Sustainable Food Security in Oregon

 

Food insecurity is one of the most significant issues in terms of public health. Indeed, hunger has been decreasing in Oregon, yet the number of people who have food insecurity is still high. According to a new USDA report on Food Insecurity in the U.S., nearly one in seven Oregonian households were “food insecure” between 2014-16 (https://oregonhunger.org/). Hunger and food insecurity often contribute to increasing our cost for health. Food insecurity is also involved in obesity and its subsequent health problems. Hunger is not just a physiological phenomenon in a moment, but also a public health issue that brings long-term consequences. Therefore, it is important that a community supports community members' sustainable food security and provides food assistance services. 

Here are some food assistance resources that are available on campus and for PSU community members including students.

• PSU Food Pantry (https://sites.google.com/pdx.edu/psufoodpantry/home?authuser=0)

A donation based food assistant service for PSU students and faculity members.

 

•  The Free Food Market (https://www.pdx.edu/student-access-center/free-food-market)

A partnership between the CISFS and the Oregon Food Bank that brings Free fresh produce and other food items to PSU students and the greater PSU community. Free Food Market is open to everybody.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrIOAOQH05E&ab_channel=PortlandStateUniversity)

Here are some useful resources to find other food banks or food assistance.

• Oregon Food Bank (https://foodfinder.oregonfoodbank.org/)

Oregon Food Bank helps finding food assistance for everyone in the Portland community. You can search for a food pantry or pick-up site near you.

 

•  Summer Meals Map (https://www.summerfoodoregon.org/map/)

Summer Meals are for children and teens ages 1-18 who cannot have meals 

in their schools during the summer break in a school. You can use the map to find a site near you.

• School Meals in Oregon During COVID-19 Closures (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQdNuwGk2d3GnFHMqWP5EOM4C9sTKriEoTXNlbCFjJuxHlOz8wKv89L-dtDAOf4lWcjl8QM82L-mOW3/pubhtml?gid=1537028636&amp%3Bsingle=true&amp%3Bwidget=true&amp%3Bheaders=false&urp=gmail_link)

Free school meals for children who cannot have meals in their schools during COVID-19 closures. You can find assistance and a site near you.

 

• More supports in Oregon during COVID-19 Outbreak (https://oregonhunger.org/covid-19/)

Pandemic EBT provides families financial support to cover the cost of groceries while your children are home during school closures. This benefit is provided to ALL families whose children receive free and reduced-price school meals in Oregon. 

It is also important to help each other in the community. You can help other community members who are struggling with hunger by financially supporting food assistance organizations.

• Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon  (https://oregonhunger.org/give/)
• PSU Food Pantry (https://sites.google.com/pdx.edu/psufoodpantry/donate?authuser=0)

For More Information

PSU Food Pantry 

https://sites.google.com/pdx.edu/psufoodpantry/home?authuser=0

The Free Food Market 

https://www.pdx.edu/student-access-center/free-food-market

Oregon Food Bank 

https://foodfinder.oregonfoodbank.org/

Summer Meals Map 

https://www.summerfoodoregon.org/map/

School Meals in Oregon During COVID-19 Closures 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQdNuwGk2d3GnFHMqWP5EOM4C9sTKriEoTXNlbCFjJuxHlOz8wKv89L-dtDAOf4lWcjl8QM82L-mOW3/pubhtml?gid=1537028636&amp%3Bsingle=true&amp%3Bwidget=true&amp%3Bheaders=false&urp=gmail_link 

Hunger-Free Oregon

https://oregonhunger.org/

A $1 a Week Helps Those in Need

Portland is a city that has been battling with homelessness for decades. The state has struggled to find solutions to the rising homeless issue in the Portland and wider Oregon area. One of the main struggles is finding jobs for those who are homeless or formerly homeless. However, in 1998 a homeless advocacy group and weekly alternative newspaper, Street Roots, was established to combat this specific issue by providing jobs to the homeless or formerly homeless. The paper features information around homelessness and various topics. How the program works is sellers purchase the original newspaper for 25 cents then sell them on the streets for $1 and profit the 75 cents. The program has proven to be successful as it is a way for homeless people to begin the process of getting out of their situation.

A dollar a day to you might be negligible but it is hugely impactful for those who have to work hard to earn a 75 cent profit. Even if you don't choose to read the paper, it could change an entire life.

Read more about the program on their site here: Street Roots Website

See their annual breakfast event to gain awareness of the program: Street Roots Breakfast Recap

Lawsuits, no matter how well-meaning, won't slow down climate change

Kelsey Juliana, 19, addresses reporters after court proceedings in her lawsuit against the state government.

Some people are so concerned about climate change that they've taken it to court. Multiple times.

In 2011, two Oregon teens filed a lawsuit in Lane County trying to force the state to do more to reduce carbon emissions and help stave off climate change.

Originally, Judge Karsten Rasmussen refused to hear the case, arguing that the teens' complaints were political, not legal. The Oregon Court of Appeals overturned that, and sent the case back to Lane County Judge Rasmussen for a decision.

Judge Rasmussen ruled that the state has no obligation to protect future generations from the impacts of climate change, basing his decision upon his conclusion that the atmosphere --- unlike submerged and submersible lands --- is not part of the public trust. He also added that the court would place an "undue burden" on the state Legislature if it ruled in the teens' favor. After the failure of their suit, the teens are now going to take their case to a higher court.

Ultimately, frivolous lawsuits against political institutions are not going to slow down climate change any time soon, no matter how well-meaning the plaintiffs are.

Really, you (and they) would be better off simply making sure they do what they can in their own life to lessen their own personal environmental footprint. To help you out on that front, here's a list of 50 tips on how you can personally fight climate change: http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/07/oregon_teens_appeal_ruling_in.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/05/state_judge_rules_against_two.html

The Best Things Take Time

The Best Things Take Time

The video above outlines a local tannery here in Oregon that has insisted on using old fashioned methods since their establishment in 1863. This process is called vegetable tanning and uses natural chemical compounds called tannins in place of the environmentally hazardous chromium salts. Muir and McDonald Tannery's primary product is steer leather-- which is used in the manufacturing of saddles. The company only produces about 60 hides a week due to the time that it takes to complete the natural tanning process. This is compared to commercial tanneries that have outputs near 50,000 hides a week. But there are several advantages to waiting the long 10 weeks:

1.     Use of natural products – This means that there are no harsh synthetic compounds, no potentially cancer-causing dyes or other artificial substances added. What you get are the deep, rich hues created by Mother Nature herself in the great outdoors.  And when you smell it, it smells like leather—not a chemical factory.

2.     Benefits of aging – Artificial tanning methods can cause leather to fade, crack, or even bleed after a short period of time, staining your garments and making frequent replacement or treatment necessary.  On the other hand, vegetable tanning is a gentle method that adds a lustrous patina to leather, and produces a soft and supple product that does not crack or harden.

3.     Truly unique characteristics – Some things, like aircraft wings or car keys, should come off the assembly line as close to the design specs as possible.  Others, however, suffer when subjected to such a one-size-fits-all approach.  Leather goods fall into this latter category. Impersonal tanning methods used in giant factories turn out millions of items in rapid succession, each of which is virtually identical to every other one.  But no two vegetable-tanned products are exactly alike.  There will always be some subtle variation in hue or tone that makes it truly one-of-a-kind.  This allows its owner to say that they have something no one else on earth has.

4.     Environmentally friendly practices – Modern industrial leather tanning methods uses highly toxic compounds that poison the earth and pollute streams and oceans. What makes this worse is that these methods are most commonly used in nations with few (if any) laws in place to protect the environment.  When these noxious chemicals are dumped on the ground or into water sources, they kill fish and wildlife, fill the atmosphere with deadly fumes, and eventually find their way to the air you breathe, the streams you fish in or drink from, and the creeks or swimming pools in which your children play. [S. Texas Saddlery]

To learn more about toxic tannery practices, alternatives like vegetable tanning, and more about the global leather industry's effect click to visit our site EcoPol: Leather