Erika Polmar

Erika Polmar is an agritourism entrepreneur and food industry activist in Oregon. She founded Plate & Pitchfork, a Farm Dinner series, and helped lead the effort to lobby for governmental relief for small food-industry businesses during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Erika Polmar

Early life and education

Polmar has a degree in communications from St. Louis University.^{[1] [2]}

Career

Polmar began her career selling advertising for the Willamette Week She opened the Portland office of citysearch.com and continued to work in technology product development until September of 2001.Days after the layoff she was working at a winery sorting grapes when she learned that a group of Portland chefs were planning a fundraiser for children orphaned by the 9/11 terrorist attacks and needed an organizer.^[1] She produced the event, Flux, which was a success, and through the experience made contacts in the local food and wine industry.

Polmar founded Plate & Pitchfork farm dinners with Emily Berreth in 2003. The dinners addressed the disconnect between Americans and the food system while raising money to end food insecurity. Each dinner is held outdoors in a local farmer's field and features a menu planned and prepared by two local chefs using product from that farm and wines from a local winery. ,^{[3] [4][5] [6][7]}

In 2010 Berreth stepped away from the project and Polmar grew the business to offer added hands-on cooking class events, rafting trips with chef-prepared local foods and agritourism consulting. ^{[2] [1][6][8]}

During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic Polmar led local and national efforts to lobby local, state, and federal governments for relief for small food-related businesses in the Northwest and the US.^[9][10][11] She was a founding member and leadership team member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition.^[9][12][13]

In June of 2020 Erika became the Executive Director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition.^{[citation needed]} She continues to serve as an Advisor to the Independent Restaurant Alliance of Oregon, a member of the Oregon Agritourism Network leadership team and a Member of the Board of Slow Food Wallowas.^[8][14][15]

Personal life

Polmar moved to Oregon after graduating from college.^{[1] [9][16]}

References

1. Sawyer, Adam (2018-10-01). Unique Eats and Eateries of Portland, Oregon. Reedy Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-68106-186-3.
2. Taylor, Mia. "How to Score a Seat at Your City's Secret Pop-Up Dinners". TheStreet. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
3. "Plate & Pitchfork". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
4. DiNardo, Kelly (23 October 2008). "Farm-to-table meals let you dine right at the source". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
5. Gartland, Ashley (2011-01-01). Dishing Up Oregon: 145 Recipes That Celebrate Farm-to-Table Flavors. Storey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60342-566-7.
6. "Plate & Pitchfork fights hunger in Oregon". KGW. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
7. "Plate and Pitchfork Brings Portland the Farm". Food & Beverage Today. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
8. Nesbitt, Katy (13 March 2018). "'Plate and Pitchfork' helps hungry Oregonians". Capital Press. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
9. "Right at the Fork: Right at the Moment: Erika Polmar of Plate & Pitchfork is advocating on behalf of Portland & Oregon small food businesses". Listen Notes. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
10. Russell, Michael (2020-03-31). "Portland restaurants face panic, frustration as rents come due". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
11. "Erika Polmar testimony". olis.leg.state.or.us. 18 March 2020.
12. "Mission | Independent Restaurant Coalition". Independent Restaurant Coalition | Save Local Restaurants Affected by COVID. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
13. "NEW SURVEY: Only 1 in 5 Restaurant Owners Are Certain They Can Survive the COVID-19 Crisis Despite Stimulus Assistance, Putting at Risk 11 Million Workers and $1 Trillion Industry Without Urgent Fixes to Paycheck Protection Program" (PDF). James Beard Foundation. 16 April 2020.
14. "Oregon Agritourism Network Leadership Team". Travel Oregon. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
15. Fery, Melissa (2019-05-02). "Growing Your Business with Agritourism: Land Use and Policy Considerations". Ag - Agritourism. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
16. Burningham, Lucy (2012). "Lifestyle: Erika Polmar - Oregon Home". www.oregonhomemagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.