In This Issue

SNAP Updates

Oregon Youth Meals Alliance

Staff celebrates National School Lunch Week

Multnomah Food Justice Summit

As partner Susan Hamann says,

"all the resources are there, we just need to connect them!"

Donate today to help us continue these crucial partnerships and end child hunger in Oregon.

SNAP cuts, the Farm Bill and 800,000 Oregonians

On November 1, all SNAP participants will experience a monthly benefit cut. In Oregon, this means that more than 800,000 families with children, seniors and workers will have fewer resources each month to spend on food in our local economies.

For information on what the cuts mean on the household level and ways households might mitigate the impact, see our fact sheet.

Meanwhile in Washington, D.C.:

Earlier this month Congress appointed members to negotiate an agreement on the House and Senate-passed farm bills. Congressman Kurt Schrader of Oregon's 5th District was appointed as a House Democratic Conferee.

Action:

Join us in calling on Congressman Schrader on his Facebook and Twitter for leadership to protect and strengthen SNAP in the Farm Bill negotiation.

Sample Tweets:

.@RepSchrader 800,000 hungry Oregonians and our state economy are counting on you to stand up for #SNAP

#SNAPworks #OR #hungerfreeor #FarmBill #Nov1

#Oregon needs your leadership in the #farmbill conference, @RepSchrader. Food banks can not make up for cuts to #SNAP #hungerfreeor #OR #SNAPworks

PHFO launches the Oregon Youth Meals Alliance

Exciting news! We have officially launched the Oregon Youth Meals Alliance (OYMA). In partnership with Share Our Strength, we brought statewide partners and community members together for our first meeting to discuss strategies for ending childhood hunger in Oregon.

One of the attendees was Susan Hamman, a committed proponent of ending childhood hunger and president of the Oregon Parent Teacher Association. Read Susan's story about OYMA, and why she has joined the coalition.

"I began to see the hunger need among children in Oregon several years ago when I was working as a regional leader for PTA... That was when I first reached out to Partners for a Hunger Free Oregon." Read more...

If you are a provider or partner of summer or after-school meal programs, and would like to be involved in OYMA, contact Rose Walker.

PHFO staff celebrate school lunch week with kids

Did you know that October 14-18 was National School Lunch Week? For many children, school meals are the most nutritious parts of their diet, and in some cases, their only meals of the day.

Second graders at Roseway Heights enjoy a healthy lunch

Last week, we sat down to eat lunch with students at Roseway Heights School in Northeast Portland. Kindergartners through eighth graders enjoyed a fresh fruit and vegetable bar, as well as a choice of three main courses and milk.

Visit our Facebook page to see more photos of happy kids with tasty and nutritious food.

A huge thank you to all the school districts and cafeterias across the state working hard to feed nutritious lunches to Oregon's children throughout the school year.

More than half of Oregon's children receive free or reduced price meals. To see if your children qualify, fill out the quick and easy application today.

2013 Multnomah Food Justice Summit

On Friday, October 18, at the fourth annual Multnomah Food Justice Summit, nearly 300 passionate individuals representing their communities, nonprofits, government agencies, and businesses came together to examine our understandings of food justice, talk strategy and take action.

With the underlying question of "how do we increase access to healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate food in our communities?", workshops followed six tracks:

Food Justice in Our Schools
Neighborhoods in Action
More than Sustenance, Food As Healing
Getting Back to Our Roots
Addressing Hunger & Nutrition
Equity in Access, Good Food For All

LaDonna Redmond

Keynote speaker LaDonna Redmond,

founder of the Campaign for Food Justice Now, spoke to the power of food as a tool for organizing, and called on Oregonians to recognize historical injustices and apply analyses of race, class and gender when confronting issues of food access and health disparities.

Thanks to Multnomah County for organizing this inspiring conference. Hope to see you next year!