A lingering need
Local food pantries
serving more people
By LARRY MEYER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Sunday, January 13, 2008 3:34 AM PST
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| Sheila Hiatt, warehouse manager at the Southeast Oregon Regional Food Bank, Ontario, consolidates what food is left from the last shipment from the Oregon Food Bank, received in December. Last week’s delivery was canceled, just one of the challenges the food bank is facing. |
ONTARIO - Challenges continue to face the Southeast Oregon Regional Food Bank, but branch manager Peter Lawson also says there are opportunities for the local food bank and other agencies that provide food for people in need — one of them focusing on growing food cooperatively.
“One of the challenges we have right now is the freight truck was canceled (last week) because of the weather,” Lawson said.
That truck delivers food from the Oregon Food Bank, the hub of the food bank system, and the next shipment is not scheduled until next week, he said. It is not an issue of just sending another truck when the roads are clear, as there are about 20 other regional food banks to be served. Food bank officials are working with True Value Hardware Stores to possibly use one of its freight trucks to bring part of a load over, which has been done before, Lawson said. Meanwhile, he is trying to figure how to serve local pantries until the next regular shipment next week. Heinz Frozen Food made a large donation of frozen potato products and Albertsons donated some turkeys, he said.
Another challenge is that the number of people using the food pantries served by the Southeast Oregon Regional Food Bank continues to rise, according to statistics for the last two quarters of the 2006 to 2007 reporting year.
From January to March 2007, 1,798 households were served in Malheur County, representing about 6,335 individuals. From April through June, 2,219 households were served, representing 8,325 individuals.
While food distribution is lower in some months than others, statistics show the overall trend continues to be up. During the holidays the numbers are down because other community programs help to provide food, but overall, “We continue to see the need climb,” Lawson said.
“I would like expand services to outlying areas in Harney County,” he said, noting right now there is only one pantry served there. “One of the challenges in both counties is that they are so huge, and they are so spread out.”
Upcoming opportunities include the Oregon state employees fund and food drive, which Lawson said raised about $12,000 in cash last year. Later in the year, the annual Great Owyhee Ride took place, in which volunteers raised money riding from Ontario to the base of Owyhee Dam and back.
There is also a project being developed by a local group, which went through a leadership training program sponsored by the Ford Family Foundation. The group, Lawson said, was challenged to develop a local project and was given $5,000 in matching funds from the foundation to help carry it out. The group’s project is a community garden which, Lawson said, could be a showcase for creating community gardens to supply produce for groups of people. While some of the food could be distributed through the pantries, Lawson said the there are many possibilities and suggested some of the food could go to culinary classes at Ontario High School.
One opportunity has Lawson chuckling. An offer of a shipment of food that could not be delivered to its original destination to the food bank left him 250 cases of whipped cream on his hands.
