Who we are…

We are Klamath Grown, a local food network where ranchers, farmers and makers connect with eaters, educators and community stakeholders here in the Klamath Basin. We’re proud of the incredible diversity of food we cultivate despite our region’s many environmental and economic challenges. Together, we’re moving the local food system to be what our community wants and deserves. We believe it’s possible to get local food to the people who need it and for farmers to receive a fair market value. In fact, both are necessary for a resilient and healthy community.

What we do…

Education & Promotion: Klamath Grown engages and educates all parts of the community to sustain and celebrate the incredible diversity of food grown right here in the Klamath Basin.

Support: Klamath Grown supports a diverse network of food producers and stakeholders to build capacity and facilitate collaboration, innovation and resiliency.

Improve Access: Klamath Grown fosters collaboration with local partners, creating alternative food pathways and increasing equitable access to fresh, locally produced food.

Klamath Grown is a food hub. What is that?

Food hubs play an essential role in bridging the gap between farm to table . A food hub can take many different forms, but they all have the same goal: to connect people who produce food (farmers, ranchers, bakers, etc.) and people who eat or buy it. Klamath Grown is a non-profit food hub in the Klamath Basin on a mission to bring people together around local food. We promote the incredible diversity of food grown here, support producers, operate an online market and make wholesale connections. Across the state, there are other food hubs doing similar, exciting work, but each is slightly different as they adapt to the needs of their unique community.

Meet the Team

Katie Swanson | Co-Founder & Vice President

Katie owns and operates Sweet Union Farm, a small vegetable farm in Klamath Falls, and is co-founder of Klamath Grown. She loves working on her farm and feels fortunate to also be a part of the broader efforts that improve our local food system. When she’s not farming, she likes to preserve food, eat whatever amazing food her husband is cooking, cuddle with her cat and occasionally get off the farm for a hike or paddling around.

Sarah Akbari | Market & Communications Manager

Sarah started working with Klamath Grown in September 2022 as a RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) AmeriCorps member. She served for 2 years before recently being hired on full-time.

She is passionate about using marketing and communication to promote local food and strengthen communities. In her free time, she loves to cook and try new recipes, enjoy the outdoors, and be active.

Bonnie Nork | Board Member

Bonnie has had a licensed kitchen and baking business since 2011. She is passionate about connecting with local growers and encouraging others to as well. Using locally grown ingredients and natural colors has remained a focus of her home based bakery since the very beginning. 

Bonnie is married to Mike and has two children, Ryan (20) and Elaina (17). When she isn’t baking, she’s networking with the Virtuosa Society, offering input for Klamath Grown, attending her kids’ music concerts and recitals, or in the outdoors. Hiking, backpacking, skiing, whitewater rafting, canyoneering, and canoeing are all passions that she tends to obsess over. 

Kelsie Randall | Co-Founder

Kelsie co-owns and operates Box R Beef with her husband, farms grass and alfalfa hay, and is co-founder of Klamath Grown. Her formal education is in Civil Engineering, where she’s worked for over 10 years as a Project Manager, managing the design and construction for local and regional capital improvement projects. She loves raising (well, mostly playing with) all of her animals, and has a passion for helping to bring the community together around local food. When not working on projects around the ranch, she loves finding great food and just exploring the outside world with her daughter and pups.

Delaney Ryde | Program Coordinator

Program Coordinator

Delaney is the newest member of the Klamath Grown team. She moved here from Ashland in September and will be supporting many different arms of Klamath Grown as the Program Coordinator. Her past work in school garden education and on small organic farms has shown her the power that local food has to positively impact communities. She has spent time on farms in Michigan, Alabama and Oregon, which has helped develop a well-rounded background for the different needs in multiple growing seasons and small communities. Growing up in Michigan she has a deep love for water and seeks it out whenever possible! Outside of work you can find her unplugging by practicing yoga, paddling, climbing, gardening, and seeking out delicious food. 

Jennifer Spicher | Board Member

Jennifer currently works as a high school counselor at Klamath Union High School where she loves getting to support teens as they figure out who they are and what they want to do after they graduate. Growing up in a farming community in Iowa where gardening and preserving food were staples of her childhood summers, supporting local food is something that's long been important in her life. Jennifer also loves backpacking, biking with her husband, working in their ever-expanding garden, and playing Spelling Bee while drinking her morning coffee.

Rose Clarke | Executive Director

Rose blossoms when she finds opportunities to connect with and improve her community. With a Bachelor's degree in Botany from Oregon State and a wealth of experience in agriculture, forestry, education, and food access, Rose most recently worked for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Chautauqua County, New York. She moved to the Klamath Basin with her family in September 2024. Rose grew up visiting this region on family vacations escaping the Portland rain, and during college worked summers on a vegetable farm in Fort Bidwell, CA. 

Rose loves time spent adventuring and reading with her children, River and Juniper, and her husband, Matt. She won a blue ribbon at the 2024 Merrill Potato Festival for her hand-knit mittens (made with local wool!) and enjoys landscaping with native plants from seed to soil. She is very excited to get to know, learn from, and advocate for farmers and local food in her new role with Klamath Grown. 

Alex Froom | President

Alex is a theologian, social worker, and nonprofit leader who works at the intersection of food, land, and community. He holds a Master of Divinity and Master of Social Work from Boston University. He and his wife, Malu, are creating Watershed Row—a vibrant pedestrian oriented block in downtown Klamath Falls that introduces people to local food and nature. Alex worked in community organizing, nonprofit development, youth development, and food systems in New England, the American Southwest, and the Pacific Northwest. Alex deeply wants to help create a resilient local food web that is good for people, the land, and all our plant and animal relatives. He loves mountains and water. For leisure, when he isn’t in his garden with Malu and their son, he hikes, bikes, skis, and paddles.

Scott Fenters | Board Member

Scotty is a fifth generation farmer in the Klamath Basin. He is the owner of Easy Growing LLC growing Alfalfa, Garlic, Grains, and Potatoes.

 Join our Team!

Want to join in our important work? We would love to have you!