United Way Impacts: Creating Immediate and Long-Term Solutions to Food Insecurity
With your support, United Way is investing in community solutions to address food insecurity in Lane County.
A child enjoying his sandwich at a Food for Lane County summer lunch site in Springfield (Photo: Food for Lane County)
Lookout Eugene-Springfield recently reported that 15% of adults and 20% of children in Lane County are currently experiencing food insecurity.
Food insecurity means that a person or household does not have regular, easy, and affordable access to the food that they need.
Between rising food and housing costs, as well as the many ongoing challenges facing folks in our community who struggle with the cost of living (like the 43% of people who live in ALICE households), food insecurity is a huge issue for thousands of individuals, families, and children in Lane County, with many more at risk of experiencing food insecurity every day.
Imagine trying to get through the day without food, lacking the fuel, nutrients, and energy you need to thrive. Imagine trying to work, or go to school, or care for your child while hungry. No one in our communities should have to experience this.
United Way of Lane County is bringing people and resources together to do something about it.
“As an all-volunteer organization, we are forever grateful for the support of the United Way. We get donations for food from other sources but without operating support we could not keep the lights on. Many [organizations providing grants] have a specific area of interest for their funding that does not include operating expenses.”
With Your Support, We Invest in Immediate Solutions
We’re taking action to make sure that folks across our communities have access to the food they need to thrive.
One way we do this is by raising funds from our supporters, combining your generous gifts with donations from your friends, neighbors, and fellow community members across Lane County.
We then bring local volunteers together to help determine where these dollars should go to best meet community needs, investing it back into our communities through Community Support Grants to local organizations that provide direct access to food and other basic needs.
A young person picks up lunches for the week in Oakridge (Photo: Food for Lane County)
Here are a few ways our Community Support Grants addressed food insecurity this last year:
Oakridge Food Box distributed 5,878 supplemental emergency food boxes to local Oakridge residents, 65% of whom live in ALICE households.
47 rural families received post-partum support, including a food box, from Our Community Birth Center.
Community Sharing in Cottage Grove provided basic needs assistance, including food boxes, housing support, energy assistance, laundry vouchers, and more, to 5,454 individuals.
In Florence, Boys & Girls Club of Western Lane County provided 9,000 nutritious meals, and over 11,000 wholesome snacks, to 200 local children in need. 85% of participants in their program reported eating more fruits and vegetables weekly.
Also in Florence, 4,700 individuals accessed food through Florence Food Share.
Approximately 135 adults per month were provided with food assistance from the NAACP in Eugene-Springfield.
Food for Lane County, funded in part by United Way, assisted almost 75,000 people – including over 21,000 children. They also expanded their Summer Food programming to 11 sites.
“This grant has turned student ideas into real-world impact and experience, bringing fresh food, economic opportunity, and resiliency into our rural community.”
In this clip from our 2025 Community Breakfast, Megan Shultz with 15th Night describes what the School Food Security Coalition has already achieved together
Transforming Communities to Solve, and Prevent, Big Problems
When tackling a critical issue like food insecurity, we need to make sure people have what they need as quickly as possible. We also need to identify long-term ways to solve the problem.
Thanks to the support of our donors, we also award Community Transformation Grants to local organizations who are actively working together, encouraging collaboration across organizations and investing resources to help them find lasting solutions to big challenges.
Two of our currently funded Community Transformation Grants are specifically tackling food insecurity: the School Food Security Coalition and the Upriver Siuslaw Vision Team.
School Food Security Coalition
The School Food Security Coalition – formed by Food for Lane County, The Arc of Lane County, and 15th Night – is funded by a Community Transformation Grant to make food more accessible to children and families through our local schools.
This last year alone, the coalition has:
Supported a group of Willamette High School students to innovate and expand their school pantry program, increasing food security in the Bethel area
Distributed 11,000 pounds of food through the Churchill High School food pantry
Developed a School Based Food Assistance Program toolkit, making it easier for schools and communities to build effective school-based food pantries of their own and decrease stigma around accessing food assistance services
Launched and supported a School Nutrition Services Coalition, bringing Nutrition Services Directors across all Lane County school districts together to share ideas and resources
A Mapleton student shares produce from their community garden (Photo: Upriver Siuslaw Vision Team)
Upriver Siuslaw Vision Team
In Mapleton, the Upriver Siuslaw Vision Team – a collaboration of Mapleton School District, Siuslaw Watershed Council, and Siuslaw Vision – are tackling food insecurity in their rural communities by partnering with students and young leaders.
In the second year of their three year grant, this team has:
Increased fresh food access by serving three daily meals
Harvested 350 lbs. of produce from the school garden
Doubled their school garden size from 1,200 square feet to 2,500 square feet
Run the Upriver Market to provide access to fresh food and economic opportunity, engaging local vendors (including students!), connecting the school to the broader community, and making fresh fruits and vegetables grown locally available to rural residents where a local grocery store is absent.
Helped middle and high school students earn their Food Handlers Cards (68% of local students have now completed this!) and, in partnership with 4-H, facilitated the participation of 39 students in cooking classes and emergency preparedness workshops
Solving Food Insecurity Takes All of Us
With your support, United Way of Lane County is taking action to make sure that folks across our communities have access to the food they need to thrive, both immediately and long-term. Together, we’re making a lasting impact on the health and wellness of our communities.