Tygh Valley Farm Keeps Fresh Produce Available Year-Round
By Andrew Cutler
Elizabeth Unti recalls the moment in 2021 when she bought her current farmstand, a 10-by-20-foot insulated shed. Her husband, Evan, encouraged her to upgrade from a tiny trailer. But she wasn’t sure she could use all the new space.
“I remember thinking, ‘What will I ever fill this with? It’s so big,’” Elizabeth says.
Today, that stand, dubbed Tygh Creek Sustainable, feels small to her.
The farmstand is stocked year-round with produce from a network of ethical growers Elizabeth has spent years cultivating. In the first 6 months of 2025, Tygh Creek Sustainable spent $70,000 on other farmers’ products—ethical and clean wares, by and large from small farmers.
“We’re a tiny lil’ stand, but that’s a lot,” Elizabeth says. “It made me feel like what we’re doing is making a difference, even beyond this immediate area.”
The farmstand operates on the honor system. Customers weigh their purchases, leave cash or pay via Venmo, and take home fresh produce. Yet Tygh Creek Sustainable embodies something deeper than convenient grocery shopping. The venture is also about building a food system rooted in sustainability.
From Windowsills to 12 Acres
Elizabeth grew up in the Prineville and Bend areas, where her father, Tony Dombrowski, worked as a landscaper for many years. She escorted Tony to jobs, trimming hedges and mowing lawns. 1 of his clients was Les Schwab, whose grounds her father maintained. Les founded the tire company that bears his name and became 1 of Oregon’s most successful businessmen.
“After seeing how creative and talented my dad was with plants, Les asked what he wanted to do,” Elizabeth says. “My dad said, ‘Grow food.’ Les hired another landscaper, and my dad started growing gardens for Les and Dorothy, as well as Les’ daughter and her family. He worked for their personal family for something like 30 years, growing food.”
Tony now lives on Elizabeth’s farm. Elizabeth has kept a garden since leaving home at 17, even if only on an apartment windowsill. Her first house with Evan was shaded, but she maximized every sunny spot. Then she leased a greenhouse and started a community-supported agriculture program. The need was clear, but space was limited.
The garden took shape when the couple discovered 12 acres on Tygh Creek. For most of the year, Elizabeth and Tony manage day-to-day operations. Evan, a special education teacher, becomes a laborer in the summer. Given the operation’s possible growing pains, Elizabeth wants to keep it manageable until they can reasonably justify hiring someone. Of the 12 acres, roughly 2 go to diverse food production. A 6-acre field grows soil-enhancing forage crops.
Beyond Organic
The growing season starts in early January when Elizabeth evaluates seeds and studies catalogs. By late February, she fires up the germination greenhouse—a 16-by-20-foot structure with heat mats and a propane heater. Peppers start around March 1. Propagating requires at least twice-daily oversight for 8 to 12 weeks.
Elizabeth uses different types of protective structures to extend the growing season and start warm-weather crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, and melons, earlier than they could if they were planted directly outside. The more intensive harvest does not begin until mid-July or early August, although cucumbers, kale, peas, radishes, and late carrots come earlier. Some years, harvest stretches well past Halloween.
Elizabeth’s produce isn’t certified organic, but it routinely exceeds organic standards. “I’ve considered becoming certified so I could wholesale to a distributor, but it’d change the scope on a community level, would become more expensive for the demographic we serve, and community access means more to me than a higher margin,” she says. The farm uses wholly regenerative practices, such as companion planting, beneficial insects, compost and mulch. Closed-loop, regenerative agriculture isn’t predictable, nor is farming in general.
“Our philosophy is that we are guests,” Elizabeth says. “We nurture healthy soil, use the resources with the utmost respect and conservation, support native wildlife. The food is a bonus, and so far, we’ve been gifted with nothing short of abundance.”
That philosophy stretches beyond growing methods. “Sustainability to me encompasses more than the practice of growing,” Elizabeth says. “It means the workers can afford to buy the food they bring to our tables. It means less exploitation of both people and the planet.”
Year-Round Access
The year-round operation took years to build. Elizabeth established relationships with producers using innovative strategies. Salad greens come from a hydroponic outfit in Mosier. She works closely with several orchardists and fills in the rest through Organically Grown Co., a wholesaler that prioritizes ethical practices. “I care as much about how the people in the fields are treated as I do about the practices used to produce (the food),” Elizabeth says.
Her OGC account representative appreciates what she wants—farms that provide opportunities to those historically and categorically underserved, farms where the owners work with babies in packs on their backs, and farms that prioritize truly sustainable practices.
The stand prioritizes what produce is in season. In spring and summer, there are lots of berries and summer vegetables. In the fall are apples, pears, and citrus. There are almost always salad greens, onions, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cucumbers, avocados, bananas, peppers, lemons, limes, and herbs are often available.
Elizabeth shoots for at least a 20% margin, not accounting for loss, but she sells many things near cost. “I truly want my own dollars to go to people and things I believe in,” she says. “I’d rather put in the leg work providing a service while keeping my own fridge stocked with better stuff.”
Community FIrst
The customer base is almost entirely local, and that’s who Elizabeth caters to.
“I firmly believe that good food shouldn’t be a privilege, particularly in a developed country,” she says. “Ensuring our community can access good food without breaking the bank is the main priority.”
Beyond the farmstand, Elizabeth and her family are involved at the local school. They host a free community Thanksgiving delivery to residents who might not otherwise enjoy a homegrown feast. They host fundraisers, actively contribute to the fire department, the community center, and Head Start. They donate to the food bank.
“We love this community and rise to whatever occasion is on the docket,” Elizabeth says.
Farmstand plans include starting the process to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Infrastructure improvements will simplify certain logistics. They always try new crops for fun, for themselves, and their customers. But they don’t plan to expand much more.
“We have no intention of growing in such a way that we rely on tourist traffic,” Elizabeth says. “There are plenty of businesses in this area that very much do. We aren’t 1 of them, and we hope tourists will support them. If they stumble upon our stand, great, all are so welcome, but locals will always be the priority.”