A Fundraising Campaign Hopes to Raise $300,000 to Relocate the Alder Street Food Carts

The iconic Alder Street Food Cart Pod is in its last days, but the carts themselves might not be going far.

Last month, it was announced that the pod between 9th and 10th Avenues downtown would be closing June 30 to make way for a 35-story, 460-foot tall hotel tower, which was later revealed to be a Ritz-Carlton. But city officials are scrambling to relocate the evicted carts to the North Park Blocks, The Oregonian reported. 

The proposal—effectively a collaborative effort between Commissioner Chloe Eudaly's office and Friends of the Green Loop, the initiative to create a six-mile "urban trail" through the city—would move 37 of the 40 carts to the two blocks between West Burnside and Northwest Davis streets on Northwest Park Avenue.

Relocating that many carts is a costly endeavor. According to Friends of the Green Loop, $300,000 is needed to pay for towing and electricity.

To cover those costs, the group today launched a fundraising campaign, with the goal of getting the carts up and running by July 15.

"It sounds like a lot," says Keith Jones, co-director of Friends of the Green Loop, "but I think the community can really come together to pull this off."

In addition to the money, Jones says there are "a million details that change daily, sometimes hourly." But he says there is a determined effort between all groups involved to make it happen, despite the time constraints.

The move would be a temporary measure until officials can work out the details on the "Culinary Corridor," which would place carts in curbside parking spaces downtown as part of the Green Loop. The carts would remain at the North Park Blocks until the end of their season on October 31. Then, says Jones, the hope is they would settle permanently into the Culinary Corridor by next summer.

"We're shooting for next season. We would love to do now, but there are so many details to work out," Jones says. "Portland's growing, and surface lots are being developed, and we're not going to have place for carts anymore. We should be thinking of that now for later."