Grants In Action

Jackson County: ACCESS Inc Food Rescue Program

What we are doing?

Jackson County has received three DEQ grants, to support the work of ACCESS, Inc., a non-profit community action program that provides services to low-income residents in Jackson County. The goal of the ACCESS grant project is to reduce the amount of edible food being disposed and to develop collaboration between government agencies and community groups.

ACCESS Food Rescue (formerly Food on the Move) has built a large network of area food service professionals who donate edible food, including restaurants, institutions, caterers, grocers, and farms. ACCESS collected about 50 tons of food a year, while receiving DEQ grant funds. A driver made daily rounds to pick up donated food and take it to one of the ACCESS food pantries or its state-of-the-art kitchen. The prepared food brought to the kitchen was repackaged into meals with the help of volunteers and was donated to 34 social service and community groups and emergency food pantries. The goal is to get the food from donation point to emergency food site within 72 hours.

Where is it?

ACCESS, Inc. is located in Medford, a city of about 60,000 population located midway between Portland and San Francisco. Medford is the largest and most diverse city in Southern Oregon. ACCESS, Inc. picks up food donations from the Medford and Ashland areas and distributes food throughout Jackson County, in both urban and rural areas.

Who is involved?

ACCESS, Inc. is one of 20 regional members of the Oregon Food Bank that help distribute food statewide to more than 780 food pantries, residential shelters, daycare centers, and senior programs. Philip Yates is the ACCESS, Inc. nutrition programs manager and food rescue coordinator. Staff from the Jackson County’s Environmental Health Division helped create stringent safety standards to ensure that any salvageable food was safe to eat, and Kathy Ryan and Michelle Amberg, from the county’s Economic and Special Development Department, were the grant project officers. A number of other grants and funding sources were used, including a corporate in-kind contribution of a refrigerated truck.

Why we are doing it?

ACCESS, Inc. has been providing emergency food and nutrition programs in Jackson County for more than 25 years. In recent years, the economy and jobs have declined in the area. As the need for food has grown, the amount of food available has not been able to keep up with the demand. Oregon has one of the highest rates of hunger and food insecurity (limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways) in the country. According to the Oregon Food Bank, hunger continues to grow in Jackson County at rates higher than the rest of the state. Developing a regular supply of prepared and fresh foods is important to meet the growing need for food and supplements the traditional food bank sources of dry food needing preparation. In addition to providing food for the hungry, the ACCESS, Inc. food recovery program also helps the environment by reducing the amount of edible food that fills landfills. In Oregon, more than 448,000 tons of food goes to landfills annually.

Total Project Cost

In 2000, Jackson County received $29,168 from DEQ to pay the ACCESS, Inc. kitchen manager’s salary, produce outreach materials, and purchase containers, lids, labels, and tracking software. ACCESS, Inc. provided another $140,360 in matching funds for the project. In 2002, another DEQ grant provided $25,000 to pay for part of the program coordinator, driver, and kitchen staff salaries, more containers, marketing materials, and maintenance and fuel costs for a refrigerated truck. ACCESS, Inc. contributed $77,413 in matching funds for the 2002 grant. Grants from other sources and donations from businesses, including a refrigerated truck, also support the project. In 2004, DEQ awarded another $30,000 to support the program.

For more information, call Michelle Amberg at Jackson County, 541-774-6007. Or you can contact Philip Yates, ACCESS nutritional programs manager and food rescue coordinator, at 541-774-4320.  http://www.access-inc.org/index.asp

NOTE: DEQ has also funded food recovery programs in Benton, Deschutes, Lane, Linn and Tillamook counties; and has supported Oregon Food Bank Fresh Alliance programs in Curry and Marion Counties, and in the City of Portland.

• Central Oregon Community Action Network (COCAAN), 541-548-2380, ext. 108, www.cocaan.org
• Food for Lane County, 541-343-2822, www.foodforlanecounty.org
• CARE, Inc., Tillamook County, 503-842-5261.
• Linn Benton Food Share, 541-752-1010, www.css.gen.or.us/foodshare.htm

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