At The Giving Plate (TGP), we are intentional in our effort to take the clinical stigma out of visiting a food pantry. TGP serves individuals and families who self-identify as low-to-moderate income as defined by the USDA standards for poverty. Our Backpacks for Bend program serves children at local area public schools who the teachers and Family Access Network advocates identify as the children most likely to experience a weekend of hunger. We serve anyone in the Central Oregon community of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Our guests' ages range from infants to seniors. We don't turn away anyone in need of food, but 60% of those we serve organization-wide are under the age of 18. We work hard to fulfill our mission of “feeding the hungry today with compassion and hospitality.” We believe that treating our guests with dignity and respect goes a long way in elevating a person’s self-worth and what they can go on to accomplish.
As we look to the future, one of the ways that TGP will live out our mission of compassion and hospitality even better and will set us apart from other food pantries is our upcoming "Community Store". In late fall 2022, we will no longer offer a "food box" program. We will replace it with a "Community Store", in which guests will be allowed to shop for the food they want and need for their families. We will also be able to offer a fun and unique Kid's Korner store for the children to, once again, come inside to visit and do their own shopping. This shopping style of serving our guests will normalize the food-relief service we are providing. It is our hope and desire to assist in reducing the shame and stigma attached to accessing our services. It is one thing to give food to someone in need, but when you can figure out how to offer that food with dignity and compassion and truly show that you care, one quickly discovers that you are not just fighting hunger but feeding hope.
2020-2024 Regional Health Improvement Plan Priority Area
Promote Enhanced Physical Health Across Communities
Future State Measures
1) Increase fruit and vegetable consumption and/or physical activity among youth
Increase the amount of perishable food such as fruit, vegetables, dairy, and meat in our food boxes.
Increase the number of kids we serve through our Kid’s Korner program.
Increase the number of kids served in our Backpacks for Bend program.
Expand our Backpacks for Bend program to include more schools.
A Year One Report will be available in January 2023.
A Year Two Report will be available in January 2024.
A Final Report is due January 2025 and final outcomes will be shared under “What We’re Learning.”