missionTo help alleviate hunger in our community and
reduce food waste through the recovery of food that would otherwise be
discarded, and delivering it to those in need.
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who we areUrban Gleaners is a volunteer
student run organization that will pick-up excess food from restaurants and
markets, on a regular or periodic basis, and deliver that food to local rescue
agencies that feed the hungry. We are a grassroots organization that will focus
on food recovery in a small part of metropolitan Portland. We hope by
demonstrating the effectiveness of this program, to inspire similar student
initiatives at other schools and locales in Portland.
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food wantIn recent years, Oregon has had some of the
highest rates of hunger and food insecurity in the country. It is estimated that
4-5% of Oregon households went hungry sometime within the past year and
approximately 13% of households were food insecure -- individuals or families
uncertain whether they will have the financial resources to purchase
nutritionally adequate and safe food. Last year the Oregon Food Bank distributed
close to 750,000 emergency food boxes to hungry households in the state. 38% of
those receiving emergency food were children The rising cost of living in
Oregon, coupled with the high unemployment rate, create an environment where the
rates of hunger and food insecurity are higher than national averages.
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food waste
Americans throw away approximately 27% of all available food in the United
States. This amounts to close to 150 pounds of food per person per year that is
wasted. In the Portland Metro area close to 200,000 tons of food each year is
thrown away and goes to landfills. Not only was close to 300 million dollars in
food discarded, there were substantial economic costs to dispose of it. Food
waste is a lost opportunity to feed the hungry among us.
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how to help
If you are a restaurant, market, or business that has excess, edible food that
would otherwise be thrown away we would like to work with you on this
initiative. We will provide containers to store the food and arrange for pick-up
and delivery. All you have to do is put the food in the containers rather than
the trash. Both Federal and Oregon laws protect you from liability when donating
food in good faith. We hope you can help.
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