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Appeal Tribune Wednesday, December 7, 2016 3A Oregon food insecurity levels spike LAUREN E HERNANDEZ STATESMAN JOURNAL Oregon recorded its sharpest increase in food insecurity of any state in the nation during the past three years, despite the state’s steady economic growth. The Oregon Center for Public Policy released a report analyzing United States Department of Ag- riculture data showing one in six Oregon house- holds were food insecure between 2013 and 2015. The USDA defines food insecurity as having re- duced or disrupted eating patterns due to lack of money or other resources for food. “We are very agricul- turally based in the valley and I don’t know why there are so many food in- secure communities,” said Elise Bauman, execu- tive director of Salem Harvest, a nonprofit or- ganization that connects volunteer pickers with farmers to harvest food that would otherwise go to waste. By the numbers Food insecurity house- holds in Oregon spiked to 18.4 percent between 2013 and 2015 compared to data collected from 2010 to 2012, when the nation was recovering from the Great Recession. As food insecurity in- creased, the state experi- enced economic growth and additions to the job market on a monthly ba- sis. In September, Gover- nor Kate Brown said Ore- gon was in its 50th straight month of job growth, with nearly 5,000 jobs added per month in various markets since 2014. Despite this job growth, Oregon is ranked the sixth worst in food in- security and eighth worst in hunger, according to the Oregon Center for Public Policy. While nationwide hun- ger decreased by 3.6 per- cent between 2010 and 2015, Oregon hunger in- creased by 13.8 percent during that same period. John Burt, executive director of Farmers End- ing Hunger, a partnership of farmers, food proces- sors and Oregon Food Bank focused on eliminat- ing hunger, said it’s hard to understand how a state that produces a good por- tion of the nation’s food could still remain so hun- gry. Burt points to the cost of housing and unlivable wages as factors in house- holds being unable to eat on a regular basis. “If you’re faced be- tween rent and buying food, you have to pay rent, utilities and gas for the car,” Burt said. “If the car needs repair, or you need to pay a co-pay for doctors appointment, the thing you can’t buy is food.” Although Oregon has seen a boost in job growth in recent months, leading the nation with an in- crease of 3.5 percent in September, paired with a plateau of unemployment rate at 4.5 percent as of March of this year, Burt said many of these jobs are low-paying and don’t provide livable wages for people to afford food. “There will always be people by circumstance who lose their jobs, di- vorce, are single parents or they come back to their jobs after the Great Re- cession that doesn’t pay as well,” Burt said. “There is a record number of new jobs in Oregon, but in my perception, those jobs don’t pay as much.” According to Ameri- can Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample compiled in 2014, Oregon families who are considered to be working poor families, those with at least one parent work- ing, increased from 10 percent to 12.7 percent from 2007 to 2014. Minimum wage’s potential effects Oregon’s recently en- acted three-tier minimum wage rate, Senate Bill 1532, a series of annual minimum wage increases that began in July of this year and lasts through July 1, 2022, may help families suffering from food insecurity, said Matt Newell-Ching, public af- fairs director of Partners for a Hunger Free Ore- gon. Partners for a Hun- ger Free Oregon is a non- profit organization that tries to connect families in need with food assis- tance programs like Sup- plemental Nutrition As- sistance Program, or SNAP. The three-tier system breaks the state into rural counties, economically stable counties referred to as “standard” counties and the Portland Metro area. On July 1, 2017, stan- dard counties (like Mar- ion and Polk counties) will increase from the current $9.75 wage to $10.25, Port- land Metro will increase from $9.75 to $11.25, and rural counties will in- crease from $9.50 to $10.00. “It’s going to take a while to see what the mini- mum wage impacts will be, but the fact is that peo- ple experience hunger be- cause they don’t have enough income to cover their basic needs,” New- ell-Ching said. “With the minimum wage increase I think we’ll see more fam- ilies being able to cover those basic needs.” SNAP provided $85.6 million in benefits to 697,560 persons in 394,517 households in Oregon in October of this month alone, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services. Newell-Ching said al- though SNAP and other food assistance programs do cover a portion of food purchases for the month, it’s not nearly enough, es- pecially for families who have children. “For a lot of folks, they’re are getting back to work, which is great, but there are folks out on those margins that still have great need but they are just above the cut-off to qualify for SNAP,” Newell-Ching said. “So we are seeing families that are turning to food pan- tries earlier and earlier in the month.” In 2014, there were 75,000 Oregonians in households with at least one full time worker yet still were below the pover- ty line, according to the American Community Survey. blackberries, boysenber- ries, black raspberries and hazelnuts, according US Census of Agriculture data compiled in 2012. Field crops like corn, wheat, oats and potatoes follow close behind berry production, valuing more than $300 million in 2015, according to an Oregon State University esti- mate. Burt said farmers and producers carry a respon- sibility to provide food goods to communities in need, citing agricultural abundance as a source for families suffering from food insecurity. “We donated 4 million- plus pounds of food last year,” Burt said, referring to the network of farmers, ranchers, producers, pro- cessors and handlers that donate food to the state- wide network of 20 re- gional food banks withing Oregon and Clark County, Washington. Bauman joins Burt in believing the food insecu- rity and hunger issues in Oregon will not be solved as long as the underlying socio-economic issues are tackled at the state level. “It’s just alleviating the problem, but it’s not solv- ing the problem,” Bau- man said. Farmers sow seeds of giving Burt said Farmers Ending Hungers partners with Oregon farmers and producers to ensure fam- ilies in need have access to locally grown food in an effort to remedy food in- security. The organiza- tion provides food boxes to various food banks and hunger-relief agencies through a partnership with the Oregon Food Bank. Oregon provides the majority of the nation’s berry supply, including 100 percent of the nation’s Get crafty at Silver Falls festival CARLEE WRIGHT STATESMAN JOURNAL The Christmas Festival at Silver Falls State Park is a holiday tradi- tion attracting visitors from throughout the valley. Celebrating its 39th year, the annual family- friendly event transforms the for- est into a wonderland illuminated with thousands of lights and deco- rated trees. Unlike past years, the festival will only be one day, taking place 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday but visitors can expect some traditional favor- ites, including seasonal stories ac- companied by cookies and cocoa, plus entertainment by local musi- cians. The Roundhouse Band will perform noon to 2:30 p.m. in the tent followed by The Livingston Advent- ist Academy Handbell Players 3 to 4 p.m. In the lodge, The Muller Fam- ily Choir will sing 2 to 3 p.m. Get hands on with a make-and- take project creating holiday cards, gingerbread houses, festive orna- ments, wreaths, nature crafts and more. Make Mother Nature a gift by building a bird nest box for a $5 ma- terial fee. The Salem Audubon Soci- ety will have the supplies and tools and will offer help. Other crafts and activities are free. The South Falls Nature Store will www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC LOCAL ADVISORS COURTESY OF FRIENDS OF SILVER FALLS STATE PARK Kids can take part in the fun at the 39th Annual Christmas Festival at Silver Falls State Park 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Salem Area Vin Searles Keizer Area Jeff Davis Surrounding Area Sheryl Resner Bridgette Justis FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR South | 503-363-0445 Liberty | 503-581-8580 Keizer | 503-304-8641 Sublimity | 503-769-3180 be open, selling one-of-a-kind gifts and souvenirs from handmade hats, pens and ornaments to field guides and nature toys, and the cafe at the lodge will be open. Festivities take place in the South Falls Historic District. Silver Falls State Park is at 20024 Silver Falls Highway SE in Sublimity. A day-use parking permit is re- quired. Cost is $5 for a one-day visi- tors permit. Purchase a one-year permit for $25. For information, call 503-874-0201 or go to Silver FallsStatePark.wordpress.com. Email cwright2@Statesman- Journal.com, call 503-399-6671, or follow on Twitter @CarleeWrightSJ Michael Wooters Garry Falor Mario Montiel Tim Yount FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR South | 503-362-5439 West | 503-588-5426 Keizer | 503-393-8166 Silverton | 503-873-2454 Derek Gilbert Chip Hutchings Walt Walker FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR Commercial | 503-362-9699 Lancaster | 503-585-4689 FINANCIAL ADVISOR Stayton | 503-769-4902 Caitlin Davis Tim Sparks FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR West | 503-585-1464 Commercial | 503-370-6159 CANYON VIEWS CRIME LOG Partnership improves the Santiam wilderness area BY JENNIFER PAULSON COMMENTARY West Cascade Back Country Horse- men decided to do something different in 2016 at Big Meadows Horse Camp, south- east of Marion Forks in the heard of the Middle Santiam Wilderness Area of the Willamette National Forest. The wooden pole and post corrals are always being repaired because of heavy snow loads, tree falls, rot, and horses chewing poles. Oregon Equestrian Trails and some other Chapters of Back Coun- try Horsemen were starting to replace old corrals with steel 12-gauge corrals in other horse camps in Oregon so that more time could be spent clearing trails in national forest and wilderness areas. West Cascade applied for a grant called “Boots on the Ground” from Na- ture Wilderness Stewardship Alliance. The group was awarded a $1,500 grant but only received $750 to start until the project was completed. A set of four cor- rals were $2,045.20. Our chapter did not have the funds to cover the rest. I called Josh Weathers of Detroit Forest Service. He had told me before he could help us. I told him that we did not have the funds needed to pay for the rest of corrals and would probably have to cancel this pro- ject. Josh amazed me and asked how much was needed and he made it happen. We paid $762 and USFS paid $1,283.20. I was doing a major happy dance after our con- versation. So we put in our order to No- ble. We had to wait for next build date and bundle our order with another organiza- tion. These are special made corrals to Forest Service specs with horsemen in- put for safety and durability. They are not off the shelf like other corrals. Our order was processed and in Sep- tember our corrals were built. One of West Cascades members, Eric Dahl and his son Ben, volunteered to drive to Mil- ton-Freewater and retrieve the corrals, driving 12 hours round trip. Another member, Arden Corey, volunteered to take the lead on corral installation and he coordinated with members and Forest Service for gravel and cement. Of course this all falls in hunting sea- son so we had to plan around members' hunting trips. The install was planned for Oct. 21. Corrals were brought up to horse camp, a tractor was brought by Bert Morris to re- move old corrals, and level site as much as possible, and haul gravel. Josh Weathers, developed recreation manager for Willamette National Forest, came with cement and helped pack the heavy corral panels. It took a while for us to determine the best way to install be- cause of trees, their roots and slight slope. But once we decided how to do it the outcome was great. We were all very proud. Without the Boots on the Ground grant and the Detroit Forest Service this would not have happened. We have eight more sites we would like to install corrals in at Big Meadows Horse Camp in the coming years. Our fu- ture is bright. Jennifer Paulson is President of West Cascade Back Country Horsemen.She can be reached at 541-971-5317 or mxranch@comcast.net SILVERTON POLICE DEPARTMENT Received calls from Nov. 21 to 27. Nov. 26 Motor vehicle crash, 2:11 p.m., N 2nd St. and Oak St. OR-0000382342 Happy Holidays From Michael Kim DDS “Your friendly local dentist” 503-873-3530 New Patients & Emergencies Welcome ENTER FOR OUR MONTHLY KINDLE DRAWING AT EACH APPOINTMENT Cosmetic Implant Bridges/Partials Extractions Crowns Fillings Root Canals WE ACCEPT MOST INSURANCE 410 Oa Oak St St, Si Silv lverton, n, OR, R, 973 7381 81 Plea Pl ease se visitit our w web ebsite te f for or m more info form rmatio ion an and to sch chedule e an a appoint ntme ment nt OR-0000385058 kims ki msilvert rton onorde on dent ntis ist.co is com co m