Overview
The Child & Family Food Security Coalition was established in 2010 with the support of the Multnomah County Board of County Commissioners. The Coalition addresses the root causes of food insecurity through policy discussions and outreach, elevating families’ voices, and fostering collaborative efforts among our nonprofit and multi-jurisdictional Coalition partners. Our co-chairs are staff within Multnomah County Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) and the Department of County Human Services.
Mission
A collective voice to increase food security for families navigating poverty focused on communities of color in Multnomah County.
Guiding Principles
- We hold communities of color, Indigenous and Black people at the front of our work.
- Food insecurity is a symptom of inequities and racism in our society. This is reflected in racial disparities in employment, housing, criminal justice, health outcomes, and education.
- We elevate the voices of families as they share their lived experiences.
- We engage the community with local policies related to the root causes of hunger.
Coalition Partners
211info | Black Food Sovereignty Coalition | Boys & Girls Club of Portland Metro Area | DeRose Community Bridge | El Programa Hispano | Familias en Acción | Feed the Mass | Feed'em Freedom Foundation | FoodCorps | Grow Portland | Growing Gardens | IRCO (Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization) | Kaiser Permanente | Latino Network | Legacy Health | Lift Up | Meals on Wheels People | Metropolitan Family Services | Milk Crate Kitchen | Mudbone Grown | Oregon Food Bank | OHSU | Oregon State University Extension SNAP-Ed | Outgrowing Hunger | Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon | Portland Backpack | Portland Food Project | City of Portland (Portland Children's Levy and Portland Parks & Recreation Summer Free for All) | Providence Community Health | The Kindness Farm | Upstream Public Health | Urban Gleaners | Village Gardens | Multnomah County (Youth & Family Services, SNAP Outreach, Health Dept, WIC, Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) | Multnomah County School Districts
Get involved with the Child & Family Food Security Coalition!
The Coalition meets monthly, usually virtually with one annual in-person gathering, for a commitment of around 12 hours per year. The group has an active email listserv for resource sharing. We would love for you to join us.
Coalition partners are:
- Committed to solutions of the causes of hunger or food insecurity
- Dedicated to addressing racial disparities in our community
- Community members and staff, interns or volunteers of nonprofits, local government, school districts and higher ed, health care providers, mutual aid groups, faith groups, researchers, farmers and more.
Contact
For more information about the Child & Family Food Security Coalition and to join, please contact Annie Kirschner, Hunger Program Specialist, annie.kirschner@multco.us.
Agendas from previous meetings and the Coalition contact list are available by request.