The comments above are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Food for families: Three stores join effort to fill South Coast’s plates
By Jo Rafferty, Staff Writer
Sunday, August 17, 2008 | No comments posted.
When Eugene LeBlanc rounds the corner driving the big white Oregon Coast Community Action truck with a killer whale logo on the back, one can almost be positive it’s carrying food.
The loads of perishable and nonperishable food items are donated by local grocery stores and distributed to South Coast food pantries, ready to be picked up by individuals, children and families.
Three new stores have joined the Fresh Alliance food rescue program in Coos and Curry counties, making a total of nine local grocers in the program. The new locations include Ray’s Food Place stores in Gold Beach, Port Orford and Bandon. Other grocery stores that donate the fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, dairy and other products before the official pull dates are Fred Meyer and Albertsons.
Food collected at Albertsons on Wednesday would most likely go to North Bend food pantries, according to Oregon Coast Community Action spokeswoman Hallie Winchell.
“The food donated by a store stays in the specific community it was donated in,” Winchell said.
But sometimes it can’t stay within an area because there is no way to refrigerate or freeze it, she said. ORCCA is seeking donations of refrigerators and freezers in good condition, to allow more pantries to provide perishable foods.
Fresh Alliance is a South Coast Food Share program that delivers food to 32 local pantries and meal sites within its network.
For now, LeBlanc is the sole driver picking up and dropping off food on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in Coos County, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Curry County. But ORCCA would like to add another driver and more routes.
“Right now we are trying to seek funding for a second truck,” Winchell said.
The Food Alliance program helps the stores, too.
“They’re trying to reduce their costs for dumping waste at landfills and also reducing what they’re putting into a landfill,” Winchell said.
The Fred Meyer store in Brookings donated approximately 35 percent of the program’s food intake in 2007 by providing 35,000 pounds of food, Winchell said. The store has increased donations this year by 14 percent.
“The partnership we’ve established with grocers in our region is the driving force behind Fresh Alliance ...” said Gary Domina, Fresh Alliance coordinator for South Coast Food Share.
The loads of perishable and nonperishable food items are donated by local grocery stores and distributed to South Coast food pantries, ready to be picked up by individuals, children and families.
Three new stores have joined the Fresh Alliance food rescue program in Coos and Curry counties, making a total of nine local grocers in the program. The new locations include Ray’s Food Place stores in Gold Beach, Port Orford and Bandon. Other grocery stores that donate the fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, dairy and other products before the official pull dates are Fred Meyer and Albertsons.
Food collected at Albertsons on Wednesday would most likely go to North Bend food pantries, according to Oregon Coast Community Action spokeswoman Hallie Winchell.
“The food donated by a store stays in the specific community it was donated in,” Winchell said.
But sometimes it can’t stay within an area because there is no way to refrigerate or freeze it, she said. ORCCA is seeking donations of refrigerators and freezers in good condition, to allow more pantries to provide perishable foods.
Fresh Alliance is a South Coast Food Share program that delivers food to 32 local pantries and meal sites within its network.
For now, LeBlanc is the sole driver picking up and dropping off food on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in Coos County, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Curry County. But ORCCA would like to add another driver and more routes.
“Right now we are trying to seek funding for a second truck,” Winchell said.
The Food Alliance program helps the stores, too.
“They’re trying to reduce their costs for dumping waste at landfills and also reducing what they’re putting into a landfill,” Winchell said.
The Fred Meyer store in Brookings donated approximately 35 percent of the program’s food intake in 2007 by providing 35,000 pounds of food, Winchell said. The store has increased donations this year by 14 percent.
“The partnership we’ve established with grocers in our region is the driving force behind Fresh Alliance ...” said Gary Domina, Fresh Alliance coordinator for South Coast Food Share.
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines