Neighborhood Nonprofit Spotlight: Portland Food Project

Patch talks to the Portland Food Project about its mission to supply food to the hungry and create community connections in Portland neighborhoods.

Patch: Tell Patch a little bit about your organization!

Portland Food Project: Portland Food Project is a 100% volunteer run, grassroots organization. We have three goals:

1) To provide a regular supply of food to our hungry neighbors

2) To create new neighborhood connections and strengthen our community

3) To serve as a model for other communities

We sponsor non-perishable food drives six times a year on the second Saturday of every other month. In 2015 we collected collecting over 133,000 lbs. of food from over 1,200 local donors. The food we collect is distributed to local food pantries.

Patch How does your organization help to strengthen the local community?

Portland Food Project: Portland Food Project provides an easy way for neighbors to make an impact on eliminating hunger in their local community. Neighbors donate and collect food. The food then gets distributed locally through 20 food pantries, which serve the gamut of those experiencing food insecurity in Portland. While these pantries receive food from the Oregon Food Bank, they often run out. Portland Food Project provides a reliable second source of high quality protein rich foods to help fill in the gaps.

Patch: What is the biggest struggle your organization faces?

Portland Food Project: Our biggest challenge right now is recruiting more volunteers to serve as Neighborhood Coordinator. It’s a small time commitment: 3-4 hours on a Saturday morning every other month. On collection days, Neighborhood Coordinators pick up PFP green grocery bags from their neighborhood route and deliver the donations to our food collection drop off point in NE Portland. They also help by spreading the word to friends and neighbors who might be interested in becoming food donors.

Patch: What do you hope for the future of you nonprofit?

Portland Food Project: Our greatest desire is that no one in our community should go hungry. To accomplish this goal, we hope to continue to grow in areas where we are currently active (SE, N, and NE Portland) and to expand throughout the greater Portland area.

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