The January 2024 ice storm left its mark on Lane County, and over a year later some are still struggling to rebuild. Lydia Scott and Alexzandria York, co-owners of Rainbow Acres Community Farm, have been without electricity in their cabin since the storm a year ago, Scott says. “On our farm we had three power poles come down and well over 50 trees,” she says. “We had to chainsaw our way out of the driveway for three days as trees kept falling.” Their power company replaced one pole and Scott and York were able to restore the pole powering their well after eight months. Scott and York started Rainbow Acres Community Farm in 2023 to “grow and raise high quality nutritious food with community and in hopes of offering a rural space to connect, be in nature and share joy for those of us who haven’t always felt safe in rural spaces,” Scott says. The couple offers their farm as a free event space for BIPOC and queer communities in the area and hopes to explore a community-based model of ownership in the future. On Saturday, March 15, Nelson’s in the Whit is hosting a FUNdraiser to support the farm’s recovery from the ice storm, featuring a silent auction, live DJing from DJ Rortron and a change to Nelson’s usual birria taco recipe. While typically made with beef at Nelson’s, the taco will be served with goat meat from Rainbow Acre’s own herd. Proceeds will go toward repairing the electricity in Scott and York’s cabin home. “I feel like farms have the potential to be a heartbeat for a community, a community center of sorts and a community response team,” Scott says. “This is what we hope to grow and develop here at Rainbow Acres Community Farm, but without the community support we will not be able to keep this farm going.” — Emma J Nelson
