BEAVERTON, Ore. — The fellowship hall at Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ was bustling Tuesday morning. Volunteers packed food into bags for students facing food insecurity at Beaverton High School.
"The need is very great there and we’re going to pack up seven bags of food for students," said volunteer Nancy Winston. "It’s about $700 worth of food and they get a $20 gift card from the Jesuit High School alumni."
The church received a $7,500 grant from the city of Beaverton for 2023. Volunteers spent the money on food to donate to students around spring break. Now they're doing the same thing ahead of winter break.
About 144 students at Beaverton High will receive the bags of food for the holidays, along with the gift cards.
"We heard that students are living in cars, tents, substandard housing with mold, appliances not working, toilets not working, and they’re also doubled up with other families," Winston said.
There are over 38,000 students in the Beaverton School District and 38.7% of them qualify for free or reduced lunch, according to the latest data from the district.
Winston said the need goes beyond just students and that the church has had many people come through their regular food bank as well.
Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty called the need for food "astronomical."
"I think it’s grown over the years, and what we know about young people experiencing food insecurity is that they like to hide it," Beaty said. "It’s not something they want to tell their friends and families about, so things like this are really important to them."
Winston said it takes a lot of people to organize a food donation event. She's grateful to everyone who has donated their time, food and money to the project.
"Everyone needs help at some point in their lives. I’ve needed help before. I may need help again, so I’m helping while I can," she said.
Anyone interested in volunteering in the future can visit Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ's website for more information.
Food resources
Here's a list of some organizations around Oregon that offer food assistance or delivery services.
