Given the unprecedented hardship and deprivation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and expansive wildfires, it was suggested at BWNA’s September board meeting that a story on charitable giving be featured in the year-end holiday edition of the newsletter, followed by another suggestion that the specific subject of interest be the Portland Food Project (PFP), a longtime Beaumont-Wilshire favorite. Here’s a look back on the roots of PFP, its Beaumont-Wilshire connection, and how it currently operates.
PFP began with a grassroots, volunteer group of neighbors and friends meeting together in 2012 under the leadership of Richard Nudelman, a Southeast Portland resident concerned about hunger in the Portland area. Richard wanted to make giving easy and set about implementing a simple door-to-door food collection system. Future PFP coordinators Robin and Greg Gray and Peggy Concillo first read about the project in an article in The Hollywood Star News in 2014. After retiring and relocating from California to Northeast Portland in 2011, Robin and Greg were looking for a volunteer opportunity they could enjoy participating in together. They became neighborhood coordinators, picking up food bags with non-perishable food items from donors every other month, leaving the empty bags on the porch. While canvassing neighbors and friends to get involved, they also gathered some new donors through a presentation at a BWNA meeting several years ago, followed by an article in this newsletter on the then-nascent organization. A typical pickup route is between 20 and 30 donors and takes about two hours to complete, including dropping off the bags at a designated collection point. Additional volunteers from both the PFP and sponsored food pantries then divvy up the food items for delivery to 19 food pantries in the Portland area.
Similar to Robin and Greg, Peggy, recently retired after 30-plus years in education, was looking for a means to impact the lives of those at risk and began as a neighborhood coordinator. She initially enlisted donors through neighborhood block parties and word of mouth. The growing program needed some route managing as donors came and went, so Peggy stepped into an area coordinator role, balancing routes and keeping them closely knit within inner Northeast Portland between Prescott and Knott streets. She also became a member of the PFP steering committee, which oversees the overall process and coordination of volunteers as well as expanded outreach through partnerships with business sponsors.
Richard Nudelman passed away a few years ago, but his vision lives on. In 2019, approximately 1,600 food donors collected close to 115,000 pounds of non-perishable foods for Portland-area pantries. Similar models of the PFP have now expanded to over 40 cities, including Bend and Ashland in Oregon and cities in Clark County, Washington.
So when you drive or walk around Beaumont-Wilshire on Saturday mornings and see green bags sitting on many porches, take pride in the giving attitude of generous and caring neighborhood residents. BWNA salutes Robin, Greg, Peggy, and all the PFP volunteers for their efforts to help those in need in these trying times.
For details on the numerous ways you can help this simple and effective local charity, go to www.portlandfoodproject.org or contact by email at info@portlandfoodproject.org.