Central Oregon Locavore is aiming to open a year-round marketplace at 1135 NW Ochoa Dr., Suite 100, in Bend’s Discovery West neighborhood before Thanksgiving, though the nonprofit still needs $100,000 to finish construction. Executive Director Nicolle Timm-Branch said the space will stock fresh produce, meat, dairy and other goods from regional farmers and ranchers once it opens.
The organization has already raised roughly $185,000 toward an original $200,000 campaign goal, putting the remaining gap within reach through individual gifts, business contributions, donor-advised funds and IRA-based giving. Timm-Branch framed the push as essential to keeping small producers in business. “Local food doesn’t survive on good intentions,” she said. “Farmers and ranchers need reliable places to sell what they produce.”
The marketplace is designed to give westside Bend residents permanent, convenient access to locally grown food while giving small producers a dependable retail outlet, something Timm-Branch has described as missing from the area’s food system. People interested in donating for this cause can go to their official website.
Central Oregon Locavore has spent years building relationships with regional farms and ranches, positioning the nonprofit to fill the marketplace with a rotating supply of seasonal goods rather than relying on a single distributor. If the fundraising push succeeds, the Discovery West location would give the group its most permanent retail footprint yet in Central Oregon’s growing local food movement.
