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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2011)
news Portland Police, Labor union, Safeway in Food Drive By Helen Silvis of The Skanner News A big truck delivered 25,000 pounds of holiday hams to the Sunshine Division building last week. Donated by the food company in partner- ship with the United Food and Commercial Workers union, the hams equal 100,000 servings of protein. “Our biggest challenge is finding enough high-quality protein to feed everyone in need,” said police officer Phil Kent, who works full-time with the emergency food program. “This will really help us do that.” Police in started Sunshine Division in 1923 to help ’s families in need. And in her three children, aged 3, 8 and 10, and her spouse, who is currently out of work and looking for a job. “I’m struggling, really struggling,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d ever have to come back here, but I’m struggling really bad.” Hickman said she felt she has failed her children because she hasn’t been able to find work and earn enough to keep her fam- ily properly fed. She’s had jobs in retail and customer service, she says, and her spouse has worked in warehouses. She also faces the challenge of finding childcare for her 3- year-old, refused this year by Head Start. “I’m hoping to find a good decent job within the next couple of weeks,” she said. “With Christmas round the corner it’s a lit- tle shaky.” Also in the pantry were seniors Betty Rounds and Margaret Curtis. Curtis said she was shopping for herself, her brother and two grandchildren, a 16-year-old girl and a 21-year-old man, also out of work. She was hungry when she arrived, she said. “It helps me a lot. I appreciate Sunshine Division,” Curtis said. “I’m on social secu- rity and I live from one month to the next.” Rounds feeds herself, her husband and her 40 year-old son who is waiting to get into an apprenticeship program. “He can’t find nothing to do so it’s hard for him,” she said. The delivery was part of the ‘Feeding the Hungry’ tour, organized by Safeway and the UFCW union. The program has set a goal Call 503-823-2102 for information about the Sunshine Division pantry 2011 that need remains high. According to the Oregon Food Bank, about 223,000 peo- ple or 6.1 percent of Oregonians don’t have enough to eat, and more than 500,000 13.7 percent sometimes lack food. The Sunshine Division feeds more than 10,000 of those families a year. A young mother, Tomeka Hickman, 30, was one of several shoppers in Sunshine Division’s store, Thursday. It was the first time she’d been there since 2007, she said. Hickman came because she needed to feed Page 10 The Portland Skanner of feeding 20 million people over three years, said Dennis Pittman, public affairs director for Smithfield. Dave’s Killer bread and Franz’s bakery donate bread to Sunshine regularly, said. And Safeway, which partners with and UFCW locally, is ‘by far’ the biggest con- tributor to Sunshine Division’s food stores. Police officers refer families daily to Sunshine Division. Call 503-823-2102 for information about services available. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com StOP DOMEStIC VIOLENCE happy memories are all that is left when they’re gone Love Jasmine 1/6/81 — 11/4/09 8/12/05 — 11/4/09 Caldwell’s, Hennessey, Goetsch & McGee Funeral Home Von D. Bailey Funeral Director 20 NE 14th Avenue Portland, OR 97232 503-232-4111 Fax 503-231-1586 von.bailey@sci-us.com claSSIFIedS
