We Did It: Your Voice Helped Win on Major Anti-Hunger Legislative Priorities!

As we continue our efforts to emerge stronger from this phase of the pandemic, we know it’s not enough to simply return to normal.

Normal wasn’t working for too many of us. It wasn’t working for the 1.7 million people who sought food assistance in the wake of COVID-19. And it certainly wasn’t working for the communities that were hit especially hard — people who have faced disproportionate hunger and poverty for generations due to failures in policies, systems and safety nets. Many of us face disparities widened by the pandemic.

That’s why our Policy Leadership Council put forward a bold agenda of key policy changes and investments that can help our communities recover from this crisis and thrive. We knew it could be a tough order to fill in a legislative session that lasts just five short weeks, but the outpouring of support and action was nothing short of incredible.

Across the state, more than a thousand members of the Oregon Food Bank supporter community joined partners and allies to advocate for change. Oregonians like you made your voices heard through calls, texts, emails and public testimony — and we won significant changes during this short legislative session that address the root causes of hunger in our communities.

Together, we passed the entirety of our 2022 Legislative Agenda to #EmergeStronger! This translates to huge strides forward on community-led priorities to enhance racial justice, immigrant rights, economic and food security, stable homes for all, access to childcare and much more.

We wanted to share specifically some of the major victories for our communities:

Equal Opportunity to Thrive

We believe in an Oregon where everyone is welcome and has the opportunity to thrive. Yet immigrants and refugees in our communities face a host of systemic challenges, including double the rate of food insecurity as people born inside the US. Advancing immigrant justice is key to ending hunger and fostering a stronger, more resilient food system.

• Overtime Protections for Farmworkers (HB 4002): Ends the Jim Crow-era exclusion of overtime protections for an estimated 86,000 essential agricultural workers in Oregon.
• Oregon Worker Relief Fund (HB 5202): Invests $65 million to support essential workers harmed by the pandemic who were excluded from various types of pandemic assistance.

Stable Homes for Oregonians

Everyone deserves a safe, healthy place to call home. We face a crisis of affordable housing in every corner of the state, made worse by the economic impacts of the pandemic. Continued action is needed to keep Oregonians in our homes — whether rented or owned.

• Affordable Housing and Houselessness Prevention (SB 5202): Invests $400 million in stable homes for all with short, medium, and long-term investments in addressing challenges faced by those without stable housing, building and preserving affordable housing, and supporting homeownership.
• Emergency Heat Relief (SB 1536): Strengthens access to affordable, efficient, and safe heating and cooling as Oregon experiences increasing extreme weather events.

Safe Communities for All

We all should feel secure in our homes and neighborhoods. Feeling safe is foundational to every family’s ability to earn an income and thrive — and we need equitable, accountable systems that help ensure safety for everyone in our communities.

• Transforming Justice (SB 1510): Advances racial justice by reducing disparities in traffic stops, improving success for people on probation and parole, and invests in communities.
• Universal Representation (SB 1543): Keeps families together by establishing due process for Oregonians who are immigrants and refugees.

In addition, we successfully advocated for critical investments in our emergency food assistance network and direct support to families facing hunger and poverty.

• A stronger emergency food system (HB 5202): Provides $8 million to support food purchases and strengthen our emergency food infrastructure in Oregon.
• 24/7 access to 211info (HB 5202): New investments will help even more people identify and connect with essential resources in local communities, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• $600 cost-of-living payments (HB 4157): Provides one-time $600 payments for Oregonians who receive the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2020.
• Support to families experiencing deep poverty (HB 5202): Establishes periodic boosts in cash assistance for costs of living for participants in the TANF program.
• Dental Health Equity (SB 1538): Ensures access to health care for approximately 300 elders in Oregon’s community of Oregonians with Compact of Free Association (COFA) status.
• Child Care for Oregon (HB 4005): Makes important reforms to rebuild Oregon’s child care system by providing fairer compensation for providers and by increasing capacity at the new state agency.
• Expanded outreach for the Earned Income Tax Credit (HB 4117): Expands access to free tax prep services, connecting more Oregonians with the EITC.

These are unprecedented gains in the fight to end hunger and its root causes — and we have a lot to celebrate! Join us for our next virtual Ending Hunger Power Night on Tuesday, March 15 to toast our collective efforts and learn about the opportunities ahead. We’ll have a sneak-peek into the next project that the OFB community will be taking action on in order to create an Oregon that will never go hungry!

Join the Celebration

We have immense gratitude to the countless allied organizations and leaders who made these incredible victories possible — including 211info, Causa, Children’s Institute, COFA Alliance National Network, Family Forward Oregon, Innovation Law Lab, Latino Network, Metropolitan Family Services, Oregon AFSCME, Oregon Housing Alliance, Oregon Law Center, Partnership for Safety and Justice, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), Rogue Climate, Stable Homes for Oregon and Verde.