Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Grand Ronde
Every day, your generosity makes it possible for families to share meals, gardens to flourish, and people in all parts of our community to have the food they need to thrive.
At Iskam MәkhMәk-Haws, Marion Polk Food Share’s partner food pantry in Grand Ronde, your support is helping to ensure families have access to nutritious food and resources during their time of need.
Guadalupe, Maria, and Lusio are part of a multi-generational household of six, living in a mobile home park in Grand Ronde. Because Guadalupe’s husband needs their only vehicle to commute to work in Willamina, it’s difficult for them to make it to the Friday food distributions at Iskam or to take three-year-old Lusio to the doctor in Dallas. Due to these transportation barriers, Guadalupe and her family receive food through Iskam’s home delivery program.
Francene, Grand Ronde Program Manager, hands Guadalupe a snack for Lusio
Having grown up in the Willamette Valley, Guadalupe had a fondness for the Grand Ronde area since she was a child. After moving around through the years to maintain work and housing, she and her family moved back to the area in 2021. There were few other places they could afford to live in Oregon and even fewer that met their additional needs.
“This is the only place we found that would accept our RV, because it was older,” Guadalupe shares.
Recently, their household has struggled to balance better work opportunities with the loss of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that allows them to cover their basic needs.
“My daughter started working, and they cut our food stamps by more than half,” explains Guadalupe. “She doesn’t even work full time, maybe four or five hours each day. If it weren’t for Iskam MәkhMәk-Haws, we would not have food throughout the month.”
In addition to the food deliveries they receive, Guadalupe shared that the Iskam team has gone above and beyond to provide them with other support. After a propane leak left them without a safe way to cook, the Iskam team was able to provide the family with an electric stovetop so they could still cook the nutritious meals they depended on.
Because of your support, neighbors throughout our community have access to nourishing food and the vital support they need to care for their families. Thank you for ensuring the well-being of families like Guadalupe’s.
Marion Polk Food Share would like to thank the following partners and community members like you for supporting Iskam MәkhMәk-Haws:
Hilary Andrea (Paddon) and William Walton Loud Discretionary Fund of Oregon Community Foundation
Louise Minty Discretionary Fund of Oregon Community Foundation
