UPDATE: EVENT RESCHEDULED

Due to forecasted weather conditions, this Beers to Your Health event has been rescheduled for April 9, 2015. The tasting has also been rescheduled to 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12.

Astoria — Jared Oakes and Jessika Tantisook, farmers of Washington state’s only certified organic cranberry farm, will be the speakers at Astoria Co-op Grocery’s monthly lecture Beers to Your Health at the Fort George Lovell Showroom at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11.

Oakes and Tantisook of Starvation Alley Farms will tell the story of transitioning their bogs to organic and helping others do the same. Prior to the lecture, they will offer free samples of their juice from 4 to 6 p.m. at the co-op. The public is welcome to stop by.

Starvation Alley encompasses a total of 10 acres in Seaview and Long Beach. The couple took over the farm (where Oakes grew up) in 2010. They wanted to farm cranberries organically but were told by farmers and other experts that it wasn’t possible. They explored that assumption and eventually gained organic certification for their farm.

“It is hard, especially in the beginning because we didn’t have any support. If you want to learn to grow organic apples you could probably find enough stuff online, call universities or get advice from professionals. That wasn’t available for cranberries,” explained Tantisook. “As new farmers transitioning to organic, we lost a lot of production for the first two years, hence the value added products,” she added.

Starvation Alley created a brand of juice that attracted the attention of the emerging craft cocktail industry. The farmers sell their product to 70 accounts, mostly bars in Seattle and Portland. They sell their juice and cranberries at farmers markets and locally at Astoria Co-op. The juice is raw, unsweetened and undiluted cranberries. It is not heated or pasteurized, which Tantisook says enhances the health benefits and taste.

Starvation Alley Farms is building its research database with a goal of spreading sustainable farming and educating consumers about the food system and the importance of supporting local farmers. They are working with two other cranberry growers on the Long Beach Peninsula to transition to organic certification. There are currently only about 300 acres of organic cranberry farms in the United States out of 39,000 total acres of producing cranberry bogs.

Fort George Lovell Showroom is located at 426 14th St. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the lecture is free and open to all ages. Astoria Co-op Grocery is located at 1355 Exchange St. For information, call 503-325-0027.