In this undated photo provided by the Oregon Food Bank, volunteer and food bank recipient Maria A. Rojas-Mendoza picks up vegetables at the Free Food Market run by Oregon Food Bank at Earl Boyles Elementary School. Last year, 2.5 million people visited free food sites in Oregon and southwest Washington last year, a 31% increase from the year before.
Melissa Farlow / Courtesy of Oregon Food Bank and Melissa Farlow
As people gather for the holidays, sharing meals and gifts, a hunger crisis in the Pacific Northwest is getting worse.
In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began, people visited food bank sites in Oregon and Southwest Washington about 860,000 times.
In 2023, that number surged to 1.9 million. Last year, it rose to 2.5 million times, according to the latest Oregon Food Bank data from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024.
“It seems like the need has never been as high as it is right now,” said Jimmy Jones, the executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency in Salem, a nonprofit social services provider that serves Marion and Polk counties.
Some people are struggling to balance paying for meals with the rise in housing costs and inflation. Others don’t quite qualify for the federal benefits they need like SNAP, or food stamps, because of their income or immigration status. Many more are from families who haven’t had to seek help before, including middle-class Oregonians who once had decent paying jobs in restaurants or the service industry but have since been priced out of a stable living.
“The inflationary events of 2021 and 2022, in particular, have put people in a position where they either have to make choices about buying gas to get to work, or buying medicine for their kids and their grandmother, or putting food on the table,” Jones said. “I bet the general public would be shocked at who is coming to receive these services.”
The increased demand for food services comes as roughly one out of every six children in Oregon face hunger, according to the most recent data from Feeding America, an organization that includes food banks, pantries and other meal programs across the country.
“We’re seeing hungry kids,” said Oregon Food Bank spokesperson Morgan Dewey. “We know that a pathway to a brighter and more equitable Oregon is through our kids.”
Food banks in Oregon and Southwest Washington distributed more than 109 million pounds of food last year, which was also a 5% jump from the previous year.
Regional food bank operators say their budgets are becoming increasingly strained amid the increased demand. Paula Hall is the chief executive officer of CAPECO, which provides social services throughout Eastern Oregon, including a food bank.
As the pandemic increased need among local residents, Hall said, her organization was fueled by a surge in government funds, allowing them to rent out a warehouse.
Now those funds have dwindled to pre-pandemic levels. “Yet, the need doesn’t seem to be dropping,” she said. Her organization faces a funding shortfall this year of at least $350,000.
“We can survive for three months, but we are going to have to look at this and approach this differently long term because the food banking business is going to hit a lull, and it’s going to impact all of us,” Hall said.
Jones, of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, echoed Hall’s concerns.
“The regional and local food banks are suffering,” he said. “A lot of them have budget deficits of several hundred thousand dollars. A lot of them are dipping into their reserves or other flexible grant sources.”
More people are seeking help as the federal government cut federal benefits through SNAP in 2022, Jones said. Nearly 770,000 people in Oregon use SNAP. However, he added, “Without the Oregon Food Bank, there is no major voice in the Legislature for providing additional funds for food for low-income Oregonians.”
“In a year like this one, where the revenue forecast is tight, and there’s major priorities around housing and transportation and behavioral health, there’s not a whole lot of air in the room for conversations about expanding budgets for food,” he said.
Dewey, the Oregon Food Bank spokesperson, said the Oregon Food Bank and other organizations are backing a bill that would, among other things, create a state-funded program to support Oregonians who can’t qualify for federal food assistance due to their immigration status.
The bill is focused on helping people under the age of 25 and over the age of 55. Dewey estimates that, if passed, it would assist at least 62,000 people.
