8 NOVEMBER 1,2007
Smoke Signals
Barer cupboards: Grand Ronde Food Bank needs help
By Ron Karten
Smike Si finals staff writer
With an increasing need for food,
the Grand Ronde Community He
source Center's Food Hank is ask
ing for help.
And it is not alone. Across Oregon
and the nation, food contributions
are down. Way down.
The statewide Oregon Food Hank
and the regional supplier that
delivers to Grand Iionde, Marion
Folk Food Share, each have seen
drastic reductions this year in the
amount of food available to help
the needy.
Oregon Food Hank's Web site
reported: "OFB continues to see a
severe decline in U.S. Department
of Agriculture commodities. Dur
ing the last two months, USDA
commodities dropped an additional
300,000 pounds. Overall, during the
last four years, USDA commodities
have dropped 52 percent or more
than 6 million pounds.
"Food industry donations are
down 1.1 million pounds in com
parison to the same period last
year. The combination of a strong
consumer market, high commodity
prices, increased biofuel demand,
and increased efficiency in food
manufacturing and internation
al markets means both national
and local sources of food are way
down."
"Overall, the Oregon Food Bank
is down 75 percent," said Grand
Iionde Food Bank Director Alisa
Larson. "We've seen a 25 percent
to 75 percent reduction on all of
their items."
The Grand Ronde Food Bank's
cupboards are not bare. However,
IF YOU NEED HELP
The Grand Ronde Commu
nity Resource Center is at the
end of North Street in Grand
Ronde, behind Hunnsville in
the old Knox farmhouse. The
center's Food Bank is open 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and
Fridays. It also provides senior
meals, food preservation and a
community garden. For more
information, contact Alisa Lar
son at 503-879-5731.
the food bank is down to a three- to
five-day supply of basics compared
with its usual inventory of five to
seven days.
Still, needs are up again this year.
From 252 families served in 1999,
the food bank's first year, it has so
far this year served more than 2,000
families with the busiest time of
year still ahead. Service to individ
ual clients has increased from 744 in
1999 to 6,808 so far this year.
During 2006, the food bank dis
tributed almost 209,000 pounds of
food.
Most wanted food items include
canned meats, soups, chili, vegeta
bles and fruit, with rice, cornmeal
and oatmeal also in short supply.
Local food contributions have been
very generous, Larson said, in
cluding the Knight family in Elder
housing that donated a whole truck
load more than 1,500 pounds
of food last month.
St. Michael's Catholic Church,
Schindler's farm stand and the
Grand Ronde Station all have
made significant contributions, said
Larson, with community member
: A ,- r A .vTT
Photo By Toby McClary
Grand Rond Food Bank Director Alisa Larson, left, and Nutritional Outreach
cook Angela Arndt stand in front of empty shelves at Grand Rondo's Food
Bank. Food contributions are down across the nation.
Food Bank Numbers Increasing
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
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7
Families
Individuals I
1999 2001 2003 2005
2007
YTD
Frank McPherson donating 19 to 20
dozen fresh eggs each week.
"We're not turning people away,"
said Larson, "but there's quite a
reduction in what is available.
There's less of everything and there
are things that there are none of."
"They have some stuff, but not
enough," said homeless Tribal
member Kietra Nielsen, 23. "They
have the best food of any (food bank)
that I've been to, but (at present) no
potatoes and meat. Everything else
was pretty good. They gave us a lot
of vegetables, that's for sure."
Nielsen moved from Montana a
few weeks ago and has been camp
ing in Grand Ronde while working
with the Tribal Social Services
network to find a place to live.
On campus this year, Genifer
Grout and Shanna Eide, who work
at the Health Clinic, are developing
iunaraisers tor em
ployees of the Health
Clinic, Wellness and
Adult Foster Care.
Together, they are
challenging the rest
of the Tribal depart
ments, led by Tribal
members Shannon
Simi and Angella
McCallister, who
work in Social Ser
vices and Cultural
Resources, respec
tively, said Human
Resources special
ist Steve O'Harra.
O'Harra takes a lead
ing role in the effort
every year.
In 2006, the Tribal
employees collected more than
10,000 pounds of food that was split
between the Grand Ronde Food
Bank and the Grand Sheramina
Food Bank serving Grand Ronde,
Willamina and Sheridan.
This year, the Tribal employee ef
fort is working toward two distribu
tions, one before Thanksgiving and
one at the end of the year's efforts,
on Dec. 17, O'Harra said.
Planning was just getting started
in late October this year for a Nov.
5 Kickoff Lunch at the Community
Center.
Before that, the Culture Commit
tee had already offered to collect
canned food at the Nov. 18 Res
toration Pow-wow. The summer
pow-wow food collection in August
netted 375 pounds for the Grand
Ronde Food Bank.
In addition, Tribal Elder Linda
Brandon, as Culture Committee
sponsor of the effort, resolved with
other committee members, includ
ing Tribal Elders Bob Tom, Pat Al
len, Patsy Pullin, Donna Casey and
Carol Logan, and Tribal Cultural
Resources Director David Lewis,
"that we would all donate cans of
food every time we have a meeting
for Culture, and when we set the
barrel up for the pow-wow, we're
all going to be there and promote
the food drive."
Among fundraisers of recent
years, staff participated in a
Thanksgiving turkey bowling con
test and a 5050 raffle contest.
"Expect a lot of activities," said
O'Harra. "It's a worthy cause and
we're trying to have some fun do
ing it." B
4
Congratulations to
Danaee'Towner and Leo Ayala
on the birth of their
beautiful baby girl
MAC IE LAROSE
Love, Grandma Diane
and family.
Congratulations to Kyle
Towner and Jessica Cavan on
the birth of their son
Karsen Jacob
Love, Grandma Diane
and family.
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Congratulations to Joe & Syd
Lane on the birth
1 of their baby boy
Gavin Michael
Love, Grandma Diane
and family.
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Happy 7th Birthday
Mia
We love you,
Mom, Marcus, Miguel and Lisa.
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