Hunger Action Month
CARING FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE OF OUR COMMUNITY
Trina is a 41-year-old single mom of six children. Her youngest child has an underlying lung disorder. A few years ago, he and one of his sisters contracted COVID-19 causing them both to become dangerously ill in the Doernbecher’s Children’s Hospital ICU. Trina, very stressed, was up at the hospital each day and night leaving her other three children at home with no food in the house. She knew the kids would get food during school but would have to wait until the next school day for food, making weekends even more difficult.
One day, while at the hospital, Trina collapsed. She was suffering from malnutrition. The staff immediately transported her to the emergency room where she was given hydrating fluids and some food. After several hours, Trina returned to her children’s bedside. A few days later, one of the nurses noticed that after lunch, Trina’s kid’s stomachs were constantly growling, but all the food on their trays had been completely eaten. After close observation, the staff noticed the children telling their mom they were not hungry and were offering their food for her to eat instead. The nurses sat down with Trina, offered their support and helped to provide food for her while her kids were in the hospital.
“I could not tell the hospital staff we had no food at home because I believed they would take my kids away from me,” Trina told us looking back on the incident. She could not take that chance. As heartbreaking as Trina’s story is, her same scenario is not uncommon for parents of hospitalized children facing food insecurity.
Our partnership with Doernbecher Children’s Hospital is designed to support these families. With the assistance of 10 Oregon Food Bank partner food pantries, we will be able to provide nutrition rich food to every child coming out of Doernbecher Hospital who lives in the tri-counties for the next year. The child’s parent will be able to go online, choose the food he/she desires for their family and choose the pantry closest to them to deliver them food within 24-48 hours. We are confident that this nutritional support, along with the decreased stress that comes from having good food at home, will aid and at times expedite the child’s healing.
September is “Hunger Action Month,” and I wanted to provide you with an opportunity to hear about this program again. We have already begun receiving referrals of children being discharged and pantries supporting the family. Your financial donations have been a key contributor to helping this program move forward. During this month, I would like to extend an invitation for you to send a financial gift to the pantry. As you know the cost of food has outpaced the affordability for many families and they turn to us for support. Your ongoing contributions help us make programs like the one for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital a reality for the people of our state.
For those of you who have asked, I would like to share the names of the pantries that have partnered with us on this project:
* Portland Adventist Community Services- SE Portland
* Clackamas Service Center- Clackamas
* Tualatin Food Pantry- Tualatin
* Snowcap- SE Portland
* Neighborhood House Community Services- SW Portland
* Lift Urban Portland- NW Portland
* Ester’s Pantry- Clackamas
* St. John's Food Share- N Portland
* Bethlehem House of Bread- Tigard
* Aware Food Bank- Woodburn
* Portland Open Bible Community Pantry- SE Portland
We look forward to reporting to you about all that your contributions continue to do for food insecurity within our state as this year goes on. You are making a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable individuals in our community, and we are so grateful for the hope you bring to so many. Please contribute by clicking the button below.
