By MPFS Staff on
7/30/2010 11:39 AM
 Volunteers are the backbone of operations at Marion-Polk Food Share. In June, volunteers contributed nearly 1,400 hours of much needed assistance valued at $26,512, not including volunteer hours at our community gardens. At this rate, volunteer service to MPFS for the year essentially results in a labor cost savings of over $318,000!
We continue bulk repack, food sorting, office support, and work on our Edible Landscape with our regular volunteers plus community partners from Western Mennonite, Oregon State Hospital, and Windermere Pacific West. The team from Windermere was so enthusiastic about their participation that they arranged a live radio interview about volunteering at MPFS on KZBY.
A sampling of the special projects completed by volunteers in June includes: folding brochures for the sustainer program, preparing signs and brochures for the community gardens,...
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By MPFS Staff on
7/19/2010 11:22 AM
 When a group of Salem Hospital Information Services staffers was given the option of using funds set aside for nurse recognition to make a donation to a local charity, they chose Marion-Polk Food Share.
On July 16, representatives from Salem Hospital’s Information Services Specialty Practice Team (from left, Rick Kendall, Informatics coordinator; Adam Tallinger, director; Sandra Shore, Informatics coordinator) gave MPFS gardens coordinator Jordan Blake a $500 check to use toward the purchase of tools for the Sustainable Community Gardens program.
“Instead of buying pens and water bottles for Nurse Week, we were allowed to pick a charity of our choice,” said Shore, who helped spearhead the donation.
After the check presentation, the trio headed outside to get their h ands...
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By MPFS Staff on
7/16/2010 9:37 AM
 Volunteers are treasures at Marion-Polk Food Share. One we’d like to draw special attention to is Rosie Sanchez (center), who had an exemplary can-do attitude that really helped us accomplish a lot during the four weeks she volunteered with us.
Over the span of 81 volunteer hours, Rosie sorted food, painted walls, planted seedlings in our edible landscape, helped staff our World Beat Festival booth and provided office and program support. She was focused and patient with volunteer coordinators Kat Daniel (left) and Janet Spingath (right) and worked well with other volunteers. Thank you, Rosie. You’re a gem.
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By MPFS Staff on
7/15/2010 11:53 AM
There's a great video featuring Alison Kelley and Angela Chambers at the South Salem Fred Meyer shopping spree yesterday. There's also a wonderful story by reporter Ruth Liao and photo gallery by Kobbi Blair. Check it out. Click here.
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By MPFS Staff on
7/14/2010 10:58 AM
Clad in jogging shoes and sporting Marion-Polk Food Share volunteer T-shirts, guest shoppers Angela Chambers and Alison Kelley demonstrated strategic collaboration today during our Fred Meyer shopping spree. 
Alison, who heads Marion County Children and Families Commission, and Angela, the second in command at Polk County Commission for Children and Families, put their heads together and raked in $1,000 worth of core foods during their respective 2-minute sprees.
Angela put a big dent in aisle 6, with canned tuna, chili and beans, then sprinted over to aisle 5 for big bags of cereal.
Alison lobbed big and little chubs of ground beef into her carts and cleaned out quite a few rows of deli meats.
 Together,...
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By MPFS Staff on
7/13/2010 12:31 PM
Marion-Polk Food Share was awarded two $500 shopping sprees at 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 14, at the South Salem Fred Meyer store at 3450 Commercial St. SE.
Fred Meyer gave away 80 shopping sprees nationwide during its Founder's Day events and its foundation matched the sprees with awards to local food banks. Salem had two winning customers, so MPFS was selected to "go shopping," twice!
We've enlisted the help of our hunger-fighting partners at Marion County Children and Families Commission and Polk County Commission for Children and Families. Alison Kelley from Marion and Angela Chambers from Polk will be donning their running shoes and MPFS T-shirts to see how much they can gather in two minutes each.
The event will be great fun. Come out and cheer on our shoppers and MPFS. It'll be fast, so don't be late.
Thank you Fred Meyer!
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By MPFS Staff on
7/12/2010 11:34 AM
Recent food drives have brought in more than 145,000 pounds of food to Marion-Polk Food Share. These additions are helping us to keep food flowing to the 87 member charities that distribute the food to local hungry people.
The 18th annual Letter Carriers’ Food Drive brought in more than 144,000 pounds of food from Marion and Polk counties. This was a record year and much of this food already has been distributed to families in our community.
In June, the Salem Relay for Life food drive brought in 1,548 pounds of food, surpassing their goal of 1,500 pounds. This was our second year partnering with this organization to collect food donations.
Summer tends to be a lean time for food donations at MPFS. Any groups interested in running a drive may contact Brian Haley at 503-581-3855, ext. 327.
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By MPFS Staff on
7/9/2010 11:59 AM
 Wells Fargo Foundation donated $6,500 to Marion-Polk Food Share to go toward core food purchases to feed hungry people in our community. The bank sees partnering with MPFS as a way to help fight hunger in the community it serves.
On hand for the "big check" presentation to MPFS President Ron Hays (third from left) were Wells Fargo representatives, from left to right, Peter Novak, Business Banking; Jeanna Madlener, Insurance Services; Brandi Kyle, Insurance Services; Jeremy Rand, Business Banking; and Sean Rauch, Business Banking.
Thank you for your generous contribution! It will help us keep shelves stocked with nutritional core food products.
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By MPFS Staff on
7/7/2010 10:08 AM
After putting away their books and pencils for the school year, about 75 Salem-Keizer School District teachers donned jeans and work gloves and set to planting potatoes at Marion-Polk Food Share’s Center Street Garden. What great workers! 
The teachers planted a field of seed potatoes donated by Kettle Foods at our Center Street Garden. They also did weeding, watering and bed preparation at our Oregon School for the Deaf community garden project. Thank you for choosing MPFS to meet your community service commitment. We really appreciate all your hard work.
Groups that would like to help out in the community gardens may contact volunteer garden coordinator Tony Incavo at MPFSGardencoordinator@gmail.com to get connected. There’s always plenty...
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By MPFS Staff on
7/1/2010 2:53 PM
This week Food Resource Manager Brian Haley spent $38,065 to purchase 2.5 truckloads of food for the warehouse to fill gaps in what we have to offer our 86 member charities for distribution to hungry people in Marion and Polk counties.
In a week or two, we'll have 1,680 cases of macaroni and spaghetti, 1,080 cases of 5-pound bags of all-purpose flour and 753 cases of 24-ounce cans of tomato sauce, which will last us roughly three months.
Also, our friends at Truitt Bros. donated about three pallets of pumpkin puree. Pies, anyone?
We are so grateful to MPFS supporters. Without all of you, we could not do what we do to END Hunger in our two-county area.
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