It all begins with your support...
Our humble beginning
The Ashland Food Project was started in January 2009 by a small group of Ashland residents who wanted to make it easy for people to donate food to the Ashland Community Food Bank. We realized that many of our neighbors wanted to help fight hunger in our community, but for one reason or another, never got around to it. So we created a simple, door-to-door food collection system to enable them to pitch in.
We had three goals:
1. To provide a regular supply of food to our hungry neighbors
2. To create new neighborhood connections and strengthen our community
3. To serve as a model for other communities
Watch - The Green Bag Solution - A short documentary
Armed with brochures that proclaimed, “You want to help, We want to make it easy!” AFP volunteers canvassed our own neighborhoods, knocking on doors and inviting our neighbors to participate. Whenever they said “Yes,” we suggested that they buy just one extra nonperishable food item each week, and store it at home. We promised to stop by their homes every 2 months, pick the food up, and take it directly to the food bank.
The project started with a core group of 10 volunteers picking up food. About a year later, there were over 150 in 3 different towns. The first Pickup Day, in 2009, netted about 600 pounds of food. By August, 2011, we were picking up more than 36,000 lbs. county-wide, every two months! And in October 2016, we reached our 2 millionth pound of food donated to food banks in Jackson County!
In Ashland alone, the Ashland Food Project delivers more than 30,000 lbs. of food to the Ashland Community Food Bank every other month. But even though we have more than doubled the amount of food donated to the food bank, the need has increased 25%—so shelves are bare as we approach each pickup! We currently have about 29% of Ashland households participating, but we’ve set our sights on 32%.
Where does the food go?
Watch - What is a Food Bank?
All of the food that the Ashland Food Project picks up is taken directly to the Ashland Community Food Bank, an independent food bank that has been serving the Ashland/Talent community since 1972. They give a small percentage of it to other groups, including the Ashland Food Angels, the Ashland Senior Center, and Uncle Food’s Diner…and the rest they use to serve their own clients.
The Ashland Food Project generally supplies 30%–35% of the food the AEFB distributes. The food donated through the AFP is particularly important to our food bank now, because the demand for food there has increased by over 170% since 2007. This year, they are supplying food to more than 1,300 of our neighbors each month. About 38% of these neighbors are children— and contrary to some people’s beliefs, only 2% of the recipients are homeless.
Some people wonder whether food recipients in our area are just taking advantage of the community’s generosity. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Close to half the families we serve have at least one person working. Many of the rest are out of work and can’t find jobs. The majority of people we serve just don’t earn enough money to cover their basic expenses.
Why it matters
All it takes is 15 minutes a month to help feed the community.
Is there really a need for emergency food?
Unfortunately, yes. According to recent reports, about 16% of American households are considered “food insecure.”
It’s no exaggeration.
About 40 million U.S. residents—more than one in eight of our neighbors—receive food aid. One study determined that 25% of all households with children are likely to experience hunger or food insecurity. And that number goes up to over 30% in households with single parents.
Think of it this way: If you’re standing in a line in your community, one of the eight people around you has probably struggled with hunger. And if your child is in a class of 28 people, 7 of their classmates may not be sure where their next meal is coming from. It’s shocking.
Why are so many of our neighbors hungry?
It’s not because there’s a shortage of food. Studies show that America produces twice as much food as we need in order to feed everyone in our country.
So what’s the problem?
Poverty. Many of our neighbors simply can’t afford to buy enough food—even when they’re working. Feeding America reports that at least 1/3 of all American families who get help with food have one or more people working. The result is heartbreaking: “A growing number of people have to make difficult choices about what to spend their dwindling dollars on.”
- “More than 46% of our clients report having to choose between paying for utilities or heating fuel and food.”
- “39% said they had to choose between paying for rent or a mortgage and food.”
- “34% report having to choose between paying for medical bills and food.”
- “And 35% must choose between transportation and food.”
There’s a silver lining. Hidden in these alarming statistics is one bit of very good news: If 40 million Americans are “food insecure,” then about 285 million Americans are not.
This means that there are plenty of people who can afford to offer a little help. Not everyone, of course…but more than enough to make a huge difference. You may be one of them.
And that’s what the Ashland Food Project is all about.
