There’s a certain magic in the high desert. You can taste it in a sun-warmed cherry tomato, bursting with sweetness that only our long days, cool nights, and volcanic soils can create. You can smell it in a fresh-cut bunch of basil, its aroma sharpened by the dry mountain air. You can see it in peppers that shine from lemon yellow to plum purple, their skins glossy under our endless sky, and in garlic and onions twisting together in long braids, their papery skins rustling as if holding each other close for the cooler nights ahead.
But this abundance is fleeting, a brief, brilliant window before the cold sweeps in. Every day becomes about gathering, savoring, and preserving the flavors that define this place before they slip away.
From Soil to Plate
This flavor, this magic, doesn’t happen by accident. It’s born from volcanic soil rich with minerals, snowmelt-fed irrigation, and the skill of local farmers who have learned how to coax life from a place both rugged and generous. Their hard work turns seeds into something extraordinary, season after season.
Even the most careful planning can’t always keep pace with the forces of nature. A bumper crop of tomatoes might ripen all at once, a Saturday market might be quiet despite perfect weather—too often that means perfectly good food is left in the field, tilled under, or hauled away.
In Steps Cascades Cannery
Cascades Cannery, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, aims to rescue surplus and imperfect produce from local farms and transform it into jams, sauces, pickles, soups, and other shelf-stable goods. These products keep the harvest alive long after the season ends, creating both nourishment and connection.
Preservation is both an art and a science — the use of an acid, like vinegar, to lower the pH of food, combined with heat and the right techniques, allows us to create shelf-stable foods that can be safely stored for years without refrigeration. This means we can capture peak flavor and nutrition, making it available long after the growing season has ended.
Some jars will find their way onto local store shelves and market tables, generating a sustainable income stream to keep the Cannery running. Others will be shared through foodaccess networks like The Giving Plate and the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance’s Fresh Harvest Kits program, where our marinara sauce will soon be featured in upcoming boxes, connecting families in a new way with the farms that grew the flavors in the jar.
Modeled after successful preservation initiatives in other regions, Cascades Cannery is the first of its kind here — built for the unique realities of the high desert. Our short growing season, unpredictable weather, and rural distances make food access a constant challenge. This work is designed to meet those challenges head-on, ensuring that the best of our local harvest stays right here, feeding our neighbors.
Who We Are
We’re Maegen and James, farmers who’ve worked Central Oregon soil for years, first on our own plot at Cultivate Farms, and now alongside many other growers. We’re also raising our three children here, teaching them the value of hard work, good food, and community. We’ve felt the heartbreak of watching beautiful food go unsold, and we’ve seen firsthand how much is lost simply because there wasn’t the infrastructure to save it.
This is personal to us. We believe the people of Central Oregon deserve access to the same high-quality food we grow for our family — and that farmers deserve a system that values and supports their work. Cascades Cannery is that bridge, connecting the fields to the tables in our community.
Why Now
Oregon’s climate is as unpredictable as it is beautiful. Frost can arrive as early as August, like it did this year. Abundance here is fleeting, and preserving it means working quickly, shoulder to shoulder with farmers, before the cold claims it. By acting in that narrow window, we can keep thousands of pounds of local produce in our community, supporting farms, feeding neighbors, and celebrating the flavors that make this place special.
We’ve seen similar models transform food security in other communities. Now it’s Central Oregon’s turn — with our own farms, our own flavors, and our own challenges.
This fall, you’ll be able to taste the high desert in every jar — the sweetness of our short summer, the richness of volcanic soil, the care of the hands that grew it. And thanks to Cascades Cannery, you’ll taste it not just now, but all year long.
BendFarms.com/cascadescannery
@cascadescannery
How to Join the Movement
This is just the beginning, and we want you to be part of it.
● Shop Local: Look for our first products this fall, debuting at the Fill Your Pantry event on November 8th at Deschutes County Fairgrounds.
● Sponsor a Batch: Your contribution can cover jars, ingredients, and processing, turning raw produce into hundreds of meals.
● Volunteer: Whether you’re a seasoned canner or simply have skills to share, there’s a place for you in the Cannery.