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 Hand Up Project in Portland, who has been an NAO member since 2018!
Established in 2016, Hand Up Project (HUP) is the only LGBTQ2SIA+ formed and led food assistance program open to the public in Portland. Their mission is to empower the disenfranchised with the resources needed to improve their lives. They do this by fostering a safe non-judgmental space welcoming everyone to the table.
Census data shows Queer households need food assistance at twice the rate of other groups. More research indicates that people of color who identify as LGBTQ2SIA+ face nearly three times the risk of poverty. To further complicate things, many food programs are traditionally operated by religious organizations that have historically judged and ostracized the Queer Community for decades, making this work crucial in bridging the systemic gap in access to healthy food access.
Hand Up Project’s The People’s Pantry features a “shopping style” pantry that preserves dignity by giving people the choice of food staples. This model also accommodates each person’s personal and culturally specific dietary needs as donations allow; all while reducing food waste from “cookie cutter” style food boxes.
Additionally, they work to educate both clients and the public about the importance of a healthy diet and draw attention to the adulteration and commercialization of our food systems by promoting a hunter-gatherer style whole food, low-processed diet that promotes complete nutrition naturally. To do this, they produce monthly food-as-medicine style videos on YouTube and offer recipes on their website, companioned with short introductory reels for social media.
CEO Michael Whitaker shared with us some of HUP’s recent challenges and successes, “When the current administration froze federal funds, we experienced a 40% reduction in available food staples coupled with a 13% increase in shoppers at the pantry. Now with the passing of the recent budget, we know more cuts are coming. In response to the federal funding freeze, direct food purchasing has increased by over 34% this year, stretching our budget to the max. Despite all this, our statistics from the last fiscal year show that The People’s Pantry hosted over 9,033 shoppers, an increase of over 32% overall and a 20.72% increase in families. With everyone’s help, we were able to distribute a record-breaking 108 tons of food security into the community. That’s increased by over 29% compared to last year.”
When asked about the unique challenges HUP faces and the support they need, Michael expressed, “Unlike many food assistance programs backed by religious institutions with generational wealth and infrastructure, we are a grassroots, queer-led organization that has had to build everything from the ground up, often without the same safety nets.
As federal funding becomes more unstable and our community faces renewed political and social attacks, we are in a delicate and vulnerable position. If we lose our infrastructure now, rebuilding may not be possible. That’s why we’re calling on our community and on you to help us weather this storm.
What we want you to know is this: we are fighting to hold the line. Hand Up Project is not just a food pantry—it’s a safe haven for Queer and BIPOC individuals who have been pushed to the margins. We are the only Queer led and founded, affirming food access point open to the general public in Portland, and we are doing this work without the backing that many religious food programs have.
We are always looking for other like-minded non-profits to partner with and layer on more services available to our clients. Currently we partner with TriMet for bus passes, Save Lives Oregon for Narcan supplies and Bomba Socks for, well socks. We see the pantry as a hub to help introduce other available services. It truly takes a village to feed the family.”
We are grateful to Michael Whitaker for his time and for the work that Hand Up Project does to create a unique and much-needed space to support fellow community members facing food insecurity.
If you would like to support Hand Up Project’s work, we invite you to Give them a Hand, donate here, volunteer or add them to your Fred Meyer Community Rewards! For partnership inquiries, please email Michael Whitaker at [email protected].