LINN BENTON FOOD SHARE

Linn Benton Food Share, established in 1980, is the non-profit Regional Food Bank in the Oregon Food Bank Network that serves Linn and Benton counties. We gather, purchase, store, transport and distribute over 5 million pounds of food each year to our network of local non-profit agencies. These agencies include food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, childcare centers, shelter homes and gleaning groups.

WHY WE ARE NEEDED

Last year, food pantries distributed 47,199 emergency food boxes in our two-county area. Soup kitchens and emergency shelters served an additional 26,000 meals each month. Overall, our clients constitute approximately 1/5 of the population in Linn and Benton counties. They are our neighbors, seniors on fixed incomes, parents trying to provide for their families, unemployed or underemployed workers, or families and individuals faced with high medical bills.

Please read a special message from Nicole and Emily, OSU Human Services Resource Center Food Pantry pro team:

A lot of people in our community are surprised to hear that more people are visiting our local food pantries than did during the peak of the great recession. Changes to other food security programs at the federal level will continue this trend. The Linn Benton Food Share is an essential part of how our community takes care of our own. Beyond doing good, important work however, the food share is a truly excellent non-profit and one worthy of your support. The program operates on an aggressively lean staffing model so most of their funding can go directly to sourcing food and operational needs. They are a truly exemplary organization to support with your dollars.

At the campus food pantry, we couldn’t do what we do without the Linn Benton Food Share. We get most of our food for the pantry through the food share - nearly 90,000 pounds last year. Supporting the Linn Benton Food Share supports student food security efforts and that’s of course important to us. But as we’ve gotten involved with the emergency food systems, we’ve been increasingly humbled to hear stories about the challenges our neighbors in Alsea, Sweet Home, and Corvallis (beyond campus) are experiencing. Those food pantries and meal sites are absolutely vital for those communities. Many of the people in your community who rely on these Linn Benton Food Share programs are our student’s families - or your friends. Supporting the food share is one of the most neighborly things you can do.

Linn Benton Food Share’s programming exemplifies a commitment to local food sovereignty, listening, and empowerment.  Ryan McCambridge, director for the food share, works with local growers to buy fresh produce. From food boxes for patients being discharged from the hospital to our flexible shopping style pantries for students on campus - Linn Benton Food Share supports participating network sites in adapting distribution models within established guidelines to meet the needs of the populations they serve. As the landscape of the emergency food system shifts, LBFS invites network members into dialogue about their needs and crafting possible solutions to support a diverse community of partner agencies. As one of these sites in the food share, we see how programs like these really matter and impact the nutrition and health of our communities.

We can’t speak highly enough of the Linn Benton Food Share and why you should support them during the annual food drive. The emergency food system is as stressed and strained as it’s ever been. Ryan and his team work extraordinarily hard to feed our community, but they can’t do it without your help. Please pitch in and do your part.

 

FOOD SHARE MEMBER AGENCIES*

EMERGENCY FOOD BOX PROGRAM 
Albany
Fish of Albany
Salvation Army
Signs of Victory Mission
Alsea
Alsea Food Bank/Jeni’s Place
Blodgett/Summit
Coastal Range Food Bank
Brownsville
Sharing Hands
Corvallis
Community Outreach Inc.
Friends of Food Share – Thanksgiving Food Boxes
HSRC/OSU Food Pantry
South Corvallis Food Bank
St. Vincent DePaul at St. Mary’s Church &
       Mobile Pantry at Garfield Elementary School
Vina Moses Christmas Boxes – Benton County
Jefferson
Jefferson Community Pantry
Lebanon
Caring Team Ministries
Fish of Lebanon
St. Vincent DePaul
The Lord’s Storehouse
Monroe
South Benton Food Pantry
Philomath
Philomath Food Bank
Sweet Home
Hope Church of Sweet Home
Seventh Day Adventist
Sweet Home Emergency Ministries

EMERGENCY SHELTERS
Albany

Albany Helping Hands
Jackson St. Youth Services Albany Overnight Shelter
Signs of Victory Mission
Corvallis
Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence
Community Outreach Shelter
Corvallis Men’s Shelter
Jackson St. Youth Services Corvallis Overnight Shelter
Room at the Inn Shelter

EMERGENCY MEAL PROGRAMS
Corvallis Family Table
Lebanon Soup Kitchen
Neighbor to Neighbor – Philomath
Real Bowls/Real People – Lebanon
SHEM Manna Soup Kitchen – Sweet Home
St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen – Albany
Stone Soup/Corvallis at St. Mary’s & First Christian

CONGREGATE MEAL SITES
Chamberlin House Inc. – Albany
Janus House – Corvallis
Pacific NW Adult & Teen Challenge – Shedd
South Benton Nutrition Program – Monroe

CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILY PROGRAMS
Alsea Community Effort/Alsea Library
Central Linn Pack Snack Backpack Program – Halsey
Corvallis Weekend Power Pack Program
CSC Head Start – Lincoln County
CSC HELPS – Corvallis & Albany
Family Tree Relief Nursery – Albany & Lebanon
Grace Center for Adult Day Services – Corvallis
Kids Food Pak Backpack Program – Sweet Home
Lebanon Schools Foundation Backpack Program
Presbyterian Child Care Center – Albany
Strengthening Rural Families – Benton County
The River Center Backpack Program – Lebanon
Youth Service Center – Albany

GLEANING GROUPS
Albany Gleaners
Alsea Valley
Canyon Gleaners – Mill City
Community Gleaners – Albany
Fair Share Unlimited – Sweet Home
Harrisburg Harvesters
Lebanon Gleaners
Mid Valley Gleaners – Albany
Mary’s River Gleaners – Corvallis
North Santiam Gleaners – Scio
Philomath Community Gleaners
Central Linn Gleaners – Halsey
South Benton County Gleaners – Monroe
Sweet Home Gleaners

*Subject to change