PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – For the last nine years, members of the Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ in Beaverton have gathered every winter and spring to fill food bags, and fill hearts.
The bags go toward Beaverton High School students experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, and the need has only increased over the years.
On Tuesday, more than a hundred volunteers gathered at the church for a big assembly-line-style packing day.
Each bag, filled to weigh about 10 pounds each, contains everything from canned pasta and soups, to tortillas and dried beans.
Nancy Winston, a volunteer, said it all started when she attended a meeting at the high school all those years ago with Principal Dr. Anne Erwin.
“She asked what we could do for her, and I asked her what she needed, and she said she worried about what the students ate on break,” Winston said. She said Erwin explained that some students are either homeless or living in low-income households, and Winston had agreed to try to lift some of the burden.
This year, over five tons of food will be delivered to the high school for students to pick up over the 17 days of winter break.
“We packed seven bags of food for each student, they get a $20 gift card from Jesuit High School Alumni to Fred Meyer,” Winston said. “The bags weigh about 10 pounds each, so that’s 70 pounds of food for each student.”
It’s all possible thanks to donations from Jesuit High School Alumni, the Oregon Food Bank, and a $7,500 grant from the City.
Mayor Lacey Beaty took time to visit the church on Tuesday and witness the packing progress.
“This is a small grant for the City of Beaverton, but we could not produce the outcomes they do with the same amount of money,” Beaty told Fox 12. “We give them the grant, they amass all the volunteers, they do all the shopping, they think about the needs of the young people, they come together, they bag it up, they take it to the school, it’s numbered, it’s an assembly line…it is a science and an art, what they have going on in here.”
Church staff said that nine years ago, there were only 20 students who used the service. But this year, there are 144.
“Of course I think there’s a lot of reasons- inflation, coming out of COVID, the cost of living is going up,” Beaty said. “We think about that at the city all the time which is why we give away grants like this.”
The volunteers know they can’t eliminate the problem, but they hope it can show students in need that they are not alone.
“I hope that they know that they’re loved, and they’re worthy of love,” Winston said. “The best comment I got was one student told a counselor, ‘this means someone cares about me.’”
“When you think back later on in life about Beaverton and where you grew up, I want you to know we love you, we care about you and we’re cheering you on in the future,” Beaty said, speaking to the students.
If you would like to donate to the food bag efforts or help volunteer in the future, you can visit the church’s web page here: Free Food for Hungry in Washington County – Bethel UCC (bethelbeaverton.org)
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