Food drives help feed C. Oregon families

Over 12,000 pounds of food were donated to NeighborImpact’s regional warehouse last month, thanks to the help of community partners — including NewsChannel 21 viewers.

The “I Like Pie” Thanksgiving run, sponsored by The Foot Zone, brought in 5,960 pounds of food last week. People who register for the race are asked to bring at least five pounds of food with them, including a favorite pie to enjoy afterwards. This year’s event brought in 400 more pounds of food than last year.

Meanwhile, NewsChannel 21 held live reports from various grocery store locations in Bend every Friday night leading up to Thanksgiving, part of its “Help for the Holidays” food drive.

Viewers were asked to fill blue bins at the stores, which brought in another 6,545 pounds of food.

That’s a total of 12,505 pounds food collected in November.

“We’re always grateful for the generosity of our friends and neighbors who provide us the opportunity to feed families, especially around the holiday season,” said Jason Carr, NeighborImpact’s communications director.

NeighborImpact reminds people that food donations are needed all throughout the year, not just during the holidays. Donations tend to slow down after Christmas, so people are urged to look for the blue food-donation bins around Central Oregon and donate regularly.

The NeighborImpact Food Bank Program is the regional affiliate of the Oregon Food Bank and distributes over 2.6 million pounds of food to 40 local agencies in Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties. Over 19,000 individuals are helped at emergency food sites every month during the year.