Oregon DEQ: Land Quality - Solid Waste - Grants in Action - Deschutes County, Central Oregon Community Action Agency Network

Deschutes County: Central Oregon Community Action Agency Network (COCAAN), Feed the Need Food Recovery Program

What we are doing?

Deschutes County applied for and received DEQ grants in 2001, 2003, and 2004 to support Feed the Need, a project of the Central Oregon Community Action Agency Network (COCAAN). COCAAN is a non-profit community action program that advocates for and serves economically disadvantaged people in Central Oregon.

Since its inception in December 2000, Feed the Need has diverted more than 450,000 pounds of food from entering the waste stream. The goal of Feed the Need, which reaches 10,000-11,000 people each month, is to increase the availability of wholesome food for distribution through emergency food programs and to reduce the amount of edible food being disposed of in landfills.

Where it is?

COCAAN is located in Redmond, a city of about 18,000 population located in Central Oregon, east of the Cascade Mountains, in fast-growing Deschutes County. COCAAN picks up donations from food industry businesses in the Bend-Redmond area and provides food to local agencies that distribute emergency food boxes, hot meals, and supplemental food packages throughout Deschutes County, as well as in Crook and Jefferson counties.

Who is involved?

COCAAN is one of 18 regional food banks in the Oregon Food Bank network that distribute food statewide (and in Clark County, WA) to more than 870 food pantries, residential shelters, daycare centers, and senior programs. Feed the Need program coordinator is Steve Murray. COCAAN’s community services manager Melanie Harper and Julian Darwin, a certified executive chef and president of High Desert Management Company, provide advice to the program.

Why we are doing it?

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. COCAAN has been providing emergency food collection and distribution services in Central Oregon since 1987 as part of its mission to identify where and when services for economically disadvantaged people are needed and to help remove the social and economic barriers to independence. In addition to providing food for the hungry, the COCAAN food recovery program also helps the environment by reducing the amount of edible food that goes to landfills. In Oregon, more than 448,000 tons of food are disposed of annually.

Total project cost

In 2001, Deschutes County received $34,243 from DEQ to pay for the installation of a walk-in cooler and salary for a food recovery program coordinator. COCAAN provided another $65,609 in matching funds for the project. In 2003, another DEQ grant provided $20,743 to pay for staffing, administrative expenses, and fuel costs for a delivery truck. COCAAN contributed $60,108 in matching funds for the 2003 grant. In 2004, DEQ granted this project $17,744 to develop a long-range plan to expand food recovery efforts through food processing and repackaging. The 2004 grant was matched with $48,053 from COCAAN.

For more information, call Susan Mayea Ross at Deschutes County, 541-388-6570 (the sponsoring entity) or Steve Murray, COCAAN food program coordinator, at 541-548-2380, ext. 108.

NOTE: DEQ has also funded food recovery programs in Jackson, Lane, and Tillamook counties.