Community Partnerships: Joining Together

As we reflect on 2020, we see the challenges our communities have faced: COVID-19, economic devastation, racial injustice, wildfires and a protracted spike in food insecurity throughout Oregon and Clark County, Washington. 

Before the pandemic, the Oregon Food Bank Network was serving an estimated 860,000 people annually. Since then we’ve witnessed a significant rising need. We know that poverty and systemic inequities are the biggest drivers of hunger. 

Oregon Food Bank’s network of 21 Regional Food Banks, 1,400 food assistance sites and dozens of other partner organizations address the immediate need for food distribution while we also shape sustainable, long-term solutions to hunger. 

And we know that our communities are resilient. Together this year, we adapted, innovated and prioritized our neighbors experiencing hunger. We worked to ensure that every one of us throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington will emerge stronger.

Thank you to our wonderful partners who came together this year to support our communities. We want to share a few examples of the creative ways folx found to support hunger relief this year:

Our partners brought their creative and entrepreneurial skills to the table.

Ellie, Reese and Ryan sold handmade ornaments for friends, family and neighbors. They made nearly 100 ornaments and donated all profits to Oregon Food Bank! 

Gg Harris, the 10-year-old founder of Gg’s Scruncheez, crafted handmade scruncheez and facemasks and has donated a significant profit to the Oregon Food Bank Network. Gg shares, “It makes me feel good to donate to the Oregon food bank because I know it helps those in need to stay fed and and keep healthy.” (We love Gg’s Scruncheez and some of us on staff here at Oregon Food Bank wear them daily!)

For the last five years, our friends at Excalibur Comics have brought a small team together to make a large donation, distributing over 100,000 comics over through Northeast Emergency Food Program. Thank you for this incredible collaboration, Excalibur!

Organizations and companies joined forces to make an even greater impact.

Oregon Wire & Grocery Outlet worked together to triple the impact of employee giving. Oregon Wire began collecting employee donations and matching the same amount donated by employees. Grocery Outlet caught wind of this and matched with an additional $5,000 in food donations. 

iHeart Radio hosted a statewide food drive partnering with Toyota, BiMart and Dutch Bros. to collect food. By pairing them up with local partner agencies, together we made sure the food stayed where it was donated and was out in the community as soon as possible.

And some shifted their cancelled events into something meaningful for our community.

Every year the Oregon Tuna Classic does a fundraiser for the Oregon Food Bank Network, but as they weren’t able to do their fundraiser this year due to COVID-19, they made a generous $10,000 gift to OFB, supporting the local Tillamook community.  

Our longtime friends at Industry, who redesigned the OFB logo years ago, supported our community with a $5,000 gift in lieu of a holiday party.

Many thanks to all of our partners who supported our work this year, and additional special thanks to: 

TE Connectivity

Lineage Logistics

Willamette Valley Wineries Association

ON Semiconductor Foundation

Schwindt & Company

Buckeye Pacific, LLC

Widmer Brothers Brewing