Foundation gives to 2 Bend nonprofits addressing food insecurity

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation recently awarded a total of $329,300 to 59 nonprofit organizations located in Coos, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Lane counties, as well as philanthropies that serve multiple counties.

Two nonprofits located in Bend who are focused on providing food relief were awarded grant funding in late June. St. Vincent de Paul of Bend received $5,000 and Family Kitchen received $7,500. That is a total of $12,500 being invested into the city of Bend specifically to fight hunger.

The CCUIF was founded in 1997 and began its philanthropic efforts in 1998. To date, the Foundation has awarded $19,309,324 to the seven southwestern Oregon counties from which it accepts grant requests. Grants are awarded semi-annually, in January and June. 

June’s award distribution, for the first time ever, did not happen during an in-person awards ceremony due to safety measures in combating the spread of COVID-19. Instead, letters were mailed with checks, along with an accounting of the $329,300 that was distributed in this round of funding.

Foundation Executive Director Carma Mornarich said, “We are, as people on this planet, concerned and focused on COVID-19. We need to be focused, disciplined, and determined. We all know, however, that other concerns we face each day of every year – like feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the unhoused, decreasing all abuse, supporting education – don’t end. They continue on and the non-profits receiving checks today address these and other needs. They are critical to strengthening our ‘social fabric’. The work they do is so necessary. Lives are bettered. Thank you to each of them.”

St. Vincent de Paul Bend and Family Kitchen are grateful for the investment CCUIF has made not only in their organizations but the community as a whole.

“CCUIF is a cornerstone of support for the social service agencies throughout Oregon. St Vincent de Paul of Bend is so grateful for their support of our program throughout the years, and for the opportunities that they provide for all of Deschutes County. With these funds, we will be able to provide additional high quality, nutritious food into every food box that we give out to the community,” said St. Vincent de Paul Bend Director, Jordan Reeher.

"The Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation has long been a supporter of the touchstone tenet in Family Kitchen's mission: to serve a meal to ANYONE in need. We are grateful for funding that can help us continue to serve those who are most vulnerable,” said Family Kitchen Program Director Donna Burklo

To learn about CCUIF or these four local nonprofits, visit: 

www.cowcreekfoundation.org, www.stvincentdepaulbend.org www.familykitchen.org/