Physical Health United States Project #46154

Oregon Food Bank: Ending Hunger for Good

by Oregon Food Bank, Inc.

Project Report | Feb 3, 2025
Expanding Food Access

By Bobak Tarighi | Community Philanthropy Developer - Grants

Ontario Landscape

Thank you for your support. As you know, at Oregon Food Bank (OFB), we’re committed to addressing food insecurity and its root causes through innovative community solutions and impactful advocacy. This year, your funding helped support major initiatives that expand food access and drive systemic change, including the Ontario Community Food Center (OCFC) in Eastern Oregon, which is transforming food distribution and community resilience.

Hunger hits hardest in Oregon’s rural communities, where long distance to grocery stores, limited transportation, and systemic inequities compound food insecurity. That’s why we’re working diligently to produce the Ontario Community Food Center in Malheur County–a groundbreaking project designed to expand food access and empower local communities.

The OCFC will triple food storage capacity and increase cold storage by 60%, enabling us to store and distribute fresh, nutritious, locally grown foods–including produce, dairy, and meat. With the addition of an onsite free food pantry and mobile pantry services, residents in remote areas like Harney County will have better access to culturally relevant foods–such as verdolagas, papalo, and pipicha.

Beyond food distribution, the OCFC is a hub for innovation. The center will offer a flexible community kitchen for cooking classes, civic engagement events, and support for local farmers through reduced-cost market distribution options. Small-scale farmers, ranchers, and food producers—many of whom face barriers to traditional retail markets—will have access to OCFC’s facilities to store, process, and distribute their fresh harvests at minimal or no cost. By reducing financial and logistical barriers, OCFC helps ensure that locally grown, nutrient-dense food reaches community members while strengthening the regional food economy. In a region where food insecurity is compounded by long travel distances, limited grocery options, and economic instability, this comprehensive approach not only ensures families have access to healthy meals but also strengthens local economies and builds resilience against future food access challenges.

This work wouldn’t be possible without the support of partners, donors, and community leaders who have helped us raise $5.2 million toward our $9.5 million goal. With your continued support, we are not only expanding food access but also building a future where every community has the resources to thrive.

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Oct 8, 2024
Expanding Food Access and Building Community Power

By Bobak Tarighi | Community Philanthropy Developer

Oregon Food Bank (OFB) has been working tirelessly to meet the growing demand for emergency food assistance. With inflation and rising costs of living, we continue to see over 1.2 million visits each quarter to pantries, free food markets, and meal sites across the state. But our efforts don’t stop at food distribution—we’re also addressing the root causes of hunger, ensuring that every community has access to fresh, nutritious food today while working toward a future where hunger no longer exists.

These initiatives include the Double Up Food Bucks program which provides 1:1 match for SNAP participants at local grocery stores and farmers markets to increase purchasing power of fresh produce for community members. The result is a win on multiple fronts: families and low income Oregonians consume more healthy food, and local farmers gain new customers and a financial boost.

We’ve deepened partnerships with local farmers through initiatives like the Community Grower Support program, which contracts with growers and producers from our Priority Equity Constituencies—including BIPOC, immigrants and refugees, single mothers, and trans and gender expansive individuals—to provide fresh, local, and culturally relevant foods to their communities. As we look to the future, our commitment to systems change continues through policy advocacy and grassroots organizing. For example, our Policy Leadership Council (PLC)—a statewide group of 16 community leaders representing our Priority Equity Constituencies– sets the policy agenda for the full range of our external advocacy. The PLC brings a depth of local leadership, shared vision, lived experience of hunger and systemic inequity, and expertise ending hunger and hunger’s root causes in their communities.

In addition, the Food for All Oregonians (FFAO) initiative is advancing food justice by advocating for expanded access to food assistance, regardless of immigration status. This will ensure that no one in our state is left behind. By removing barriers and increasing eligibility, FFAO will help thousands of families and individuals access the nutrition they need to thrive. To ensure those most affected by hunger and systemic inequities have a voice in shaping these policies and systems, we are laying the groundwork to end hunger for good. Thank you for your continued support in making this vision a reality.

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Jun 7, 2024
Oregon Food Bank Program Spotlight: Policy Leaders

By Heather Ellis | Community Philanthropy Manager - Grants

In 2021, Oregon Food Bank (OFB) formed the Policy Leadership Council (PLC), comprised of community leaders with lived experience of hunger, food insecurity, and its root causes. Unlike any other peer leadership group at a food bank, the PLC develops and drives OFB’s policy agenda, enabling us to achieve our mission of eliminating hunger and its root causes.

To address hunger and its root causes—deeply-rooted inequalities that disproportionately leave behind Black, Indigenous, and people of color; immigrants and refugees; and transgender and gender nonconforming folx—the PLC will lead collectively by:

Identifying the root causes of hunger and opportunities for Oregon Food Bank to contribute to ending these root causes.
Articulating a systems change platform or road map to guide the priorities of Oregon Food Bank now and into the future.
Setting Oregon Food Bank’s positions on legislation and ballot measures in alignment with our systems change platform.

The 14 community members across Oregon have experience in food systems, food sovereignty, emergency assistance, environmental justice, and sustainable agriculture. Each member brings their lived experience, community trust, and expertise to monthly meetings. Over the past year, the PLC has reviewed 80 pieces of legislation to set our policy priorities through an intentional equity lens.

In alignment with the policy agenda set by the PLC, OFB community organizers are actively building Regional Leadership Squads through extensive outreach across Oregon. These squads are instrumental in recruiting and developing priority equity constituency leaders, who in turn inspire others to join the movement towards systems change. We firmly believe that to eliminate hunger and its root causes, we must foster collective power among those most affected by food insecurity and inequality in our communities.

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