East Portland Chamber of Commerce

Supporting local business is good for you, and good for your community. In a small local store the inventory is carefully chosen by the stores owner.   Build a relationship with your local store owner and staff.   In building that relationship you will quickly discover that  the money spent in your local stores do help support and maintain your community.

When you visit one of our Portland stores you will be delighted with the fresh aroma of fresh fruit 12 months out of the year.   However this would never be possible if we relied on only local or even regional fruit growers. Weather also plays a large roll in our sourcing of fruit;  for example this last December brought abnormal weather to the pacific coast. Our strawberries were coming in very soft and not to the quality we demand for our Arrangements. So we immediately started working with our brokers to source better quality berries, we found those strawberries in New Zealand. They were beautiful and tasted great.   Our world suddenly becomes much smaller and we realize how we often depend on people around the globe to help our local growth.

As an owner of three local Edible Arrangements stores in Portland it’s been a real learning experience for me on just how global our economy is.  I do believe firmly at the same time that is important to support local famers and to purchase locally as much as possible.   Supporting our local economy means at times Strawberries from New Zealand, Pineapples from Hawaii, Bananas from Ecuador, Mangos from Mexico, Oranges from Florida, Grapes from California, Apples from Washington too Kale and Watermelon from Oregon. How else could we all enjoy fruit that provides so many health benefits 12 months a year?  Just as its 5 o’clock some where, Cantaloupe is also in season somewhere… Did you know the peak season for Strawberries is February in Florida?  Perfect for Valentines Day!

Fun Fruit Facts:

• Strawberries: Fontenelle, a centenarian writer of the 18th century gave all credit for his long life to his habit of eating fresh Strawberries every day.
• Pineapple: It takes a year and a half for the Pineapple plant to produce a Pineapple. Christopher Columbus discovered the “Pine of the Indies” on his second voyage to the Caribbean’s in 1493.
• Honeydew: Honeydew is a great source of foliate that has become well known for its power to forbid birth defects and is of great importance to women of childbearing age.

So enjoy the wonderfully fun Arrangements from you’re locally owned Edible Arrangements stores, the flavor of places like Hawaii and New Zealand, and the many health benefits of fresh fruit as you shop locally.  Enjoy at times a bite of your world while supporting  your local community.