Increase Food Security in Oregon

People are trying hard

Struggling to make ends meet, many use pantries to fill the void

"You can be a person that works every day you know, but what you're making is enough just to pay rent and keep gas in your car", explains Monique who lives in Washington County. She has three children and does IT contract work that can be sporadic. When school is out, her children use the summer meals program: "It's still hard to make the ends meet, to get enough food and make sure you have the necessities to be able to go to work every day."

Thousands of people like Monique are trying to keep themselves afloat. They work, pay bills, worry about their kids and buying groceries. “The people that use food banks or that need food stamps are trying. I think that's a big thing that a lot of people need to understand. It's just there is a lack due to circumstances and the food bank is helping them fill that void.”

Your support of Oregon Food Bank supplies food pantries with produce, meat, dairy and pantry staples for thousands of Oregonians who are experiencing hunger.

Links:

• Newsletter

Fresh, nutritious, free!

Reinvented program aims to get produce where it’s most needed

“Beautiful.” “So fresh.” “Mangoes are my favorite.” As people go through the line at a recent Free Food Market they repeatedly comment on the high quality of the produce. For many who experience hunger, fresh produce is a luxury. For more than a dozen years, Oregon Food Bank, along with its partners, has been running free produce distributions. Once called Community Basket or Harvest Share, the programs were recently combined and renamed Free Food Market.  

“Free Food Market clearly communicates what’s being offered and it translates well into other languages,” says Rob Rutledge-Shryock, Oregon Food Bank’s community food programs coordinator. “In addition to fresh produce the markets now have a small selection of pantry staples, such as chicken stock, rice and oil.”

Usually running in partnership with non-profit and community-led organizations, Free Food Market is held at 33 locations across the Portland-metro area. Food items can be adjusted to better match cultural and dietary needs of the community.

Your support of Oregon Food Bank ensures that Free Food Market is able to hold monthly distributions of high-quality foods in underserved communities. To find out more about Free Food Market or other Community Food Programs, visit oregonfoodbank.org/freefoodmarket.