Although many Oregon businesses have reopened and unemployment numbers have declined, local food pantries remain busier than ever.
The first few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic in March were filled with uncertainty. Pantries initially asked their customers to stay home while they rushed to figure out how to distribute goods with safe social distancing practices.
Five months later, the Oregon Food Bank reported about 100 pantries had closed statewide, out of 1,400. The sites that closed were primarily senior services centers that innately created high-risk environments, but the remaining pantries have thrived despite the new safety challenges and upswing in visitors.
“It’s been a great testament of teamwork,” said Ashley Mumm, Public Relations Manager of the Oregon Food Bank. “It’s just amazing that we have not heard of anybody turned away because there wasn’t enough food, except in one instance. We estimate that we will serve (more than) 1 million people this year, when in years prior, we were serving 860,000.”
In August, the state’s Department of Environmental Quality awarded the Oregon Food Bank a $140,000 grant to be used for transporting and processing excess food from West Coast growers. Due to the pandemic, much of the produce that would typically go to restaurants was headed for landfills. With the grant, however, 2 million pounds of fresh produce will be rerouted through food pantries instead.
“We are experiencing what may be a hundred-year flood of hunger — certainly the greatest food insecurity in at least a generation,” Oregon Food Bank CEO Susannah Morgan said upon receiving the grant.
Street Roots visited three Portland-based food pantries to see how they’ve adapted their operations in light of the pandemic.
Photos by Celeste Noche
Portland Adventist Community Services
11020 NE Halsey St.
9–11a.m. Monday–Friday
Sharmen Yoder, a food pantry customer on a fixed income of Social Security and Social Security disability benefits, has been visiting Portland Adventist Community Services’ food pantry for about three to four years. She said it’s her main source of food when she’s not working. She prefers the new system of collecting groceries, as it’s more efficient and allows her to drive up instead of waiting in line in person. Yoder, who was born with an autoimmune disorder, said she likes to use her produce from the pantry to make smoothies to boost her immune system.
Volunteers at Portland Adventist Community Services fill grocery boxes, a process that customers used to do themselves but has since been adapted to increase safety measures. Today, customers can give a general preference for their boxes, but they’re encouraged to share any unwanted food with friends and neighbors.
Traci White, manager and intake coordinator, delivers pharmacy supplies to customers waiting in their cars for grocery pickups. White said that since the pandemic began, Portland Adventist Community Services has never had to turn anyone away.
Lines of cars wait at Portland Adventist Community Services, which estimates that prior to the pandemic, it distributed food to about 70 to 90 families a day. Since the pandemic began, the average has been 130 per day.
William Temple House
2230 NW Glisan St.
11a.m.–1 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Guang Pei is among the first to receive her grocery boxes and sorts the produce before packing it in her grocery bag. Many customers live within walking distance of William Temple House and bring a grocery carrier on wheels. William Temple House serves about 63 families a day. Its pre-pandemic numbers were similar, but its hours have changed significantly; it’s open just two hours a day now. The food pantry estimates its visits have slowly increased throughout the pandemic, but a lot of regular customers who used to visit often are missing.
Prior to the pandemic, William Temple House customers would enter the facilities, receive a lottery number, have an intake interview, and collect their groceries in a shopping style in the pantry’s basement. Today, customers wait in line outside the building, fill out a form indicating the items they’d like, then wait until a volunteer fulfills the order and delivers the groceries to the waiting area.
Michael Venso waits in the customer intake line with his dog, Bugsy. Venso began patronizing William Temple House when the pandemic began and used to collect cans prior. At this pantry, he specifically looks for dog food. He said he’s collecting food for a household of three; he distributes food to friends who are unable to come to the pantry themselves. “I like that I see God’s hands help,” he said.
Zhou Chengxue, 68, awaits his grocery order in the tented waiting area. He’s lived in the United States for 17 years, spending the past four in an apartment in Northwest Portland. He collects groceries for a household of two.
The William Temple House grocery selection list is presented in English and Mandarin.
Lift Urban Portland (Lift UP)
1838 SW Jefferson St.
3–6 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday (arrive by 5 p.m.)
Lift UP has adapted its model to include a lottery system, an interview portion where customers can review and request perishable items available, and a shopping area where some goods are laid out on tables to be chosen — dairy, cheese, bread and produce. Lift UP moved to its current location on Feb. 12 and a month later had to adapt for the pandemic.
Volunteer Susan restocks produce in the shopping section of Lift UP’s pantry. The pantry initially saw a decline in visitors, which might be attributed to its relocation.
Program manager Teresa Steichen has noticed an increase in families and first-time visitors. She also notes that the pantry is often busier later in the month, hypothesizing that it’s because her customers receive government assistance at the beginning of the month.
Heidi, a graduate student and first-time visitor, is self-employed on top of being a full-time student with a 20-hour-per-week internship. She learned about the pantry through a friend and after her first visit, plans to come back, noting her surprise at all the fresh vegetables and variety of food. “It’s helping me while I need it,” she said. “How can I return the favor once I’m on my feet again?”
HOW TO HELP
The Oregon Food Bank has received more requests for volunteers, with Portland Adventist Community Services citing it’s had 100% turnover of volunteer staff. For volunteer opportunities and information on advocacy initiatives, visit emergestronger.org.
FIND HELP
For those seeking food pantry resources, visit the Oregon Bank Food Finder web page. Because wildfire damage and evacuations have disrupted services at several pantries in Oregon and Southwest Washington, please call locations to verify availability and hours. For additional assistance, dial 2-1-1.