Fundraising begun for new market and food hub in HR
By Tom Peterson
A gofundme site for a Columbia Gorge Community Market and Food Hub in the former Hood River News Building at 419 State Street was posted on Tuesday, Nov. 9.
Michael Kelly and Lauren Heumann are listed as organizers for the fundraiser. It stood at $5,392 of the $147,500 goal as of this afternoon, Friday, Nov. 19.
CCCNews reached out to Kelly who agreed to talk about the project after Thanksgiving.
Realtor Brian Lauterbach who represents the owners of the building, The Denny Smith Family, said negotiations to lease the building are underway.
He said the prior deal, which had Natural Grocers of Colorado taking on the space, fell apart months ago when owners were confronted with change of use issues with the city.
There was additional due diligence to get accomplished before a lease for the proposed Treebird Market would make sense. But they were “getting close.”
“Amerititle and A Kidz Dental Zone are staying in the building,” he added. “They are not going anywhere.”
Kelly and Heumann posted the following about the community market on the Go Fund Me site.
“Treebird Market is excited to announce project plans for a mission-driven community market and food hub in the former Hood River News Building! Working closely with like-minded partners, we aim to create a full-service retail grocery along with infrastructure to support local farmers and producers in the Columbia River Gorge. This project represents a transformative investment in regional agriculture, urban and rural development, food access, and equity, with an emphasis on building a strong localized food economy.”
You can go to the site by clicking here.
