Oregon Food Bank mobilized quickly last week to keep food flowing statewide as federal food benefits were halted. With $5 million in emergency funding from Governor Tina Kotek’s office, we started moving resources across Oregon to ensure families didn’t go hungry during the threatened disruption of SNAP benefits.
November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits have since been restored in Oregon, but the state’s support ensures that the thousands of Oregonians already facing hardship will have food.
The crisis began in early October, when the US Department of Agriculture announced that if the government shutdown continued past October 31, it would withhold SNAP benefits for the month of November — leaving more than 750,000 Oregonians to wonder if they would have enough to eat.
“For every meal that we can provide, SNAP provides nine. We cannot replace SNAP. No food bank can,” said Andrea Williams, president of Oregon Food Bank. “Hunger is a policy choice — and it’s time lawmakers chose to end it.”
Here is how Oregon Food Bank is distributing $5 million in emergency funding to every county in Oregon
Thanks to our network of 21 regional food banks and over 1,200 food assistance sites, we are distributing food efficiently and equitably.
Each regional food bank in Oregon received an allocation based on the number of people in poverty and unemployment in their service area. For example, Metro Services in Portland received $1.34 million and Food for Lane County in Eugene received $560,621. [See a detailed breakdown below] Some food banks are purchasing locally, while Oregon Food Bank is centrally purchasing large truckloads of food, including beans, rice, fruits and vegetables, ready-to-eat meals and frozen meat.
Oregon Food Bank coordinated with regional partners to decide whether to buy food locally or centrally, depending on need and capacity. Bulk purchasing allows us to stretch dollars further and move food more efficiently statewide.
“Staff and volunteers from our partner organizations all over the state have been working nonstop to send more food out the door,” said Starr Yurkewycz, Oregon Food Bank’s Director of Partnerships & Programs. “We were already seeing record numbers of people needing help, but over the past two weeks that need has only grown. It’s been heartbreaking.”
Moving food across Oregon takes time. To meet the need, Oregon Food Bank added staff, expanded storage and brought in extra equipment, among other measures. Shipments are flowing to our statewide warehouse and then to regional food banks that supply pantries, shelters and meal sites. We ordered 34 truckloads — about 1.3 million pounds of food — with more on the way. The funding comes in response to the state’s food emergency declaration, which runs through December 31. Deliveries will wrap up in January — a tight turnaround our staff have met with exceptional teamwork.
“It takes an enormous amount of planning and hard work to move millions of pounds of food across the state safely and effectively,” said Danny Faccinetti, Vice President at Oregon Food Bank. I’m incredibly proud of our team here at OFB as well as our regional and local partners who are working as hard as they can to get this food out to our community.”
The Governor’s response offers short-term relief, but last week was a stark reminder of how policy decisions can threaten basic needs — and why we must stay engaged on both the state and national level.
In July, for example, the Administration signed H.R. 1 into law, which includes the largest cuts to food assistance in U.S. history. Nearly one million children nationwide will lose food assistance, local grocery stores will see reduced revenue and thousands of Oregonians already facing hardship will be pushed even further to the brink.
Food is a human right. And with your support, we can end hunger for good.
Learn more about how you can help. And if you or someone you know needs free food or meals, you can find local pantries, schedules and instructions for pickup or delivery at OregonFoodFinder.org — available in 19 languages.
