Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness

It’s hard to believe, but Oregon has the highest rate of child food insecurity in the country, with nearly 30% of children with limited or uncertain access to adequate food.  What’s more is that the number of families in need is on the rise.  Right now 138,000 people in Lane County are eligible for food assistance, up from 124,000 people last year.  Food banks are struggling to keep up.   

 OSPIRG is pairing up with Food for Lane County, the second largest food pantry in the state, to mobilize students at the U of O and Lane County Community College to meet the increased need.  In September, we launched a campaign to provide Food for Lane County with 30,000 meals.  

We’re generating the meals in a couple different ways. We’re holding fundraisers like our kick-the-crap out of hunger kickball tournament,  organizing food collections on campus and at grocery stores, and work in local community gardens to produce fresh food that we can then donate to food pantries.