Nehalem couple lobby to revise Oregon law restricting potlucks

Jennifer Childress is the president of the White Clover Grange in Nehalem Oregon, where the Pie Day Auction and Feast, a fundraiser that auctions off pies baked by local bakers, chefs and restaurants, has been an annual tradition for the last 16 years. This year, she was worried they might have to replace the local flavor and ask the community to bid on pies from, say, Costco, or baked goods that were otherwise made in commercial kitchens.

That’s because Oregon law deems the community potluck an illegal event, for food safety reasons. It says that if an event is open to the public, it’s recognized as a “single event temporary restaurant,” and homemade food cannot be served. If a potluck is invite-only, or only marketed to a specific group, it’s all-clear. As reported by the Oregon Journalism Project, Childress and her husband, Watt, decided to do something about it by meeting with their local lawmakers and officials at the Oregon Health Authority. They even delivered homemade pies to legislators and Governor Tina Kotek.

We hear from Jennifer and Watt Childress about their zeal for community potlucks and their hopes for changing the law that restricts them.

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