SpudLove Snacks committed to monthly donation of potatoes to help feed families struggling with food insecurity in Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (June 8, 2020) – SpudLove Snacks announces the launch of its new line of SpudLove 100% organic, thick-cut potato chips made from organic potatoes grown and harvested at Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman, Oregon, a fifth-generation farming family. The new potato chip brand is committed to supporting the work of the Oregon nonprofit Farmers Ending Hunger to make locally grown food available to the Oregon Food Bank to help feed food-insecure families throughout the state. Each month, SpudLove Snacks will donate potatoes to Farmers Ending Hunger to help towards this effort.

“We’re honored to be the beneficiaries of this generous partnership that helps bring locally grown potatoes to families facing food insecurity throughout Oregon,” said John Burt, executive director of Farmers Ending Hunger. “We offer a creative solution to ending hunger by working directly with our generous farmers who intentionally plant and harvest fresh fruit and vegetables to help feed hungry families.”

Oregon is one of the most productive growing regions in the country and also one of the hungriest. According to the Oregon Food Bank, “in an average month, 84,000 children in Oregon eat meals from emergency food boxes and with the current COVID-19 pandemic, this number is increasing daily.

“Partnering with Farmers Ending Hunger to provide a consistent, reliable supply of potatoes is our way to support a local nonprofit that looks out for the needs of the most vulnerable in our community,” said Sheila Stanziale, CEO of SpudLove Snacks. “We believe the best way to fight hunger is to provide nutritious food to those in need. And just as we work to take care of our community, we work equally hard to take care of the land at Threemile Canyon Farms through thoughtful, sustainable farming practices that ensures we can continue to grow the best quality potatoes.”

Share the SpudLove
SpudLove Thick-Cut Potato Chips are USDA-certified organic, Non-GMO Project Verified and certified Gluten-Free. The 100% organic potatoes coming from our Oregon farm are cut 10% thicker and slow-cooked in small batches resulting in a chip with more folds, bubbles and crunch. The line includes five varieties: Sea Salt, Barbecue, Sea Salt + Vinegar, Jalapeno and Cracked Pepper. The 5-ounce bags are currently available at Whole Foods Markets and selected independent retailers in the Pacific Northwest and online at Amazon. For more information, visits www.spudlovesnacks.com.

About Farmers Ending Hunger
Farmers Ending Hunger was founded in 2004 when Eastern Oregon businessman Fred Ziari learned that Oregon was one of the hungriest states in the country. Farmers Ending Hunger partners with Oregon farmers who intentionally plant, harvest and donate food crops like wheat, potatoes, onions and cherries to help feed food-insecure families throughout Oregon. For information on how to donate to the Adopt-an-Acre fundraising program, please visit www.farmersendinghunger.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Farmers Ending Hunger for news and events.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Lisa Hill
503.730-8055, [email protected]

By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press Mar 25, 2020

Sacks of potatoes destined for local food banks are stacked at Amstad Produce in Sherwood, Ore. With the coronavirus leaving many people out of work, food banks are scrambling to meet the surge in demand. Organizations such as Farmers Ending Hunger are stepping up donations to the Oregon Food Bank and its affiliates across the state.

PORTLAND — With schools and many businesses closed statewide to slow the spread of COVID-19, Oregon farmers are digging a little deeper to feed those in need.

Farmers Ending Hunger, a nonprofit organization that works directly with farmers and ranchers to support the Oregon Food Bank, is pledging to ramp up donations as the coronavirus outbreak has forced companies to lay off thousands of employees, putting families in a tough financial spot.

Founded in 2004, Farmers Ending Hunger received over 3 million pounds of fresh food last year from producers, including potatoes, onions, cherries, hamburger and wheat that is used to make pancake mix. Over 80% of donations come from rural Umatilla and Morrow counties in Eastern Oregon, which are then distributed to local food pantries across the state via the Oregon Food Bank network.

John Burt, executive director of Farmers Ending Hunger, said the group hopes to double the amount of food donated by farmers to keep up with increasing demand for emergency assistance.

“We are going to do everything we can to get more product into the pipeline,” Burt said. “I just can’t help but think there’s going to be increased demand over the next few weeks. … One thing that can help for people who need it is a food box at the end of the month to keep them whole, and put food on the table.”

The Oregon Food Bank typically serves about 860,000 people annually in all 36 Oregon counties, plus Clark County, Wash.

However, CEO Susannah Morgan said requests have increased 20-30% over the past week as states have implemented stay-at-home policies to limit the coronavirus’ spread.

“At this point, it’s being driven by the economic conditions,” Morgan said. “It’s being driven by people losing their jobs or losing hours, with rent coming due in not too long and doing what they can to make sure their family stays housed.”

Morgan said it is not clear how quickly the states’ economies will rebound even after the immediate outbreak has passed, making food donations all the more important for the foreseeable future. She said Oregon is fortunate to have such a robust agricultural sector, and the food bank will continue to rely heavily on donations from farmers.

“We delight in our partnership with Farmers Ending Hunger,” she said. “The Oregon Food Bank network as a whole collectively distributes more than 100 million pounds of food a year. We are all gearing up to needing 20-30% more than that, so we need to find a couple tens of millions more pounds of food. This will definitely help.”

In addition to fresh produce, Farmers Ending Hunger receives 7,000 pounds of hamburger per month from cattle raised at Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman, Ore., and a portion of the state’s wheat harvest is donated and turned into pancake mix — processed by Grain Craft in Pendleton and Continental Mills in Washington.

Kenzie Hansell, a wheat farmer in Athena and Hermiston, serves as a board member for Farmers Ending Hunger. His father, Tyler Hansell, was one of the first farmers to partner with the organization 16 years ago.

“We, as a family, appreciate being involved,” Hansell said. “It really connects rural and urban (Oregon) together. This is a statewide situation where we can all come together and relieve that stress of food insecurity.”

Despite the pandemic, Burt said farmers are still farming and will continue to rise to the challenge.

“They understand their role, of farmers feeding hungry people,” Burt said.

By Brett Kane East Oregonian

From left to right: Kenzie, Luke, and T.J. Hansell are among the over 100 farmers across the state doubling their efforts to supply Farmers Ending Hunger with enough produce to aid families affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

ATHENA — Kenzie Hansell has been farming wheat for Farmers Ending Hunger since the nonprofit’s inception in 2004, but this year he’ll be doubling his efforts.

The organization, which takes produce donations from farmers around the state and ships them to food banks, set a goal earlier this month to double their output in order to supply the Oregon Food Bank and smaller organizations to provide area families who are in the midst of financial strain in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak with enough food to make it through the crisis.

According to a recent press release, an average of 84,000 children in Oregon rely on meals from emergency food boxes.

“Our board of directors decided that, in this time of need, we donate our efforts,” Farmers Ending Hunger Founder and President Fred Ziari said. “We asked our growers to give more, which has never been an issue in the past.”

Although wheat and alfalfa are their primary produce, Hansell Farms also grow grass seed, lima beans, and carrots. They also lease a portion of their land to watermelon, onion, and potato farmers.

“It’s a goal, and that’s the most important thing,” said Hansell, who runs farms in Athena and Hermiston with his brothers, T.J. and Luke. “It’s a situation where food insecurity is on a lot of people’s minds. If us farmers can come together, we will continue to be connected and work as a state to make sure some people’s insecurities can be met.”

Hansell’s farm in Athena is roughly 2,500 acres of owned and leased land that primarily grows wheat and alfalfa. The wheat that he donates is used for pancake mix at Pendleton’s Grain Craft and Continental Mills based out of Seattle.

“This is good product,” Hansell said. “Everyone needs to eat. Everyone is impacted by this in one way or another — producer or consumer.”

Hansell and his brothers spend their days, which could span anywhere from eight to 16 hours, planting, seeding, working the ground, and harvesting their product to ready it for donation. They are part of approximately 100 farms across the state working with Farmers Ending Hunger to aid in coronavirus relief.

The nonprofit delivers to food banks across the state, at minimum, once a month.

“This is a time where people are afraid,” Ziari said. “Food shelves are empty. People are losing their jobs. The stress of food insecurity is even greater (now). We as a farming community wanted to make sure our fellow Oregonians are not hungry.”

The nonprofit’s efforts will likely span all year long and into the next, according to Executive Director John Burt.

“It’s planting time right now, and they’re planting extra,” said Burt, a resident of Dallas. “It’ll grow as the year goes on. The response is positive from the growers. They understand the issue, and they want to help.”

Along with the portion of their harvest donated by participating farmers, additional help from food processors and public donations aid Farmers Against Hunger in their mission. Last year, Eastern Oregon farmers in Umatilla and Morrow counties donated more than 3 million pounds of produce. Their goal of doubling that number this year will help ailing food banks who are struggling to keep up with families in need.

“Food banks are scrambling right now from what’s been going on,” Burt said. “Lots of people are going to need food, and lots of people are afraid to go out. They’re going to run out of things. People are also going to be out of work. That unemployment check might not come soon enough. Farmers, we’re still going. Nothing has changed.”

While the day-to-day routine for participating farmers has remained relatively unchanged, Farmers Ending Hunger has faced its share of setbacks due to the COVID-19 outbreak. They were the target nonprofit for the Dancing With the Pendleton Stars event that was canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus spread, and their kickoff event earlier this month was also canceled, along with two fundraisers that were slated for April.

The organization accepts public help through their Adopt-an-Acre program. Supporters can donate at www.farmersendinghunger.com, or send contributions to P.O. Box 7361, Salem, OR 97303. Donations are used to cover costs associated with product sorting, canning, freezing, processing, packaging, and delivery.

The nonprofit has also partnered with the Pendleton Round-Up and the Happy Canyon to host a Farmers Ending Hunger Day on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and will feature interactive exhibits and donation opportunities for rodeo patrons to help in the fight against hunger in Oregon. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased at www.pendletonroundup.com, or by calling 541-276-2553.

“Demand on the food banks never lets up,” Burt said. “We’re going to try and keep it going.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Lisa Hill
503.730-8055, [email protected]

Umatilla and Morrow county farmers double donations of potatoes and onions and wheat for shelf-stable baking mix

PORTLAND, Ore. (March 20, 2020) – Eastern Oregon wheat, onion and potato farmers are doubling their efforts and donating even more fresh food during the current Coranavirus epidemic sweeping our state. “Last year we received over three million pounds of food from Umatilla and Morrow county farmers and today they announced they are committed to doubling that amount of food during this time of economic uncertainty,” says Fred Ziari, founder of Farmers Ending Hunger. Individuals can support the mission and donate funds to the Adopt an Acre program.

Farmers Ending Hunger offers a creative solution to eradicating hunger in Oregon by working directly with farmers who are growing and harvesting food as an intentional donation, and utilizing the Oregon Food Bank’s distribution network. The donated wheat is turned into pancake mix with the help of partners at Pendleton’s Grain Craft and Continental Mills in Washington State, and local ranchers are donating more cattle to be processed into hamburger meat for emergency food boxes.
“Oregon is one of the most productive growing regions in the country and also one of the hungriest,” says Ziari. “In an average month, 84,000 children in Oregon eat meals from emergency food boxes and with this health crisis, this number will grow daily. Our farmers recognize the immediate need and can pivot to make this additional donation happen.”
“Farmers have a tremendous opportunity to donate even more food during this crisis and do what they can do feed more of our community members experiencing food insecurity,” said Kenzie Hansell, FEH board member and farmer in Athena and Hermiston.
Partnering with Farmers Ending Hunger, the Pendleton Round-Up continues to work closely with local farmers to donate food to the local community. Farmers Ending Hunger Day at the 2020 Pendleton Round-Up will feature interactive exhibits and opportunities for visitors to help contribute to fighting hunger through donations and action. Tickets for the Wednesday, September 16 rodeo performance start at $15 and are available at http://www.pendletonroundup.com/ or call (541) 276- 2553.

About Farmers Ending Hunger
Eastern Oregon resident Fred Ziari created the nonprofit Farmers Ending Hunger in 2004 when he learned that Oregon was one of the hungriest states in the country. Farmers Ending Hunger gathers Oregon’s agricultural resources to help feed the hungry. For information on how to contribute to Adopt-an-Acre, please visit www.farmersendinghunger.com or call Executive Director John Burt at 503-931-9232. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Farmers Ending Hunger for news and events.

Fuel your mind and appetite at this exciting food conference exploring the unexpected and significant impact of food and drink on all aspects of life. Farmers Ending Hunger is honored to be one of the non-profit exhibitors joining some of Oregon’s best artisan food producers, including Red Wagon Creamery, Smitten: Artisan Truffles, Flourish Bakery and Honey Mama’s. Buy tickets here and stop by and say hello to John and Mary!

Use a reusable bag at any of the participating Whole Foods Markets in the Portland area and you can choose Farmers Ending Hunger to receive a $.10 bag credit. This local program is happening now through April 10^th at the following stores:

• Whole Foods Market Fremont – 3353 NE 15^th Ave.
• Whole Foods Market Hollywood – 4301 NE Sandy Blvd.
• Whole Foods Market Pearl – 1210 NW Couch St.
• Whole Foods Market Laurelhurst – 2825 E. Burnside St.

For the second year, several acres of potatoes at Oregon State University’s Hermiston Agricultural Research & Extension Center were harvested Wednesday morning. The potatoes, planted from seeds provided by area growers, were part of a test plot funded by the Oregon Potato Commission that helped the growers determine whether any problems with their crop originated from the seed or something at their farm, HAREC director Phil Hamm said.

For the last 40 years, he said, the plot consisting of different varieties of potatoes were destroyed each year after the growing season. Last year, people and organizations came together to turn that waste into 160,000 pounds of food. This year the gross haul weighed in at 250,000 pounds, though the potatoes still needed to be cleaned.

“We are pleased to be able to provide potatoes that basically would have gone to waste to folks who can actually eat them,” Hamm said. “If you’re hungry, potatoes are potatoes. They all taste good. It doesn’t matter what color they are.”

Diana Quezada, a resource developer for the Community Action Program of East Central Oregon, helped bring everyone together. CAPECO, she said, serves as a regional food hub that supplies 17 partner agencies, such as food pantries, in Umatilla, Morrow, Wheeler and Gilliam counties. With a list of contacts who already helped the organization, Quezada organized the resources necessary to harvest, pack and transport the potatoes.

“It’s pretty significant for a single-day project, especially because they were just going to till it over,” she said.

The harvest benefits the 7,500 people served by CAPECO, she said, and the excess is donated to the Oregon Food Bank through the nonprofit organization Farmers Ending Hunger founded by Fred Ziari.

John Burt, executive director of the nonprofit, said last year’s donation from HAREC was the largest single donation the organization ever received at one time. Efforts such as this donation have helped the organization grow.

“We got 2.5 million pounds of donated stuff last year, and we’re going to do 3.5 to 4 million this year,” he said. “It’s growing, getting bigger — potatoes, onions, carrots, vegetable crops in the valley, fruit, fresh stuff, 22 head of cattle every month — a real mix of things. The fact that we exist gives a focal point for these growers to say, ‘I’ll donate through that.’ ”

However, getting the potatoes out of the ground, cleaned, packed and transported requires a lot of work. Stahl Farms stepped up to harvest the potatoes Wednesday morning, and Medelez & BJK Transport provided trucks to haul them for processing. John Walchli Farms and Paul Kern, from Botsford and Goodfellow, processed and packed them. Steve Walker Farms then provided transportation to another facility for holding until the food bank could pick them up.

Herb Stahl, from Stahl Farms, said it was nice to be able to give back.

“Farmers Ending Hunger is a great organization,” he said. “For us to be a part of it with the rest of the neighbors and farmers around here is wonderful. It’s a great opportunity.”

That’s a single-year record and about 1.5 million pounds more than the organization managed in 2014, but Executive Director John Burt said they can still do more.

“There’s a big hunger issue in this state,” Burt said. “We need people to get involved.”

A crowd of 85 people gathered Saturday evening at the SAGE Center in Boardman to celebrate Farmers Ending Hunger, including Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and Oregon Food Bank CEO Susannah Morgan. The event also doubled as an unveiling for the new Farmers Ending Hunger exhibit at the SAGE Center — Boardman’s visitor’s center and regional agricultural museum.

Fred Ziari, president and CEO of IRZ Consulting in Hermiston, founded the nonprofit Farmers Ending Hunger in 2004 after learning Oregon was, at the time, the nation’s hungriest state.

Today, one in five Oregonians faces food insecurity. Ziari said he hopes the museum display will continue to galvanize Eastern Oregon farmers to help feed their neighbors.

“Just knowing this was happening in our own state was a shock to me,” Ziari said. “This display will educate permanently for hundreds of thousands of people coming through here.”

Farmers Ending Hunger represents a collaborative effort between more than 100 farmers, food processors and the Oregon Food Bank to deliver much-needed meals to families. On average, about 284,000 residents rely on emergency food boxes for meals. Of those, 34 percent are children.

Ziari said the organization was born not out of charity, but a labor of love. He recognized Amstad Produce for contributing 30 tons of potatoes per month; Hale Farms for contributing 25 tons of onions per month; and Threemile Canyon Farms for contributing 25-30 beef cows per month.

Enough wheat has also been donated for roughly 5 million pancakes, Ziari said. Much of that food ends up on the west side of the state, and Portland Mayor Hales said he wanted to thank those growers in person for their generosity.

Seventeen percent of Multnomah County’s population is food insecure, Hales said, or about 116,000 people.

“You are right on the forefront of an issue that profoundly affects the people I work for,” Hales said. “I so value the substance and the spirit of what you’re doing.”

Morgan, who has served as CEO of the Oregon Food Bank since 2012, emphasized hunger remains a big challenge in the state. However, the problem isn’t that there’s not enough food, she said, but a matter of gathering and distributing donations to the hungry.

The Oregon Food Bank stands ready to partner with Farmers Ending Hunger into the future, Morgan said.

“We will not rest until we’ve eliminated hunger,” she said.

Saturday’s event ended with a $10,000 donation to Farmers Ending Hunger from Northwest Farm Credit Services. Non-farmers can also donate the organization’s “Adopt an Acre” program.

Kenzie Hansell, a fourth-generation farmer with Hansell Farms, said that with everybody doing their part, they can continue to build on their success.

“As farmers, we have a responsibility to be stewards of the land,” Hansell said. “As humans, we have a responsibility to take care of one another.”

To learn more about Farmers Ending Hunger or to make a donation, visitwww.farmersendinghunger.com.

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Contact George Plaven at [email protected] or 541-966-0825.

We are very excited about our first dinner & fundraiser happening at Sage Center on November 7th, 2015. We will be unveiling our new Sage Center exhibit and honoring our farmer heroes. Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, Farmer Ending Hunger board member Frank Lamb and Oregon Food Bank’s Executive Director, Susannah Morgan will all share a few words.

The Sage Center is located at 101 Olson Road in Boardman, OR.

5:30 Social Hour Begins
6:30 Dinner
7:30 Awards & Paddle Raise

Tickets $50 each. To purchase tickets you may do so by phone or mail. Call the Sage Center at 541-481-7243. Mail a check made out to Farmers Ending Hunger to:
Farmers Ending Hunger
c/o John Burt
PO Box 7361
Salem, OR 97303

A block of rooms are reserved at a local hotel for event guest at $89/night + tax:
River Lodge & Grill
6 Marine Drive
Boardman, OR 97818
541-481-6800
riverlodgeandgrill.com

Hope to see you there!

I have spent my working life connecting the urban and rural communities of Oregon. County Fairs, the State Fair, Oregon Ag Fest and many talks to local Chambers of Commerce and Rotary Clubs are all good places to talk to folks about agriculture. Being that bridge between divergent populations has had its ups and downs, but it has mostly been a positive experience.

With Farmers Ending Hunger, I find myself in the exact same spot. Linking urban folks with their farming neighbors is more important than ever. As I speak with folks, I notice there are still a few gaps. I wonder if most consumers really know where and how most of their food is grown, processed and handled prior to the grocery store. An acre is roughly 209 by 209 feet in size, not much bigger than a typical city lot. But, from this one acre a grower can produce 8 tons of green beans, 12 tons of sweet corn and a whopping 30 tons of potatoes.

This productive capacity allows Farmers Ending Hunger to exist and be successful. Growers can set aside an acre or percent of production just for the Oregon Food Bank Network or sell a crop and donate the cash for the same purpose. It adds up a grower at a time and acre at a time, and in the end, results in millions of pounds of donated commodities each year. Once the need is met at the regional level in the Oregon Food Bank Network, the additional food is transported to the Oregon Food Bank in Portland for statewide distribution. Almost 45 percent of the people served by the Oregon Food Bank live in the Portland Metro area, so the majority of food donated from farms throughout the state is finding its way to our urban centers.

Whenever I visit the SAGE Center in Boardman, Ore., I am reminded of how important the urban-rural connection can be. The Sustainable Agriculture and Energy Center is a state-of-the-art, interactive learning environment for agricultural and natural resources. Farmers Ending Hunger is forging a new partnership with the SAGE Center, and you will hear much more in the near future. The SAGE Center is one more reason I am encouraged about the future of understanding between our urban and rural friends.

I am more optimistic these days because of the explosion of interest in local food. Farmers markets, CSA’s and farm stands are gaining in popularity. We want to make that connection with our food and meet the farmer face to face. “Locally grown” is the fastest growing segment in the food market, and when it comes to getting high quality food products into the Oregon Food Bank Network, it is what Farmers Ending Hunger is all about!

It all starts with one farmer like Joe Fitts in Independence, Ore. who donated an acre of sweet corn to Farmers Ending Hunger. That’s 20,000 pounds of fresh sweet corn for the Oregon Food Bank Network. The net result is 10 pounds of fresh produce for about 2,000 food boxes that feed hungry families.

Another example is Bruce Simonson, a farmer in McMinnville, Ore. He planted eight acres of sweet corn, all dedicated to food banks. He’d had a crop failure and rather than let the prep work and fertilizer go to waste, he and his son decided to plant sweet corn. In October, a crew of farmers, volunteers, food bank staff and other community members harvested 90,000 lbs. of fresh sweet corn for the hungry.

This story is repeated farmer by farmer and acre by acre all over Oregon, as farmers, ranchers and food processors join Farmers Ending Hunger to help hungry Oregonians.

In 2013, total donations amounted to approximately 2.5 million pounds, and we expect the amount will be larger by the end of 2015.

From Wheat to Pancakes

For Farmers Ending Hunger, 2013 was the best year to date. It’s the seventh year I’ve been with Farmers Ending Hunger, and we received 2.5 million pounds in donated food products from Oregon farmers and ranchers. We’ve come a long way since that first donation of 173,000 pounds of frozen peas in November 2006. Now, we receive a variety of fresh and processed food products every year. It’s locally grown in Oregon and all high quality. We coordinate with Oregon Food Bank to ensure we target products they want to put into a food box.

For me, the interesting part is what needs to happen before a product is turned into the right form for a food box. Much of what we receive, such as potatoes and onions, doesn’t require further processing or much packaging. However, many products we receive require some handling before they can feed hungry folks.

For example, take pancake mix. Our mix starts with wheat donations from our farmers. It takes about 4,500 bushels for each 200,000 lb. batch we deliver each year to Oregon Food Bank. That’s about 230,000 lbs. of milled wheat! We have farmers who donate 100, 500 and even 1,000 bushels of wheat in a given year. We also partner with the Oregon Wheat Foundation and their “Bushels for Betsy” program, which provides about half the wheat needed.

The process starts at Pendleton Flour Mills to blend the correct varieties and mix of wheat for our secret flour blend. Then, our pancake mix flour is transported to Kent, WA, where Continental Mills adds the perfect ingredients and package the mix into three-pound bags for us. At this point, Oregon Food Bank sends trucks to Kent for the bagged pancake mix. The beauty of our pancake mix is that it is shelf stable. You only need to add water to make pancakes. It’s a versatile mix and can be used for biscuits, muffins and dumplings. The food banks tell me their clients really like it.

And yes, you could say that pancakes are empty calories, not the highly desired and recommended fruits, vegetables and protein we would like to have in a food box. But, hungry people need calories as much as any nutrient and pancakes can be a real treat once in awhile.

The process for other products can also be complex. The cattle we make into hamburger are processed in Woodland, WA, and then finished in Clackamas, OR. Cattle donated in Malhuer and Grant counties are processed in Nampa, ID, and Prineville, OR. It may seem like we go through a lot of steps, but these are the regular channels of production followed by commercial agriculture. We try to work within the established routes and not ask for any special or out-of-the-way handling.

As you might expect, we need many partners to get this all done. Obviously, we could not do what we do without Oregon Food Bank. Our private partners, such as Pendleton Flour Mills and Continental Mills, are equally important. And, not the least of our partners is you, our donors and supporters. Thank you!

John

Donations support non-profit outreach to educate youth about farming and to help freed Oregon’s hungry 

Portland, Ore. – August 13, 2013 – A hovering helicopter dropped 900 numbered golf balls onto the Chehalem Glenn driving range last week for the Golf Ball Drop sponsored by the Agri-Business Council of Oregon. For the third year, donors purchased one or more golf balls for a chance to win two round-trip airline tickets on Southwest Airlines. The Golf Ball Drop fundraiser supports the work of two Oregon non-profits hoping to raise awareness of Oregon’s agricultural community. The Agri-Business Council of Oregon and its Adopt a Farmer program introduces middle school students to agriculture and the important contributions of farmers. Farmers Ending Hunger works with Oregon farmers who donate a portion of their crops to help feed Oregon’s hungry. Its Adopt-an-Acre program raises money to transport and process the fresh ingredients for use in emergency food boxes.

“This year we raised $9,600 for two important non-profits making a difference in our community,” said Geoff Horning, Executive Director of the Agri-Business Council of Oregon, which organized the Golf Ball Drop. “Fundraising in the non-profit world is always challenging, and we needed a creative way to draw attention to our causes. This was our most successful year so far.”

“We were thrilled to be included in this year’s fundraiser and share the work our farmers are doing on behalf of so many children and families struggling with hunger, “ said John Burt, executive director of Farmers Ending Hunger.

About Agri-Business Council of Oregon/Adopt a Farmer

This private, non-profit volunteer membership organization founded in 1966, preserves and enhances the vitality of Oregon agriculture. The Adopt a Farmer program launched in 2011-2012 in three Beaverton School District middle schools and allows students to connect with an Oregon farmer for an entire school year to experience life on a farm. The Agri-Business Council hopes to expand this program into more middle schools in Albany, Beaverton, Eugene, Salem and Silverton to reach more than 1,200 students. For more information, please visit www.aglink.org.

About Farmers Ending Hunger

Eastern Oregon resident Fred Ziari created the non-profit Farmers Ending Hunger in 2004 when he learned that Oregon was one of the hungriest states in the country. Farmers Ending Hunger gathers Oregon’s agricultural resources to help feed the hungry. Local family farmers, ranchers and growers donate a portion of the food crops they raise. Adopt-an-Acre, a supplementary program seeks the operating funds necessary to harvest and process those same crops into frozen and canned food products that are easily stored and utilized and distributed to the hungry through Oregon Food Bank’s regional network. For information on how to contribute to Adopt-an-Acre, please visit www.farmersendinghunger.com or call Executive Director John Burt at 503-931-9232. Follow us on Facebook at Farmers Ending Hunger for news and events.

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