This summer, I have the pleasure of serving people within the Portland metro area. I work with the Focus on Youth Nonprofit Organization, seeking to alleviate food insecurity in Portland, OR. The organization does an amazing job at both addressing hunger and homelessness by donating abundant produce to local food pantries that primarily serve homeless children and families. Portland, unlike Las Vegas and Princeton, has a prominent urban center separated by a river, which I believe has allowed for societal inequities to grow at an alarming rate; the eastern portion of Portland has greater incidents of crime and lower-income neighborhoods. Despite this geographical difference, homelessness is present in all parts of the city. Many homeless people gravitate towards Portland for its temperate climate, placing the social issue at the forefront of many policymakers’ minds.
While Portland continues to grapple with the issue of properly addressing homelessness and hunger, the city has retained its remarkable natural beauty and landmarks. With hunger spiking as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the work of Focus on Youth is all the more important. I have truly enjoyed helping the organization to tackle food insecurity, donating thousands of meals throughout Multnomah County so far this summer.
I’m very happy to be residing in Portland this summer because I’ve been able to meet many altruistic and open-minded people, many of whom volunteer for Focus on Youth. A similarity I noticed between Las Vegas and Portland, is that both cities are concerned about the presence of widespread food insecurity and homelessness, especially during the time of the pandemic. For both Portland and Princeton, what I love most about the two cities is the people and the vibrant nature.
Portland is also the perfect location to be in for addressing hunger, since the warm climate enables the organization to grow plentiful amounts of produce. Being the “City of Roses”, flowers flourish year-round here, enabling the organization to operate a flower stand as a fundraising effort.
5 Comments
This is so important! What was one of your favorite moments during the summer?
Also, I’ve noticed in Phoenix that many of the primary support systems for unhoused people are community organizations (ie Food not Bombs) and mutual aid drives. So, I was wondering if in Portland there was significant policy that supported unhoused people or if it’s mainly also community organizations? Did you do any work over the summer with policymaking or lobbying? Again, this is SO cool!
I really appreciated your observations of the impact of Portland’s climate on the unique ways these issues affect the city at large. Therefore, I was also wondering how climate change impacts these realities (i.e. wildfires, extreme heat) and complicates this work?
This sounds like such a fulfilling experience! I love how you highlighted how food insecurity work intersects with other issues like homelessness, the environment, etc.
Sounds like a really exciting project! Thanks for sharing information about Portland’s history and current situation. It provided some nice context that helped me understand why the work you are doing is so important. I am looking forward to hearing how everything goes.
This is such an impactful initiative. Thanks for sharing the similarity you noticed between Las Vegas and Portland. I would have never guessed that, considering how different those two places are. Continue the hard work, and share more with us!