farmers like Catherine Nguyen, who runs Mora Mora Farms near Troutdale.

• Yes, but: While the grant funding is a welcome reprieve, it is only a fraction of the $2 million previously allocated through the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA).
• And it's only a short-term fix. It's unclear where similar funding will come from in the future.

Catch up quick: The LFPA, funded by the USDA and administered locally by the Oregon Food Bank, provided grants to farmers ahead of the growing season.

• The program provided more than $1 billion in grants to more than 8,000 producers nationwide between its inception in 2021 and last year.
• Unlike other programs, it allowed the producers to decide how their crops would be distributed.

Zoom in: Nguyen grows 40 to 60 different crops throughout the season on nearly 2 acres and was a participant in the program.

• Trying to find a balance between growing enough food to keep her farm financially sustainable and producing enough to help feed the hungry is a recurring challenge for Nguyen.
• "That grant is the only way that I've seen to actually get produce out to everyone while still honoring the farmers' time and inputs and work," she tells Axios.

When she heard funding had been revoked, she was "so bummed" because it was "literally the only thing that I've seen that actually felt viable."

Zoom out: The LFPA funding is just one of several hits federal food assistance has taken recently.

• Thousands of Oregonians have lost access to SNAP benefits this year, and federal assistance to places like the Oregon Food Bank has dwindled.

Keep reading

Oregon strawberry season is short and right now it's at its peak (you can thank our mild winter and warm spring for that).

What better way to indulge than with strawberry shortcake?

The latest: Roughly four dozen local restaurants are participating in Strawberry Shortcake Week now through Sunday.

• It's a statewide celebration put on by the much-anticipated James Beard Public Market — because apparently the dessert is the Portland-born culinary icon's favorite.
• See if your favorite restaurant is participating here.

Best bites: You can expect everything from traditional shortcakes to more creative interpretations, all featuring Oregon-grown berries at peak sweetness.

Here's what we have our eyes on:

• Xiao Ye's take features fior di latte gelato, strawberry-black pepper compote and Thai basil-macerated strawberries on shortbread.
• At Monty's Red Sauce, vanilla olive oil cake is topped with strawberry mascarpone mousse and white chocolate.
• Meanwhile, República's concha frita comes topped with whipped cream, strawberries and mint; Nostrana is serving a strawberry pavlova with honey gelato and lemon curd; and Kachka's lemon chiffon cake pairs strawberries with smetana, an Eastern European-style crème fraîche.

Plus: So much more.

The bottom line: These desserts won't be around for long.

👀 Gov. Kotek ordered the state to stop issuing undercover license plates to federal immigration officers for public safety reasons as a lawsuit over the decision remains pending. (The Oregonian)

⚠️ President Trump's proposed budget would eliminate the agency that's investigating last week's chemical tank implosion in Longview, Washington, which killed 11 people. (OPB)

🚆 Plans to include light rail on the I-5 bridge replacement may have to be put on hold due to ballooning costs. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

🍸 Air travelers can now sip locally-produced bourbon and gin at Portland-based distillery Freeland Spirits' new tasting room at PDX. (KGW)

Clatsop County — home to coastal towns like Astoria, Cannon Beach and Seaside — has the highest share of households without air conditioning in Oregon, according to recent census data.

Why it matters: As heat waves get more common and more intense due to climate change, more Oregonians may install A/C to stay cool and healthy — especially in places that aren't as used to extreme heat.

Zoom in: In Multnomah County, roughly 46,000 households don't have A/C — about 13% — as of 2023.

• Portland launched Cooling Portland after the 2021 heat dome to help close that gap, focusing on seniors with medical conditions that are exacerbated by high temperatures.
• 78% of those who died during the deadly four-day event were 60 years and older.
• The program has since installed more than 20,300 portable cooling units since 2022, funded primarily through the city's clean energy fund.
• It aims to add 25,000 more by the end of 2026.

The bottom line: In Oregon, A/C is no longer just about comfort — it's increasingly a matter of public health.

It's been a while but he's back! My dog is hiding somewhere around Portland and it's your job to find out where.

Do you know where these stairs are?

• Bonus points if you can tell us how many steps are in the set.

Send us your guesses! The first five to get it right will get a shoutout in this very newsletter and bragging rights among their friends.

• The answer will be revealed Thursday.

Hit reply