Danny Faccinetti, Vice President, Oregon Food BankProduce is abundant here in the Northwest. We have a lot of food industry donors who want to give us produce. And people in the community want fresh food. Before we modernized the warehouse, the amount of produce being donated far exceeded the space we had dedicated to it in the warehouse.
Staying Rooted in Equity, Food, Justice and Community
Staying Rooted in Equity, Food, Justice and Community
Indigenous-owned community farms. Refugee-led food pantries. Statewide advocacy campaigns. An energy-efficient warehouse. These are only a few of the many initiatives made possible by Rooted + Rising. Since 2020, Oregon Food Bank’s Rooted + Rising campaign has been investing in programs that get us closer to realizing our vision of a hunger-free future. And we’re not done yet. The campaign has mobilized $74 million toward our $80 million goal for the immediate and long-term investment in R+R’s four priority initiatives:
Reimagining food systems
We envision a future where our communities grow, harvest and access foods that meet our diverse cultural and health needs, while honoring fair labor and the environment. That’s why we’re investing in farmers and small food processors from communities facing disproportionate rates of hunger — particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) as well immigrant and refugee communities.
FACT: 155+ producers who are 95% BlPOC have received ~$4.9M since 2021 to launch and expand agricultural businesses focused on fresh, culturally familiar foods in 19 counties across Oregon.
Rooted + Rising supports producers like Maxi Hernandez, who bring our communities together with locally-grown, culturally-relevant harvests. Upon arriving in the United States, feeling displaced and distant from her roots, Maxi embarked on a mission to build connections and cultivate a sense of belonging and cultural richness for herself and others. Now settled on a farm in Boring, Oregon, Maxi is establishing an organization that supplies traditional vegetables from her homeland to the local community.
“I am growing vegetables to supply our community so they will have a piece of our lands on their table — traditional vegetables from our country,” Maxi said.
Community Producer Support | Maxi Hernandez
See more stories of how Rooted + Rising is transforming our communities by reimagining food systems.
Modernizing infrastructure
When we invest in facilities, transportation and technology improvements, we can serve our communities more effectively while reducing our environmental impact.
FACT: Our statewide warehouse sources, picks up, receives, stores, repacks and delivers between 4.5 and 5 million pounds of food every month. Fresh produce made up 30 percent of the total food OFB distributed statewide.
Nearly 26 years after building our first statewide warehouse, Oregon Food Bank has reimagined the space to address the changing needs of our communities and the climate realities of 2025. Thanks to a significant grant from the Oregon State Legislature, we’ve modernized the cold storage in our 108,000-square-foot warehouse on NE 33rd Avenue to distribute a growing volume of fresh foods — including dairy, proteins and produce — throughout the state.
See more stories of how Rooted + Rising is transforming our communities by modernizing infrastructure.
Amplifying community power
We are cultivating a stronger movement for food justice, led by those most impacted by hunger. With training, community organizing and civic engagement, our community is addressing the root causes of hunger. We’re investing in community-led advocacy campaigns like Food for All Oregonians, ensuring food assistance is available to everyone, regardless of immigration status.
FACT: 36,000+ people have taken civic action to support policies for ending hunger and increasing community well-being since 2021.
Rooted + Rising has made Food for All Oregonians’ reach and scale possible with crucial investment in Oregon Food Bank programs that advance public education, messaging research and statewide organizing. We can already see how these combined efforts amplify community power calling for systems change and building upon historic relationships in the food system.
See more stories of how Rooted + Rising is transforming our communities by amplifying community power.
Strengthening local solutions
When we support the wisdom of local leadership, we can support thriving communities. We are investing in projects and solutions designed by the regional food bank leaders who know our communities best.
FACT: $12M+ has been invested directly in our partners across the region, supporting local leadership and solutions tailored to meet unique community needs.
To support community solutions, we use the community power and local wisdom of the Oregon Food Bank Network of 21 regional food banks supporting more than 1,200 food assistance sites accessed by more than 1 million people in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Specific local projects and solutions to hunger funded by Rooted + Rising have been designed and prioritized by each regional food bank. Investments include upgrades to facilities and transportation, expanded capacity for fresh foods, emergency response resources, increased staffing and more. Together we will strengthen our network by strategically channeling support to where it is needed most, with a transformative regional and statewide impact.
See more stories of how Rooted + Rising is transforming our communities by strengthening local solutions.
Thanks to overwhelming community investment, we’ve made substantial progress — but there’s more work to do. With more than $5 million left to raise, we need your support to ensure these essential programs continue to grow and thrive well into the future.
Get involved by learning more about Rooted + Rising and donating.
