“Portland Farmers Market is thrilled to partner with The Art Institute of Portland as a 2010 season sponsor,” said Ann Forsthoefel, Executive Director of Portland Farmers Market. “It’s a great partnership since the College offers an excellent culinary program and shares our deep commitment to sustainability. We’re looking forward to a great season!”

The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Portland will be partnering with Portland Farmers Market to host a series of hands-on fundraising events that will feature local culinary luminaries, including their Culinary Artist-in-Residence, Chef Cory Schreiber. In addition to assisting Portland Farmers Market on meeting their fundraising goals for 2010, students and faculty will be developing recipes and classes for this year’s “Kids Cook at the Market,” a series of courses offered at the market for children 7-11 years old.

“Our partnership with the Portland Farmers Market allows us to showcase our commitment to our shared values —using local products, building a strong food community founded on principles of quality and sustainability, and teaching people about how food and cooking can serve as the foundation for great personal and professional fulfillment. The opportunities that exist in the world of food are vast, and our participation with the Market reinforces this position, while allowing our students to have the real world experiences that give them the motivation and direction to succeed, “ said Ken Rubin, Chef Director at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Portland.

The Art Institute of Portland and Portland Farmers Market are also collaborating on a series of projects, utilizing students in Graphic Design, Advertising and Web Design programs. This winter, Brash Creative, The Art Institute of Portland’s student-run advertising agency, partnered with Portland Farmers Market to develop designs and graphics for their 2010 merchandise to be sold at the market, and created an advertising campaign to promote sales. Brash Creative will also be working with Web Design & Interactive Media students to redesign and update Portland Farmers Market’s website as part of the College’s 2010 Web Raising, an annual event where student volunteers work with a local non-profit organization to develop a website in 24 hours. This year’s Web Raising will take place on April 17th and will focus on creating a content management system (CMS) to allow Portland Farmers Market the ability to more easily update content. Students will continue developing Portland Farmers Market’s site as part of a two-term web design course beginning in April. Throughout the course, students will work with Portland Farmers Market to develop interactive educational content about sustainable practices, as part of Portland Farmers Market’s new waste reduction and sustainability initiative, EverGreen.