Established in 1980 to help feed hungry people in Linn and Benton counties, Linn Benton Food Share is the regional food bank, in partnership with the Oregon Food Bank Network, serving our two-county area. We access, transport, and distribute over 5.4 million pounds of food each year to our 74 local partner agencies. These agencies include food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, child care centers, shelter homes and gleaning groups.
Last fiscal year Food Share partner emergency food pantries in Linn and Benton counties distributed 52,051 food boxes. Additionally, local soup kitchens and emergency shelters served 299,464 meals. Overall, our clients constitute nearly one-fifth of the population in the two counties. They are our neighbors – seniors on fixed incomes, parents trying to provide for their families on minimum wage jobs, unemployed persons, or families hit with high medical bills and no health insurance.
Members of Food Share’s Gleaning Program are people with low incomes who participate in gathering donated foods for themselves and other low income households. The 14 partner gleaning groups provide weekly supplemental food to nearly 7,000 low income people across Linn and Benton counties. These gleaning groups are non-profit organizations, each operated by a board of directors comprised of their low income members. Farmers, grocers and other donors call Food Share when they have surplus crops, bread, produce, and other foods to donate. Gleaners harvest these excess crops, pick up the donated products, and distribute this nutritious food to their members. Each group shares with their adoptee households, which are households where no one is able to volunteer because of health problems or other serious limitations. The gleaning groups also participate in wood share, which provides donated firewood to member households that rely on wood for winter heating.
Food Share is entering its 35th year of work making sure “Everybody Eats!” in Linn and Benton counties.
Want to help?
For more information or to learn more about gleaning, our Food Rescue/Fresh Alliance programs, or our volunteer opportunities, go to our website at
www.linnbentonfoodshare.org
To donate, send a check to Linn Benton Food Share, 545 SW 2nd Ave Ste A, Corvallis OR 97333, or click on “Click here to donate” on our webpage.
Linn Benton Food Share is a program of
Community Services Consortium.
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