2020 Impact & Achievements

Updates

Dec 24

Let’s CELEBRATE the GOOD NEWS of 2020

Partner with us in 2021

Watch this video to hear from our Executive Director about the special impacts and achievements of 2020.

2020, what an incredible year! We were stretched, we grew, and we are stronger as an organization because of it. Our community rose up in displays of beauty and creativity as they looked out at ways they can be part of the solution by giving back of their time, resources, and heart.
Here are some of the beautiful things that were accomplished in 2020 together with our community…

LET’S CELEBRATE 2020 TOGETHER!

In 2020, we celebrated our 10th year of feeding our neighbors in need.
Since opening in 2010, we have given over 69,000 families a week’s worth of food – equating to 4.98 million pounds of food!
In 2020, we helped over 10,000 families with food boxes – a 23% increase over 2019.
In 2020, we gave out over 13,500 bags of food to children through our Kid’s Korner program – a 56% increase over 2019.
On October 31, 2020, our founders, Gary & Debi Kelso opened a new Kid's Korner food pantry in Christmas Valley that that is serving rural and underserved North Lake County youth.
In 2021, we gave out 5,022 weekend-food bags to K-12 students in the Bend/La Pine school district through our Backpacks for Bend program.
Our Bend Food Project friends celebrated five years of gathering and sharing food at their October food collection. At that collection, they hit an incredible milestone of collecting over 500,000 pounds of food since inception. Our partnership with our Bend Food Project friends has been truly empowering to us, and we are fortunate to have them walking alongside us in the fight against hunger. Learn more about their program at www.bendfoodproject.com.
- We are now sharing “food love” in a drive-up style fashion.
- We have expanded our boundaries to serve ANYBODY in need residing in ANY Central Oregon community.
- We were able to go from helping people in need with food boxes once a month to helping families once a week who are needing the extra help during COVID.

Over Thanksgiving, we helped 629 families with turkeys and sides that they could take home and share with their loved ones around their own tables. This was a 55% increase over what we were able to do in 2019.
We ended 2020 with Hope for the Holidays with our annual Jingle Event, and this year it was extra special. We had over 550 children come through our Jingle Store, over 30 families that were sponsored for Christmas gifts, and 11 families that received a $2,500 Christmas Makeover by generous individuals/groups in our community. It was a powerful and hope-filled end to the year.
We added a new service where we offer guests in need a gas/propane card. The funding for this is raised through the money we make collecting cans from friends in the community and the Bottle Drop’s Blue Bag Program. Come and grab a blue bag and help us keep people warm year-round.
During the recent fires that consumed many areas of our state, we were able to offer fire evacuees food resources along with Care Kits packed with essential items and gift cards.
In partnership with Around the Bend Farms, we finished the installation of our “Grow & Give Garden”, a hydroponic garden that we are now growing incredible high-quality greens in for our guests.
In 2021, we are actively looking to expand into a space that will house all our programs conveniently together. In that space, we hope to offer a shopping-style experience for our guests and have enough space to bring our guests back inside. Exciting things are coming and you can continue to partner with us to share food and share hope.