Hacienda's Micro Mercantes Products/Loan Program Featured in Oregon Public Radio Story.

OPB story HERE includes audio links as well as story transcript. An excerpt:

"Summer is high season for fresh cooking ingredients in Oregon. This weekend, people will flock to farmers' markets all around the state. Most markets also feature a few homemade foods for you to try. April Baer checked in with an operation that’s helping some mother-daughter chefs take their business to a wider audience.

When Lourdes Hernandez makes tamales, the main ingredient is tradition.Lourdes Hernandez: “I learned from my grandma and my mom, and they still sell tamales in Mexico. What make the best of my tamales is that I put a lot of my heart, my knowledge, my expertise, and it also it has the flavor of my country or origin.”

That’s Hernandez, getting a little translation help from Pietro Ferrari. Hernandez is part of Micro Mercantes, a small business that makes and sells food at farmers’ markets.

The program was formed by Ferrari’s agency, Hacienda CDC. It’s a non-profit housing and economic development group based in Portland, that offers microloans to help Latinos get their businesses off the ground."

A schedule of when/where to find Micro Mercantes vendors and products is HERE.

A short YouTube video showing Micro Mercantes food prep in Hacienda's commerical kitchen, as well as sales at the Hollywood Farmer's Market, is HERE.

(Full disclosure: I am a member of Hacienda's Board).