Mobile Pantry Serves the Underserved
DeAnna T, Community Outreach Director at Tabernaculo de Salem, along with her grandchildren, set up shelf stable food and fresh produce to serve our neighbors at a recent pop-up food pantry service.
Marion Polk Food Share’s Mobile Pantry Program, which began in 2021 to meet the increased need for food during the pandemic, is continuing to serve as a vital resource for our community. Through this program, the Food Share is providing much-needed food to underserved neighbors who might otherwise go without.
Recently, the program began a partnership with Tabernaculo de Salem, a bilingual congregation in Southeast Salem, to start pop-up food pantry services at their location. While other food pantries are located in the area, the late afternoon and early evening hours at the new pantry are more accessible for neighbors who can’t visit a food pantry while they are working, especially for area farmworkers. The bilingual support the pantry offers also makes it more accessible and comfortable for families to receive food. Since the pantry opened, there has been a big turnout—and need only continues to increase.
A variety of shelf stable food, fresh produce, dairy and meat are served at Tabernaculo de Salem, a bilingual congregation in Southeast Salem.
“For each person who reaches out to express gratitude, I know there are many more who are experiencing the same,” says Rachel, Mobile Pantry Coordinator.
Mobile pantry services are a key resource for families. For those who lack access to transportation or share one car, these services are critical. The pop-up mobile pantries allow neighbors to only travel a short distance to receive the food they need to feed their families.
“They notice and appreciate that we are coming to them and not expecting them to venture out into somewhere beyond their community,” says Rachel.
The Mobile Pantry Program plans to continue to expand to areas without reliable food access.
“Hearing the stories of people who have been struggling and to see the relief on their faces and hear it in their voice when they have found a reliable way to provide a healthy meal for their families helps me to know that we are on the right track,” says Rachel.
Marion Polk Food Share would like to thank An Anonymous Fund of Oregon Community Foundation, Louise Minty Fund of Oregon Community Foundation, PGE Foundation, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, and community members like you for ensuring our neighbors have reliable access to fresh produce and shelf stable food in an area of high need.
