Numbers Needing Assistance Are At All-Time High

Whether or not you would agree that Oregon is in a recession, you have no doubt noticed that you are paying more to heat your home, fill your tank with gas, and put food on the table. 

Those expenses impact everyone, but especially families who were getting by, just living paycheck to paycheck. As a result, Marion-Polk Food Share (MPFS) is seeing all-time record numbers of local households requiring emergency food.

In the first quarter of our fiscal year, July to September, our network of charities experienced a 12% increase in need, distributing 17,721 emergency food boxes—1,901 more than during the same time last year.

To feed the local need, MPFS is distributing an average of over 90,000 pounds of food a week, and that is not enough. The amount probably ought to be closer to 100,000 pounds of food a week. But donors are feeling the pinch, too, and gifts of both food and funds are down.

At a recent meeting of our 79-member-charity network, a show of hands indicated that virtually every area of the two counties has seen more people needing help, and that many of the households at food pantry doors are seeking aid for the first time ever. Read More