Supporting Food Justice in our Community

Giving Produce & Hope to our New Friends at the Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization

Ten miles from Organically Grown Company’s Portland facility, a food pantry operated by the nonprofit Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) is set up inside an elementary school and it is helping over 75 families in need as a rising number of families become unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. IRCO’s priorities and service model shifted in response to the pandemic to provide wrap-around services, including food boxes. In partnership with select schools in Multnomah County and the Oregon Food Bank, the program is providing school meals and food distributions during school closures.

Through a friend, OGC coworker Cassi Heale learned about IRCO and their critical need for fresh produce to nourish their culturally diverse community who have been greatly impacted by the pandemic. Cassi’s friend connected her to Erika Hernandez, site manager for IRCO, and Cassi leapt into action, enlisting help from OGC colleagues to coordinate fresh produce donations that met IRCO’s culturally specific needs.

IRCO had explored a variety of food resource services and discovered families would not take many items because peanut butter, canned foods, and boxed pre-made meals are not the food they generally cook to keep their children healthy and fed. The requests from their Latinx, Islander, Slavic, Middle Eastern, and African communities focused on fresh produce.
“It’s a team effort,” said Cassi. “These families have been greatly affected by their school district’s food pantries being closed due to the pandemic, which has impacted their access to fresh food beyond the pantry staples IRCO is procuring. This new relationship between OGC, IRCO, and David Douglas School District gives us another outlet for supporting those in need and both parties really benefit!”

“OGC is giving the families, my staff, and our volunteers so much hope,” said Erika. “The consistent, high quality produce donations have made it possible to make a wider impact on families. With OGC donations as our foundation, we have been able to partner with other bakers and stores to provide regular food boxes to over 75 families a week.”

A partnership that started in May formed a bond that will likely outlast the pandemic. To date, OGC has donated roughly 4,000 pounds of fresh produce and is honored to support the heroes at IRCO.

Partnering with Portland Adventist Community Services to Help Address the Unique Challenges Posed by Diverse Communities Suffering from Food Insecurity

For two hours each day, a line of cars wrap a building in Portland’s Gateway District with families waiting patiently to pick up a food box from Portland Adventist Community Services (PACS), a faith-based organization that serves anyone in their community and beyond. Run by a small staff and team of volunteers, PACS operates one of the largest food banks in the Oregon Food Bank system, but volunteers, PACS operates one of the largest food banks in the Oregon Food Bank system, but they operate in a very small space.

“A big thing is dignity and allowing people to shop. To choose and pick their own food was a part of that,” said Laura. “We are doing food boxes now because it lessens the contact, but we are doing our best to start adding choice back while maintaining the drive-through model.”

In the first 90 days of the COVID-19 pandemic, PACS distributed 210,000 pounds of food each month and converted their normal shopping style food pantry into a food box operation. Prior to the pandemic, they served 70-90 families a day in the pantry. When the pandemic started, the demand for food assistance jumped to over 120 families a day. Simultaneously, the revenue stream that normally supports the food pantry, the PACS Thrift Store, had to close leaving them without a dedicated income stream.

“There have been many, many challenges, but we are extraordinarily fortunate to be supported by schools and organizations who come to volunteer,” said Laura Pasco, Executive Director of PACS. “They make food boxes and people drive through to pick up.”

PACS partnership with OGC began in March when they began purchasing produce with emergency funds provided by Oregon Governor Kate Brown to address the urgent need for families seeking food assistance during the public health crisis. PACS is one of Oregon Food Bank’s community food assistance sites and was the recipient of some of those dollars. OGC’s relationship with PACS has also transitioned into a donation partnership, a connection we look forward to supporting in the future.

Laura expressed deep gratitude in having a partner in OGC, which provides access to fresh, healthy food for the community they serve and supports the wellbeing of their customers.