Across the Willamette Valley, “farm-to-table dining” isn’t just a fancy buzzword, a kitschy selling point, or an occasional boast. Rather, it’s a way of life for eateries of all sizes throughout our region.
Case in point: When Ann Shultz opened Le Petit Bistro in 2021 in the community of Hubbard, she knew she wanted to source her ingredients locally whenever possible. As Shultz explains it, sourcing berries, coffee, milk, and other ingredients from local producers keeps that money in the community, supports family-run businesses, and shows customers what makes the Willamette Valley so unique.
Today, much of what you’ll order at Le Petit Bistro comes from within 20 minutes of the café’s front doorstep—a decision that lets Shultz connect with her roots while showcasing the best of the Willamette Valley.
Nearby Lady-Lane Farm provides the bistro’s milk, which is bottled and shipped in the farm’s glass bottles.
The shop’s bagels come from B’s Bake Shoppe, a bakery in Canby (just 15 minutes up the road).
Le Petit Bistro’s coffee comes from Caravan Coffee, a Newberg-based roaster.
Microgreens are sourced from Slow Creek Farm in Salem.
Boones Ferry Berry Farms, just five minutes north of the bistro, provides fresh fruit for scones, pies, and house-made lemonade.
It’s part of a long-standing passion to protect the environment, boost local businesses, and showcase the Willamette Valley’s dedicated growers—a passion that started years ago on a Woodburn dairy farm, continued in her mother’s café, and remains as important as ever today. "Keeping these funds as close to our community as possible just helps build us all up and makes us all a little bit more successful," Ann says.
Learn more about local farms and food across the Willamette Valley.
Ann also considers the present and future when laying out the café's values. That meant making sustainable and low-impact practices as essential as good coffee and appetizing fare.
In practice, that means working with vendors who pride themselves on ethical practices—such as Newberg's Caravan Coffee, whose products can be traced to single farms and cooperatives; partnering with neighboring businesses to shorten the supply chain; and using glass milk jars—whose contents are produced just 20 minutes away—to cut down on waste.
The bistro also spearheaded an innovative reusable-container program designed to limit single-use containers. Customers make a small deposit of $2 to $3 when purchasing their first drinks, soups, or food items to-go; they bring that reusable container back on their next visit; and they receive a clean container for that next order. Regulars can even sign up for a stamp card that rewards them with fresh-baked cookies for participating in the program.
Ann credits her daughter, McKenna, with inspiring that focus. McKenna earned her undergraduate degree in environmental science and later earned a master's degree in environmental policy from Vermont Law and Graduate School. "I have to give her credit for starting this initiative," Ann says. "Before we even opened, she was passionate about it. She said, 'Mom, we need to really make a difference—and this is how we can do it.' And I'm just carrying it forward."
