COVID Protocol and Expectations
We believe that now, more than ever, Fill Your Pantry is crucial to the food security of Central Oregon. We also believe in the power of community and understanding. In order to have a safe Fill Your Pantry, we plan to provide ample room between booths and create socially distanced lines. We will also be requiring the proper use of masks. For those of you who do not feel comfortable, are immunocompromised, are elderly, etc., we will be providing volunteer personal shoppers thanks to the Pandemic Partner Bend group. More information on how to access this service will be provided soon.
Please read and understand the rules and event protocols below.
Please read and understand the rules and event protocols below.
- All Vendors, Staff, Customers and FYP Volunteers are REQUIRED to wear masks or cloth face coverings. You will not be allowed into the event without a mask.
- Physical Distancing: Booths will be spaced apart from one another in order to leave plenty of space for safe shopping and product handling. We will also have social distancing marked lines at each vendor.
- Distancing Monitor: Booths will be required to host or staff a Distancing Monitor whose role is to enforce physical distancing between vendor and customers.
- Frequent Sanitization: Booths will be required to wipe down with disinfectant any and all surfaces that are frequently touched by any vendor, staff, or customer.
- No Sampling
- No/Limited Scales: Any item that is sold by weight must be pre-bagged and pre-weighed. Some items may still be allowed to be weighed, but we hope to limit this.
- Customers will be required to purchase any item they touch: The booth’s Distancing Monitor can enforce this policy if no one else is available to do so. In order to relieve any issue that may come with this, vendors can display their items at the back of the booth and bag items for customers.
- Hand washing and Hand sanitizer: Vendors will be required to have a hand washing station or hand sanitizer available at their booth to be utilized between each transaction
About Fill Your Pantry
This year's fifth annual Central Oregon Fill Your Pantry event is coming to you Saturday November 14th 11am to 3pm at OSU Extension at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds.
Never been to a Fill Your Pantry event? You won’t want to miss this!
Fill Your Pantry is a community bulk buying event created so YOU can fill up your pantry, freezer, and root cellar full of great local products for the winter. Say bye bye to busy holiday lines and veggies that have traveled farther than you during holiday vacations, and say hello to a cupboard full of local meat, grains, veggies, ferments, and more.
This is a bulk buying event, so bring your muscles! Farmers, ranchers, orchardists, and producers will only be selling large quantities of items. For example, 20lb bags of onions, 50lb bags of potatoes, half wheels of cheese, etc. This is a great opportunity for vendors to move product before the harsh Central Oregon winter and a great opportunity for YOU to save money and eat well all winter long.
Never been to a Fill Your Pantry event? You won’t want to miss this!
Fill Your Pantry is a community bulk buying event created so YOU can fill up your pantry, freezer, and root cellar full of great local products for the winter. Say bye bye to busy holiday lines and veggies that have traveled farther than you during holiday vacations, and say hello to a cupboard full of local meat, grains, veggies, ferments, and more.
This is a bulk buying event, so bring your muscles! Farmers, ranchers, orchardists, and producers will only be selling large quantities of items. For example, 20lb bags of onions, 50lb bags of potatoes, half wheels of cheese, etc. This is a great opportunity for vendors to move product before the harsh Central Oregon winter and a great opportunity for YOU to save money and eat well all winter long.
Striving for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity
We strongly believe in community over everything. Fill Your Pantry was started to created a healthier, more robust, more food secure Central Oregon community. Fill Your Pantry strives to be accessible to every single member of our community. We work hard every year to create a more welcoming event, a more equitable event, and an event that exemplifies the community and the place we want to live in. We believe BIPOC lives matter, we believe LGBTQ lives matter, we believe Latinx lives matter. These folx are members of our community who we seek to welcome and empower in whatever ways we can.
Some ways we are trying to be more equitable this year include:
Some ways we HOPE to be more equitable (let us know if you have suggestions!)
Some ways we are trying to be more equitable this year include:
- Partnering with Bend Farmers Market to accept EBT day-of the event.
- Seeking sponsorship to be able to offer Double Up Food Bucks for SNAP/EBT recipients
- Providing personal shopper volunteers for folx who may feel uncomfortable in crowds, who are immunocompromised, or who may not be able to shop for themselves for any reason.
Some ways we HOPE to be more equitable (let us know if you have suggestions!)
- Creating a more welcoming environment every year for people of all race, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, and religion! We hope you feel comfortable coming to our event. If you do not, please let us know what we can do to support and welcome you!
- Finding transportation or finding venues with public transportation access for those who are without transportation or have limited access.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can anyone come or do I need tickets? Yes, anyone can come. No tickets are necessary. This event operates like a Farmers Market, so first come first serve.
- Do I have to buy things in bulk? This event is focused on bulk buying to get you, the customer, the best bang for your buck, and to help the farmers move items out of their barns and into your cupboards. There will be some items for sale in non-bulk quantities like some cuts of meat, salad greens, etc.
- How do I pay for things? This event operates like a farmers market, so you will pay each individual farmer/rancher/producer. Many vendors take credit card through square, but some may not. It is always best practice to bring cash or checks for vendors to avoid credit card fees.
- Do you take EBT? We are partnering with Bend Farmers Market to help us make this possible. Bend Farmers Market will be set up at the event to exchange EBT/SNAP dollars for wooden tokens. You will then take the wooden tokens and spend them like your normal EBT with participating vendors.
- How does pre-ordering work and do I HAVE to pre-order?. Pre orders are NOT mandatory, but merely ensure that you get the products you want. Pre order items are NOT the only items available at Fill Your Pantry. We will have more vendors and more items available day-of as well. Pre ordered items MUST be picked up at the Fill Your Pantry event on November 14th. If you do not pick up your pre order items, you forfeit those items. Pre ordered items MUST be paid for before the order is placed with the farmers. The day-of the event, you will visit each farmer/producer you ordered from and pick-up your products from each individual business. Please make note of who you ordered from so that you remember to visit them.