Corporate Donor of the Month: Tillamook County Creamery Association

October 2021 – Oregon Food Bank is delighted to announce that Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) is our October 2021 Corporate Donor of the Month. For nearly two decades, TCCA has partnered with OFB in a multitude of ways.

We are especially grateful for TCCA’s generous escalation of support in the past year amid economic disruption from wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic – including increased financial giving and 405,762 pounds of fresh, nutritious foods in 2020 for our neighbors experiencing hunger. TCCA is also a dedicated supporter of the Schooner Restaurant & Lounge Thanksgiving Dinner Benefit, an annual community event.

Last year, TCCA stepped up to respond to the worst hunger crisis in a century. The rate of food insecurity in our region roughly doubled as the Oregon Food Bank Network worked with nearly 1.7 million community members over the past year (up from 860,000 in a typical year). The pandemic highlighted long-standing racial inequities – exposing higher rates of food insecurity among Black and Indigenous households (twice the rate of White households in Oregon), and Latinx families which are three times as likely to face hunger.

We are thrilled to share that TCCA is one of the first funders of Oregon Food Bank’s Community Growers Pilot. This innovative program supports local growers from communities disproportionately affected by hunger – particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color; as well as immigrants and refugees – by purchasing food from those growers for direct distribution into their communities, as well as supporting these growers’ access to land and resources needed for their businesses.

We are extremely grateful for our nearly 20-year partnership with Oregon Food Bank and for being named Corporate Donor of the Month. Oregon Food Bank’s impact on the community is immeasurable, and we are honored to support their mission and commitment to eliminate hunger.

– Patrick Criteser, TCCA president and CEO

TCCA is a leader in our community more broadly, partnering to build a prosperous future where all people have the resources they need to thrive: a future where a living wage, affordable housing, and access to healthcare are community standards; where race and gender do not predict poverty and health outcomes; and where together, we end hunger before it starts.

TCCA has strengthened our wider community through their business practices and social responsibility efforts. Over the past year, they donated money directly to restaurants impacted by COVID-19 shutdowns and created a Hometown Resilience Fund for local businesses in Tillamook and Morrow Counties. TCCA took actions to foster inclusion and diversity at their workplace. These kinds of practices demonstrate the unique role corporate partners can play in ending hunger proactively – by fairly compensating and caring for their employees.

We truly appreciate having TCCA as a steadfast, committed partner in the mission to eliminate hunger and its root causes. And Oregon Food Bank is proud to name Tillamook County Creamery Association our Corporate Donor of the Month!