Food officials tour Malheur County
BY Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Friday, July 18, 2008 10:23 AM PDT
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| Janeen Wadsworth (right), chief operating officer for the Oregon Food Bank, gets a guided tour of the Nyssa Community Food Pantry, Thursday, from Roni Laikin, a pantry worker. Wadsworth and other food bank officials visited food banks and pantries in communities along Interstate 84. |
ONTARIO — Oregon Food Bank official said Thursday they were impressed with the amount of need for emergency services in Malheur County but pleased to see the amount of collaborative effort by area agencies and individuals to combat hunger locally.
Janeen Wadsworth, chief operating officer for the Oregon Food Bank, was joined by Ann Forsthoefel, director of agency relations, and Sharon Thornberry, community foods programs advocate in a tour of Malheur County, as part of a larger, and more extensive, trip to the towns along Interstate 84 from The Dalles to Ontario.
“Most of our clients are working families,” Wadsworth said, adding many of those families have two incomes but still struggle. They deal with higher rents, fuels and other costs, she said, and sometimes food may be the last thing on their list.
The Oregon Food Bank, headquartered in Portland, works with 20 regional food banks around the state, which service the local emergency food pantries.
“We directly manage four of the 20 food banks,” Wadsworth said. That includes the Southeast Oregon Regional Food Bank in Ontario.
During a roundtable discussion at the Nyssa pantry, Wadsworth said the passage of the Farm Bill will help communities as they will see more funding for food programs. For example, the Oregon Food Bank is set to receive $50,000 to help with hunger initiatives.
The food banks and pantries will also be receiving more USDA commodities.
“There are a lot of competing interests,” Amber Campbell, Snake River Correctional Institution public information officer, said, when it comes to raising money for the local food bank and other projects. “Do what you can,” she tells people.
Peter Lawson, branch coordinator, of the Southeast Oregon Regional Food Bank, said the Help Them to Hope program at the holidays shares whatever food product is leftover and any excess funds with the food bank. Lawson said the cooperation from Help Them To Hope is just one good example of the collaborative efforts locally to battle hunger.
“We are proud of the work that Peter (Lawson) is doing,” Wadsworth said. “As an island we are not going to get much done.”
Mara Slinker, Kinney Bros., & Keele True Value Hardware, said it was important for people to support the local businesses that donate product or services to support community programs.
“We are seeing the need grow,” Roni Laikin, Nyssa Community Food Pantry representative, said. Where before the pantry averaged 160 to 165 family visits per month, the numbers have climbed more than 200 families each of the last two months, she said, which is a first for the pantry. Forsthoefel said it is important to maintain the local agriculture.
“What are your youth doing? How are you going get them to stay,” she asked. “How do you keep the farms here?”
