Help raise one-million pounds of food during March by donating to Northwest NewsChannel 8?s Great Food Drive, presented by Tillamook Cheese and supported by NW Natural and U.S. Bank.

If you see opportunities in March to support the Great Food Drive, contact Bob Morris, food resource manager at Oregon Food Bank, 503-282-0555, Ext. 261, or bmorris@oregonfoodbank.org.

Last year, food-industry donations played a key role in helping the Great Food Drive reach its goal. KGW featured several food-industry donations in its news broadcasts.

"Oregon Food Bank continues to see a decline in the amount of food it receives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture," says Bob Morris, food resource developer. "Last year we saw a decrease of almost 3-million pounds of food from USDA, and we see this as an ongoing trend. This is a significant loss, because the type of food we receive from USDA is the pre-packaged, shelf-stable food that our agencies rely on. The drop in USDA product makes food industry donations more important than ever."

Oregon Food Bank needs donations of nutritous, pre-packaged, shelf-stable food to help make up for the continuing loss of USDA product. Click here for a list of OFB's immediate food needs.

Oregon Food Bank also needs boxes, bags, totes and repackaging equipment. Click here for a list of OFB's goods and services needs.

Oregon's growers and processors have found an innovative way to fight hunger in Oregon and Clark County, Wash. They've formed Farmer's Ending Hunger, an urban-rural partnership of growers, processors and other suppliers, working to direct the abundance of Northwest agriculture to the fight against hunger.

The first large-scale success of Farmers Ending Hunger resulted in a donation 173,000 pounds of frozen peas to Oregon Food Bank. The donation was unusual because the peas were top grade and grown to be donated to OFB to fill a specific need.

To learn about how to contribute to Farmers Ending Hunger, contact 503-222-0241.

Photo of Fred Ziari, Farmers Ending Hunger.

Read more >

As a result of a new partnership between OFB and state agencies, Oregon Department of Corrections cut the ribbon on a food repackaging facility at Two Rivers Correctional Institution (TRCI) in Umatilla. The facility allows inmates to repack vegetables donated by local growers year-round.

"We're excited about this new facility and expect to see a significant increase in the volume of vegetables we can distribute to hunger-relief agencies," says Bob Morris, OFB's food resource manager.

Bonni Stoddard and her son Adriane were thrilled to recieve meat and other fresh foods on their first visit ot St. Vincent de Paul St. Patrick's Emergency Food Pantry in Canby.

Stoddard is just one of the thousands of families across Oregon and Clark County, Wash., who are now receiving fresh, high-protein foods through OFB's Fresh Alliance program. The program has expanded statewide thanks to grants from the Fred Meyer Foundation and others that purchased freezers and refrigerators for local agencies, improving their capacity to safely handle perishable food.

Oregon Food Bank's reputation for good stewardship is making national news.

After hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, OFB sent nine staff members, including six inventory control specialists, to help food banks affected by the hurricanes.

An article in the New Orleans Times Picayune recently reported, "Because the amount of food being distributed was so great, inventory control was crucial. The best inventory control in the Second Harvest system is that of Oregon Food Bank, which sent teams of workers here every two weeks for that purpose."

Read about Oregon Food Bank's food-resource staff members.

Oregon Food Bank is an affiliate of America's Second Harvest-The Nation's Food Bank Network.