NAO is excited to spotlight nonprofit members, share their success stories and exciting news, and raise awareness of their cause and the impact these amazing nonprofits make in our communities.
This month we are featuring Food Share of Lincoln County in Newport, who has been a member since 2017!
Food Share of Lincoln County’s (FSLC) mission is to alleviate hunger in Lincoln County by distributing healthy and nutritious food to their network of agencies and empowering our community through education.
Food Share of Lincoln County distributes emergency food boxes through seven affiliated pantries located in the Coastal Range, Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, Newport, including Salvation Army, Waldport, Siletz and Toledo. In addition to the pantries, they provide assistance in the form of food, and other donated items to local partner agencies. Their support helps stretch the agency’s budget, thereby allowing them to provide more direct client services. Through this work, FSLC distributes over 1,000,000 pounds of food (equating to 4,000,000 meals) each year from various sources including Oregon Food Bank, USDA commodities, local farms, retailers, individual and small business donors.
Some of their current programs and partnerships include:
- Senior food boxes & mobile pantry
- Supporting Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers
- Providing supplemental food to My Sister’s Place
- Providing healthy snacks during operating hours at Head Start & Oregon Coast Community College
- Providing culturally appropriate foods for clients of Olalla Center and Arcoíris Cultural
- Feeding America Backpack Programs to offer families free groceries for weekends and school breaks
- Produce distribution sites at seven low-income housing complexes
- Soup kitchens and hot meal sites at four locations
- Free nutrition education Cooking Matters classes
Executive Director Nancy Mitchell shared with us FSLC’s recent milestone:
“Food Share of Lincoln County recently reached a significant milestone in our decades-long fight against hunger. Thanks to the support of the State of Oregon and local donors, we purchased a 12,000 sq. ft. facility—more than double the size of our current space. This new building will significantly increase our capacity to store and distribute food, including perishable items such as fresh produce, dairy, and meat, which are essential to our community’s health. Fundraising efforts are underway for a $3.5 million capital campaign to renovate this space into a modern hub for food distribution and education, featuring plans for a teaching kitchen that will support nutrition education and foster community engagement.”
One unique need Nancy has from our nonprofit community is from her fellow nonprofit leaders – specifically guidance on public capital campaigns, feasibility study strategies, and engaging rural communities in large-scale initiatives. This guidance would be incredibly valuable to Nancy and FSLC. If you would like to connect with Nancy, you can email her at [email protected].
We are grateful to Nancy Mitchell for her time and for the work that the Food Share of Lincoln County is doing to support our fellow community members experiencing food insecurity as well as so many other organizations.
If you would like to support FSLC’s work, we invite you to donate here, volunteer or donate food, or join their Be Jeweled fundraiser by donating unworn jewelry or participating in their sale on Saturday, May 10!