Community Fundraising Partners: A New Bounty

As we gear up for Hunger Action Month in September, we are reveling in the fresh produce and delicious local products made right here in the Pacific Northwest! We are lucky to live in an area where nutritious food is abundant, and we believe everyone across the Oregon Food Bank Network should have access to the bounty grown in our backyard.

Luckily, our partners agree. The outpouring of support from the food industry since COVID-19 hit – both longtime partners and new ones – has shown us what a resilient community we have. We would not have been able to respond to the tremendously growing need for food assistance without their support, creativity, and willingness to roll up their sleeves to ensure no one goes hungry in this pandemic.

Thank you to our incredible food industry partners who have made such a meaningful difference for our community. Here are a few of the ways you have stepped up to make it possible to meet the surging demand for food assistance:

New Seasons Market spearheaded the Greater Good Box in the beginning days of the stay at home order when their small farmer partners couldn’t sell produce to restaurants. In addition to a box of delicious fresh foods and locally made products, customers picked up curbside, customers could purchase a donated box, supporting the distribution of locally grown fresh produce to people accessing food assistance in partnership with Mudbone Grown, a Black-owned farming enterprise.

Longtime supporter and advocate for hunger relief in our area, Bob’s Red Mill, sponsored KGW’s Great Food Drive in March, donating wholesome products and financial gifts that will help fight hunger in the short and long term. Donors like Henningsen Cold Storage, Organically Grown Co., and Imperfect Foods provided transport, storage, boxes, and more to help food pantries across the state meet the growing need.

As our food industry partners take advantage of the scale and scope of their operations to support our community, so too have community members in their own backyards! Our friends at the Oregon Rose Chapter of the National Charity League weren’t able to do their spring volunteer shift as planned, but knowing food insecurity was growing rapidly in their community, they got creative. They organized a pick up of gardening seeds from OFB and they are currently growing produce at home to donate their harvest to local food pantries.

As our great state is producing this bounty, we are also seeing the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the food system. Many of the restaurants and small businesses who have been avid, longtime supporters of hunger relief were forced to close. Farm workers who make this bounty possible have been denied stimulus benefits simply due to their immigration status.

This Hunger Action Month, let’s work together to fight the devastating economic impacts of COVID-19 and make lasting change for our communities. Visit oregonfoodbank.org/hungeractionmonth to find out how you can take action… because no one should be hungry!