PORTLAND, Ore. — Did you know that 1 in 5 children in Oregon faces hunger? KGW is trying to help change that.
For the last decade, Oregon Safeway and Albertsons stores have been running their Bag Summer Hunger food drive each summer. It's all in hopes of keeping food on the table for families with children in need.
"This program is so critical, it’s so vital. It’s also the time of year when we see a spike because kids are out of school,” said Kyle Camberg, the executive director of the Sunshine Division.
The Sunshine Division is the partnering food bank with Bag Summer Hunger.
"It is so desperately needed, we have never been this busy. We've never seen this sort of demand for food here for the Portland metro area," Camberg said.
He said their demand has increased to 2,000 boxes a week. That's nearly five times the amount they saw in 2019.
"So food drives like this are critical, particularly at a time of year when people aren't thinking about hunger," Camberg said.
According to the Oregon Task Force, nearly 113,000 children were food insecure in Multnomah County alone last year. There were over 62,000 in Washington County and over 44,000 in Clackamas County.
"Because we're a grocery store, we're pretty hyper-aware of people's ability to get food, or lack thereof,” said Jill McGinnis, a spokesperson with the grocery chain. “During the summer, receiving free and reduced lunch and breakfasts kind of goes away for kids when they're not in school anymore. And so a $5 or $10 bag purchased at the checkout can actually help provide those needed items that the food pantries are looking for to help get them through the summer."
McGinnis said these hunger bags are filled with everything a child would need including things like protein, pasta, peanut butter, beans and vegetables.
"And those items go straight to local food pantries around the stores where they're purchased and then right into the neighborhoods this very summer," McGinnis said.
The Bag Summer Hunger program is running now through July 4. If you'd like to help, ask your clerk to purchase a hunger bag at the checkout.
“You know a little bit of change, a dollar, $5 or $10 can make a huge impact,” Camberg said, “Because for us to distribute 2,000 boxes of food every single week, 52 weeks a year, we can't do that without the help of the community."