Common Roots · Portland, OR · Since 2014
Food security and dignity,
grown by neighbors.
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit running a neighbor pantry, ninety-six community garden plots, and nutrition education in southeast Portland. Twelve years in; built and run by the neighbors we serve.
Three programs
What we run, every week
Each program is designed to dignify the people it serves — not to count them as need-statistics for a grant application. Names are voluntary; nobody is photographed without consent.
Neighbor pantry
Tuesdays and Saturdays, 4–7 pm. Choice-model pantry — neighbors select what they want from open shelves. No proof of need required, ever.
Community plots
Ninety-six raised beds at the SE 35th garden. Sliding-scale plot fees ($0–$120/year); priority for families within walking distance.
Nutrition education
Free six-week cooking + nutrition workshops at Sunnyside, Glencoe, and Richmond elementary. Adult evening cohorts at the garden.
The work · 2014–2026
Twelve years of neighbors feeding neighbors
A story · September 2025
A Saturday harvest, in plain language
Last September we harvested 4,200 pounds of produce from the garden in one Saturday with twenty-seven volunteers — eight regular plot-holders, twelve neighbors from down the block, and seven members of the local high school’s environmental club. Everything went into the pantry the following Tuesday. The neighbors who picked up that week didn’t know which carrots came from their neighbor’s plot. They didn’t need to. That’s the point.