It’s really important to grow and to share culturally-specific produce for me because I view it as a way of healing. It's healing for me to be able to grow foods that are culturally-significant for me, my grandparents and my family. It’s great to be able to grow the things that my family grew and to build that relationship with those plants. It’s also healing for a lot of folks who are also immigrants, who have left Mexico and other places, for me to be able to grow this food and to share it with them, to bring them a little piece of their home and to give them some joy.
Food that feels like home nourishes more than the body
Food that feels like home nourishes more than the body
Culturally-relevant food helps end hunger
Food justice is more than just making sure we have enough to eat. It means that we get to choose what we eat with dignity and without fear. It means that we have power over our own food systems and that we can make decisions about what we grow, produce, distribute and consume.
This is why it’s so important that food pantries provide food that feels like home. This is also called culturally-relevant food — simply, food that is important to our cultures and feels like home. These foods might be tied to cultural and regional food preferences or dietary needs — like basmati rice, coconut milk, plantains, daikon, masa or soy sauce.
"My parents weren’t able to access SNAP (or food stamps) due to their immigration status. We had to rely on food banks. But sometimes that wasn’t enough, because back when I was in school, there wasn’t much that was culturally-appropriate to us. My family is from Mexico and these foods were foreign to us. I remember going to the food pantries and having to translate the food labels to my parents because they were like, ‘I don’t know what this is. What can we cook with this?’ It’s challenging coming to a different country and not being able to find culturally-appropriate food."
— Janet Orozco Ortiz, Oregon Food Bank Tillamook Community Organizer
Food assistance helps Oregonians make ends meet
Many of us are struggling to make ends meet. From rising costs at the grocery store to skyrocketing housing costs, we’re all doing our best to get by. For many of us this means choosing between putting food on the table or a roof over our heads. Last year, we saw 2.5 million visits to food assistance sites through the Oregon Food Bank Network — a 31% increase from the previous year.
No single experience of hunger is the same. So many factors determine what foods are best for us and our family. Where we live, our dietary and cultural needs, our access to transportation, and our health — just to name a few.
That’s why being able to choose the food we put on the table is so important. Food is a human right. We all deserve food that is unrestricted, culturally-relevant, nourishing, dignified and fear-free.
To end hunger, we must ensure people have access to food today and also work to end its root causes. Access to a food pantry can be lifesaving. It relieves the unrelenting pressure of not having enough. And it means we don’t have to choose between groceries, healthcare, childcare and other necessities.
Tens of thousands of Oregonians do not qualify for state food assistance due to immigration status
Thousands of immigrant Oregonians are not eligible for programs like SNAP (formerly known as food stamps). Despite paying millions in taxes, thousands of us cannot access this lifesaving support simply because of our immigration status. Without SNAP, many of us rely on food pantries. And although many food pantries have many different food choices, this can mean we don’t get to choose exactly what we’re putting on the table.
Food for All Oregonians will change that. This community-led policy would put grocery money directly into the hands of families, similar to SNAP benefits. It would make food assistance available to youth and elders who are currently excluded due to immigration status. And it would mean that our children and elders would be able to choose food that feels like home.
Everyone deserves a say in the food they’re putting on the table
“The local church had a food pantry and it was great. It helped us get additional food. But my family is Mexican. They gave us cans of beets, and we took them, because we’re not going to argue with free food. But my mom had never eaten a beet and certainly never cooked with them. And those beets sat in our pantry for 13 years. It would have been nice to have more culturally-appropriate food.”
— Itsa Ortiz, Associate Director of Equity and People Operations at Oregon Food Bank
“Food sovereignty is an important aspect of climate work. As the climate changes, the ability to grow a lot of our traditional foods, even back home, becomes more difficult. Being able to hold onto our traditional foods is an important part of our identity. Our food is not only what we eat, but it is our ancestors. It is part of our oral history of who we are. So it's important to continue on those traditions.”
— Heifara Wheeler, Food Assistance Coordinator at Pacific Climate Warriors Portland
Together, we can make food assistance safe, welcoming and dignified
Across the Oregon Food Bank Network, we work to ensure people have food that feels like home. Here are just a few ways we’re making that happen:
Those with lived experience of hunger are the experts on ending hunger. Zakariya Mahad, Food Systems Ambassador, explained how his connection to the Somali community increased access to food assistance: “There’s a small Somali community here that lacks access to culturally-relevant foods. Because I speak their language, I knew I could help connect them to the Halal foods that are such an important part of the Muslim diet.”
When local food pantries order bulk food from Oregon Food Bank, they have the option to request culturally-specific food. We also make sure to communicate to local pantries when we have culturally-specific foods.
Many food pantries in Oregon run a shopping-style pantry (rather than pre-packed food boxes). This means people get to choose what groceries they take home.
At the Kelly Elementary School pantry in Portland, there is a community of Asian elders who often visit. This school pantry designates produce and items that work for their community such as bok choy, soy sauce, green onions and rice.
The Rohingya Youth Association of Portland distributes their food at Yadanar Halal Market, which serves Asian, Middle Eastern and African communities. This means that the market is a one-stop shop for people experiencing hunger. They can pick up their groceries from a monthly free food distribution in partnership with Oregon Food Bank and supplement with any additional groceries they might need from the market.
Similarly, Community Pulse Association runs a weekly food distribution serving Eastern European families. They run the distribution at Plenty Food and Deli, an Eastern European market.
No one should feel afraid or unwelcome at a food pantry
Everyone deserves to feel welcome wherever they access food assistance. No one should feel afraid to go to a food pantry, hot meal sites or use SNAP at the grocery store. Yet we know that stigma, discrimination and fear make people less likely to access food benefits such as SNAP and food pantries.
Itsa Ortiz shares how her family’s undocumented status made getting food harder:
“From my (Itsa Ortiz) experience — being the child of immigrants who were not documented for some time — a lot of it is rooted in fear. My mom has been an American citizen for almost a decade. She was a legal permanent resident for over 20 years prior to that. And she still is fearful of utilizing any kind of resources, that she is going to get her citizenship revoked. For my family and a lot of other immigrant families, there is fear of deportation, being found, being separated from your family. As I became older and started utilizing food pantries, I realized, this is my right. I shouldn't be afraid to utilize a benefit or any kind of program that is meant to help me.”
While we work toward making food assistance sites even safer, more welcoming and equitable, please know that at a minimum, you will never be required to share your personal information to receive food.
Learn more from our partners about the importance of food that feels like home:
KGW story: Hawaiian Civic Club of Oregon & SW Washington
With help from the Oregon Food Bank, the Hawaiian Civic Club of Oregon & SW Washington grows food that are cultural main staples, like taro.
KGW story: Halel market in SE Portland
Yadanar Halal Market is a partner of the Oregon Food Bank, and one of dozens in the state that accepts SNAP and "Double Up Food Bucks."
