LET’S CURE CHILDHOOD HUNGER TOGETHER

Kelly is a 36-year-old mother of five school age children. She has been coming to our pantry for several years as a single mom.  

I asked her what made her start coming and she replied, “It was a hard decision for me to make. I just didn’t see myself ever going to a food pantry.  But then one night I was walking past my children’s room and heard crying.  I turned on the light to find that my kids were crying because they were hungry.  We had no food in the house and that night the kids had to go without dinner.  

I decided then and there to start looking for a food bank to get some food.  I specifically have continued coming to this pantry because of the quality of food you give to us.  I’m so grateful for your pantry knowing my kids don’t have to have a night without dinner ever again.”

Recently, I found out that food insecurity affects children more often than adults, both in Oregon and nationwide. Below are statistics provided by Feeding America detailing what food insecurity looks like in the counties that regularly use our pantry:

Clackamas County - Adult food insecurity – 10.3%% / Children - 12.4%
Washington County - Adult food insecurity – 10.4%/ Children - 12.6%
Multnomah County - Adult food insecurity -    12.5%/ Children - 16.6%

Those numbers increase during the summer months when children are out of school and do not have access to the food programs it provided.  Additionally, the exorbitant cost of food that we all have been experiencing the past few years drives these numbers even higher. 

This summer, our Community Table program has been conducting cooking classes for children.

These classes are design to teach kids about good nutrition, and both children and their parents are given an opportunity to learn simple recipes the child can make from food that our pantry provides.  The classes have been an immense success, and we are thankful for the staff and volunteers who have been working Saturdays to provide these classes.

Our pantry needs your ongoing donations.  

Every dollar goes directly to combating the food insecurity that so many of our families are experiencing due to inflation that has driven the cost of food to heights not recently seen.  As shown above, food insecurity affects children at a higher rate than adults, and we earnestly request your partnership with our organization to provide the food that children in our community need.

Thank you for your support.  Thank you for believing in the fact that if families have access to the food they need, the anxiety and fear that food insecurity causes in a household decreases, and hope returns.

Please donate by clicking the button below.  Becoming a monthly partner is particularly needed currently.  For your donation of $10 per month we can provide 30 meals for an individual.