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Food Drive is Just Around the Corner!  December 7th, 2011

It is hard to believe, but OSU’s Food Drive is just around the corner!

Please save the date for Wednesday, January 11 at 4:00 pm for the annual food drive kick-off meeting.  We will be meet at the home of OSU’s Emergency Food Pantry – Snell Hall, International Forum Room, southwest corner of Snell Hall/MU East.  http://oregonstate.edu/cla/anthropology/foodpantry/home

We would like to get a start on updating our coordinator list.  Please visit the food drive website to view last year’s list (and view the totals we would like to beat this year!). We will be updating this list for the 2012 drive. Please notify Kate Sanders (541-737-6522) if you have any updates or additions. http://oregonstate.edu/urm/events/food-drive

It is that time of year again when we start winding down and closing out fall projects, preparing for winter and spring terms and getting ready to spend time with family and friends. Please remember to think about one of the many families our food donations serve. This month alone, the Linn Benton Food Share will feed over 12,300 families through their emergency food box program. Through all their programs, the Food Share serves nearly 1/5 of the population in Linn and Benton counties. You are helping your neighbors by donating.

Thanks you and we look forward to working with you during the 2012 OSU Food Drive.

Kate Sanders
Kate.Sanders@oregonstate.edu
541-737-6522
University Events


OSU Faculty reports about hunger in Oregon  February 23rd, 2010

OSU’s Rural Studies Program faculty has reported some interesting hunger facts in the past few months. Check out the links below to learn more!

Faculty Affiliates Joan Gross and Nancy Rosenberger were published in the December issue of the journal Food, Culture & Society on “The Double Binds of Getting Food among the Poor in Rural Oregon.” Science Daily provided an overview article.

New Rural Studies Program Publications include:
Understanding Food Insecurity and “Hunger” in Oregon by RSP Faculty Affiliate Mark Edwards;

Who is Vulnerable to Hunger in Oregon? by RSP Faculty Affiliate Mark Edwards; and

Changing Federal County Payments and Rural Oregon Counties: Analysis of Policy Impacts and Responses from Loss of Secure Rural School Funding in Selected Oregon Counties by former MPP Student Dawn Marie Gaid.


Food Drive Fair  February 15th, 2010

The Food Drive Fair was a success! Thank you to Biological and Ecological Engineering, the OSU Foundation, Foreign Languages and Literature, University Advancement and the College of Forestry for braving the rain to raise money for the drive.

I personally didn’t have anything to sell, but I was out there helping to promote the booth and trying to get folks to stop by and purchase food and raffle tickets – I even helped raise money.  One lady paid me $1 to leave her alone! (She was very kind by the way.)

So – keep those fund raising ideas and events flowing.  We are about half way though and still have lot of money and food to raise.

Thank you all!

-Kate Sanders


Food for Thought  January 19th, 2010

The 2010 OSU Food Drive is just about to begin, but folks here on campus have been helping OSU students and the community through OSU’s Emergency Food Pantry since spring of 2009

If you want to help out Oregon State’s Emergency Food Pantry, as well as celebrate and learn about food,  check out the series of food-oriented feature and documentary films screening from Nov. 23 through June 3. The series’ focus is health and the sustainability of food systems.

All films are free and open to the public, with donations accepted. Suggested donations include nonperishable food items, personal hygiene items and money.

Tuesday, Jan. 19: “We Feed the World” (2005). Memorial Union room 208
Wednesday, Jan. 27
: “Food, Inc.” (2008), Memorial Union Ballroom
Monday, Feb. 12
: “Eat, Drink, Man Woman” (1994), Memorial Union room 213
Saturday, Feb. 27
: “Super Size Me” (2004), Memorial Union Journey Room (Joyce Powell Leadership Center)
Thursday, March 11
: “Food Matters” (2008), Memorial Union Journey Room
Thursday, April 15
: “Sustainable Table” (2006), Memorial Union Journey Room
Tuesday, May 25
: “The Future of Food” (2004), Memorial Union Journey Room
Thursday, June 3
: “Big Night” (1996), Memorial Union Journey Room

For more information, call 541-737-3473 or e-mail osufoodgroup@oregonstate.edu

-Kate Sanders


Getting ready for the Drive  December 5th, 2008

Kate and I have been preparing for the 2009 Food Drive and we have some “green” changes in mind.

First, the packets will be sent out sooner, but they will be smaller too!  Many general information documents are available on-line, and many of you have read them before, so your packets this year will be the new stuff and the important details only.  Isn’t it great to save-a-tree?

Second, we all know that meetings can eat up a lot of our time, and in the past the kickoff has been most useful for getting your packet.  So this year we will send you your packet early and eliminate the kickoff meeting.  But wait!  I like the time to put faces with names, so we aren’t skipping the social part totally… here’s my thought:  How about those of us who are interested, gathering together on Tuesday, January 20 after work to enjoy each other’s company?

One last thing that we have in the works:  We are re-designing the payroll deduction forms.  You all know that this is the easiest way to raise money and so we’ll have a flashy little flier that will be easy to have available for all sorts of occasions.

It’s time for me to get busy updating the Web site!


The latest on Hunger in Oregon  November 18th, 2008

Oregon #3 in nation

for high percentage of hungry citizens

Report shows Oregon again at risk of becoming hungriest state

Report available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/FoodSecurity/

Portland, OR – Nov. 18, 2008 – Oregon had 12.4 percent of its population (458,000 people) living in households that struggled with hunger or were “food insecure” during the 2005-2007 period, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) recently released annual report. Food insecurity is the USDA term given to describe households that struggle with affording enough food. Nationally, more than 36.2 million people lived in households that were food insecure in 2007 – up from 35.5 million in 2006 and 33.2 million in 2000.

“We were expecting to see an increase in food insecurity because wages have not kept up with the cost of basic items such as food, shelter and utilities,” said Patti Whitney-Wise, executive director of the Oregon Hunger Task Force. “We have seen a rapid rise in food stamp applications, more than 50,000 new people over the past year, bringing the total to nearly 500,000 Oregonians. And requests for food boxes are higher than ever. What worries us most is that this report covers information from a year ago. Everything we are seeing in Oregon tells us that a new survey taken today would undoubtedly show considerably higher numbers of food insecure people.”

Oregon worked hard to impact hunger over the past 8 years, when it was dubbed the “Hungriest State in the Nation” in 2000. The Task Force and other anti-hunger advocates joined forces and worked closely with the Governor to bring attention to the issue and created the Act to End Hunger, a 5-year plan to reduce hunger in Oregon. And it was successful: 26 of the 40 actions were accomplished. In 2005, Oregon dropped from #1 to #17, a statistically significant improvement. However, rising joblessness, falling wages, and rapidly rising food and fuel costs have meant that more and more families are stretched to the limit and beyond.

“Oregonians are going to need help. Oregon’s unemployment rate is 7.3 percent, and people are competing for scarcer jobs.” said Whitney-Wise. “To get us through this crisis we need to preserve safety net services, on both the state and federal level. With help, families can rebound   more quickly and will be less vulnerable to the ravages of poverty. Without help, families become homeless, children go hungry, the elderly get sick, and our communities languish.”

The Task Force has asked the Governor to prioritize human services in his 2009-11 budget. The Task Force has also joined the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in calling for Congress to pass an economic recovery package that first and foremost includes an extension to unemployment insurance and a boost in SNAP/Food Stamps benefits (SNAP is the acronym for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the new national name for the Food Stamp Program). During his campaign, President-elect Barack Obama committed to end childhood hunger in this country by 2015. The Task Force has joined FRAC in pledging to work with the new Administration, the 111th Congress, and state and local officials to put this plan into motion. “People with the lowest incomes face the most serious threats. We must not fail to invest in rebuilding our economy while also preventing hunger and poverty,” said Whitney-Wise.

Each year, the Census Bureau measures food insecurity through a series of household survey questions about the ability to obtain enough food for an active, healthy life for all members. To report food insecurity in each state, USDA uses three-year averages to compensate for limited sample sizes and give a better estimate of the number of households experiencing hunger.

Upcoming Events:

These findings, along with two other reports that detail the extent and impact of hunger across the nation, will be discussed at “Hunger in America: An Agenda for the New President and Congress,” a policy briefing hosted by the Food Research and Action Center this Wednesday, November 19, from 9:30 to 10:30 EST, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. For event details, click here. A call-in number is available: 1-800-905-9496

The mission of the Oregon Hunger Task Force is to end hunger in Oregon.  Since its creation by the Oregon Legislature in 1989, the Task Force has worked to ensure that Oregonians have sufficient financial means and ready access to an adequate amount of nutritious, quality food. For more information or to obtain a copy of the update visit our website at www.oregonhunger.org.