Erika Polmar

'Erika Polmar is an agritourism entrepreneur and food industry activist in Oregon. She founded Plate & Pitchfork, and helped lead the effort to lobby for governmental relief for independent restaurants and bars during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic as a founder of the Independent Restaurant Alliance of Oregon and the Independent Restaurant Coalition.

Early life and education

Polmar is a graduate of St. Louis University.

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 she was one of the millions of individuals who lost their jobs in the aftermath of the September 11th attack. Days after the layoff she was volunteering 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 the host farm and wines from a local winery.

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. In 2023 Polmar founded the Plate & Pitchfork Producer Fund, a 501c3 organization that provides financial support to family-owned farmers, ranchers and food producers in Oregon.

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 Oregon and the US. She was a founding member and leadership team member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition where her work led to the creation of the $28.6B Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

In June of 2020 Erika became the first COO of the Independent Restaurant Coalition. She currently serves as the organizations Executive Director. Polmar is 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.


Personal life

Polmar moved to Oregon after graduating from college.[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 Sawyer, Adam (2018-10-01). Unique Eats and Eateries of Portland, Oregon. Reedy Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-68106-186-3.
  2. ↑ Burningham, Lucy (2012). "Lifestyle: Erika Polmar - Oregon Home". www.oregonhomemagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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