Racial Justice Work is Anti-hunger Work; Anti-hunger Work is Racial Justice Work.

by Susannah Morgan, CEO

As I share this message, Portland remains in the center of the national news cycle — both for the size of our racial justice demonstrations, and for the presence and actions of federal agents during these demonstrations. We’re just beginning to see the effects of their withdrawal following negotiations between Governor Kate Brown and Trump Administration officials.

I want to be crystal clear that Oregon Food Bank stands with the Movement for Black Lives and all those who have taken to the streets in a call to eliminate racial and economic inequities in our society. Here’s why:

Oregon Food Bank’s mission — the reason our organization exists — is to eliminate hunger and its root causes. The most significant root cause of hunger is poverty. And poverty, itself, is driven by a host of systems and structures, with racism and other forms of discrimination at the top.

So racial justice work is anti-hunger work; anti-hunger work is racial justice work. We can’t successfully pursue one without the other.

The interconnected nature of this work has few stronger examples than the longtime efforts of Black, Indigenous and people-of-color (BIPOC) farmers and food producers in the Pacific Northwest. Their efforts to grow and raise food locally are part of a strong movement to not only tear down barriers to access and expand resilience, but to build even stronger bonds across neighbors and communities.

We’re very excited to introduce you to some of the leaders of this movement and share the stories of their work:

• Flynne and David are among more than a dozen neighbors leading our Pathways to Farming partnership with Mudbone Grown and the USDA — an exciting farm incubator that’s helping to train and mentor a new generation of local food producers.
• Liban is one of our incredible garden ambassadors who’s not only inspiring neighbors to grow, but leading census outreach in the surrounding community to ensure we all have the resources we need to thrive.

We’re proud to be in community with these amazing leaders and organizations, and we hope you’ll take a moment to learn more, support their work and get involved.

Thank you very much for your continued support in these troubling times. It’s our shared commitment to this work that will ensure we all #EmergeStronger from this crisis.