A toast to all things tomato

 Gorge Grown Food Network (GGFN) hosted its first ever Tomato Fest on Aug. 29 as a centerpiece of the weekly Hood River Farmers Market in downtown Hood River.

Serving as a hub for residents to learn about local tomatoes and the farms that grew them, the event provided a handful of ways for attendees to get their fix of the fruit. Several vendors provided a portion of their crops for a tomato-tasting spread. It included four specialty varieties, from Dragon Heart to Rebel Yello, each carrying a unique bright color and punch of flavor.

Many farms offered bulk sales and canner specials at their booths, selling bundles of ingredients to make tomato-based favorites like salsa or marinara sauce. Bakeries and artists incorporated tomatoes into their own products as well. Many vendors even wore tomato earrings made by one of the market’s jewelers.

GGFN’s Farmers Market Operations Director Hannah Nanda said the idea began out of a desire to spotlight the fruit as it nears the end of its peak season.

“This time every year there’s always a plethora of tomatoes at the market, so it’s really just an effort to support our local farmers,” Nanda said. “[We] wanted to create a little bit of buzz around this really special seasonal item and encourage folks to stock up, maybe get extra [for] canning projects, or just try something new with our tomato tasting.”

For example, Killer Tomato, one of the participating vendors, is a vegetable farm founded in 2020 that prides itself on its “no-till, no ‘cides” practices, according to its website. The farm is owned and operated by Katie and Evan Menzel with their baby Iris, all of whom found this week to be particularly exciting.

Evan Menzel was a kids cartoon writer before moving to Oregon to bring his hobby farm to life. Killer Tomato sells a diverse spread of vegetables, and is in the midst of opening a “u-pick food forest” co-op in tandem with the farm. They hope to connect community members to fresh produce, especially rare fruits that are often unavailable in commercial grocery stores.

GGFN plans to revisit the festival next year to highlight vendors’ specialties and to tackle food waste.

“I think this is a good kind of test to see like how it goes, but based on what I see currently, it seems like people are using it as a chance to stock up, which is really nice,” Nanda said.

Nanda plans to prepare fresh salsa as well as some fun treats for her friends, including a chantilly cake stuffed with homemade tomato jam. From savory sauces to sweet treats, the versatility of the tomato is seemingly an endless horizon.

“If you miss Tomato Fest, don’t worry,” Nanda said. “There are a lot of tomatoes still coming through October [from] what I’ve seen in past seasons.”

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The Hood River Farmer’s Market will continue into November, after which it will transition into the winter season on the waterfront starting in December.