Please enter "blog for food" in the tribute section
(updated: The Gilt Club has generously agreed to be a downtown food drop location for this campaign. They are at 306 NW Broadway. They have a loading zone out front, so it’s really convenient. Thank you Gilt Club!)
There was a time in my life I don’t think about much anymore. It was in the 80′s; I was living in Northern California. My significant other was very sick, and all of our money was going towards hospital bills.
All of our money.
Every Wednesday I would get up early and walk down to the local church. There I would stand in line for government subsidized food, which mostly consisted of big blocks of surplus cheddar cheese, white bread, and gallon jugs of whole milk. I’d march back home and try to figure out what I could make for dinner out of that combination. Grilled cheese was our friend; not the best diet for someone who was dying.
I would have killed for boxes of food like the ones Oregon food bank provides over 792,000 times a year.
My point is, you never know when you are going to need help, and when you do, it’s great to have somewhere to turn. During this lousy period in our economy, Oregon Food Bank is filling that need for more and more Oregonians. I wish something like it had been around when I needed it.
Most people I know have either lost their jobs, or are worried about losing them. Demand for food is skyrocketing. Let’s face it; many of us are just a few paychecks from being on the street. How long would you last if you lost your job and your unemployment ran out?
When you look at what the OFB achieves, it’s really quite staggering. Less than 5 percent of expenditures go to fund raising and administrative costs. They distributed 792,000 emergency boxes in one year and 4 million emergency meals at soup kitchens and shelters. Imagine!
A large group of bloggers under the organization of Tami Parr have gotten together to raise funds for the food bank. Money is tight, but surely all of us can break loose a few dollars to support this cause: $5.00 – $1000.00… whatever you can afford. Just click the banner on the front page of this site. When you get to the donation page, please enter “blog for food” in the tribute section on the donation page so that it counts towards our campaign. You are also welcome to send checks directly to the Oregon Food Bank at PO Box 55370, Portland, OR 97238. Again, please mention our campaign.
While money does more to help than anything else, you can also drop off canned food. Sarah at Savaveza on 1004 N Killingsworth is collecting food throughout the month. Also, folks have spontaneously started to drop off bags of food at Vino in Sellwood, 1226 SE Lexington. Maybe we can find someone downtown that can also accept food donations.
Remember, you never know when you will be the one needing help. Please donate.
bravo!
I love the Oregon Food Bank! What they do is truly amazing. Their organization and efficiency is impressive to see. As a market gardener, I donate all the fresh produce I can. Last year that was over 200 pounds of primo salad mix. However, more drop-off points are needed. The OFB isn’t very convenient, for me anyway. It takes a significant amount of time to drive there. The OFB used to have food donation trucks at the local farmers markets to collect any unsold produce farmers wanted to donate. I thought that was a great idea. And anyone could come there to donate. It seems a connection between OFB and our plentiful, bountiful farmers markets is appropriate. I’ll contact OFB to inquire…
In the radio world, we call it the rule of three. Our listeners have to hear an advertising message at least three times before they’re ready to take action. Well, it’s a good thing I’m regularly wasting time at work by reading various foodie blogs around Portland. This is the third time I’ve come across a “Blog for Food” post in my daily blog hunting, and I finally took action. It’s important to keep putting out these messages because you never know when someone is ready to listen.
Good to hear. Thanks
Can we not only donate food or money, but volunteer our cooking skills at kitchens around Portland???
FD, thanks for the reminder of our need to help our neighbors the best we can. I just went over to OFB and donated $$$ in support of the food delivery program, it was really easy.
Guignol, the OFB website has listings for volunteer opportunities. I didn’t see any cooking openings but perhaps if you respond and explain that you have a food handlers permit, they could use your skills. :-)
Guignol and other cooks wanting to help:
OFB has a Nutrition Education program that uses volunteer chefs as instructors, and other interested volunteers as assistants. You have to commit to six 2-hour classes over a six-week period (e.g., six consecutive Tuesday evenings from 6:00-8:00). The teaching materials are supplied by Share Our Strength, and they’re really excellent. At the end of each class, each participant gets to take home not only the recipes but enough ingredients to cook the recipes at home for 4 people. I’ve taught quite a few of these classes, and they’re life-changing not only for the participants but for the teachers and assistants as well. For more info, go to http://www.oregonfoodbank.org, click on “volunteer” in the “take action” box on the left, then click on “nutrition education” under “volunteer opportunities.”
For you gardeners out there, OFB’s “learning garden” is a great place to volunteer.
Finally, a statistic for everyone who’s been thinking about donating but hasn’t done it yet: for every dollar OFB receives, they can collect and distribute more than 5 pounds of food! So even a modest donation of $5 gets over 25 pounds of food out to people all over the state who need it. Oregon is the only state (except for tiny Rhode Island) with a statewide emergency food distribution system, and OFB’s work is truly heroic.
Thanks for getting your readers involved, FD!!!
it’s times like this, that I appreciate your writing…
Thank you!
Thanks so much for this moving post. I’m a fellow Oregonian blogger participating in the drive, down in Eugene. I think it’s important for people to know that food insecurity isn’t something that happens to “them” — it’s happening to us, and the “us” is getting bigger.
Note: The Gilt Club has generously agreed to be a downtown food drop location for this campaign. They are at 306 NW Broadway. They have a loading zone out front, so it’s really convenient. Thank you Gilt Club!
I find this blogging for food campaign wonderful! Food Banks are in dire need of contributions all around the country. And, though I am in Cleveland, Ohio (sorry, not Portland area), I am contributing the proceeds from the sale of my Gluten-Free Desserts Recipe book to our regional food banks currently in hopes of raising additional funds for the less fortunate.
http://gluten-free-blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/gluten-free-sales-proceeds-to-charity.html
If someone from an official Portland/Oregon area Celiac / Gluten-Free group would be interested in a donation of some of my books for raffling off for charity to raise money for the Oregon-area food banks, just leave a comment on my blog with your contact information and I will see what can be arranged (I will need some way to confirm you represent such a group too). I am all for helping out around the country if I can.
Ka-ching! Ka-ching!
FDude, Correct me if I’m wrong but I remember you posting a link for a need for volunteers interested in providing food knowledge, instruction, or production (as opposed to direct finacial contributions)to certain organiztions. I think it was a six week commitment??? Anyway, if this rings true or you are aware of any ‘food-related’ needs please forward link. Thnaks so much, theculinaryaddict
http://www.oregonfoodbank.org/ofb_services/food_programs/NEPVolunteeropportunities.html
Hmm… I don’t remember that – it may have been in a comment. Anyone?
Thanks mrg!