Donations support non-profit outreach to educate youth about farming and to help freed Oregon’s hungry 

Portland, Ore. – August 13, 2013 – A hovering helicopter dropped 900 numbered golf balls onto the Chehalem Glenn driving range last week for the Golf Ball Drop sponsored by the Agri-Business Council of Oregon. For the third year, donors purchased one or more golf balls for a chance to win two round-trip airline tickets on Southwest Airlines. The Golf Ball Drop fundraiser supports the work of two Oregon non-profits hoping to raise awareness of Oregon’s agricultural community. The Agri-Business Council of Oregon and its Adopt a Farmer program introduces middle school students to agriculture and the important contributions of farmers. Farmers Ending Hunger works with Oregon farmers who donate a portion of their crops to help feed Oregon’s hungry. Its Adopt-an-Acre program raises money to transport and process the fresh ingredients for use in emergency food boxes.

“This year we raised $9,600 for two important non-profits making a difference in our community,” said Geoff Horning, Executive Director of the Agri-Business Council of Oregon, which organized the Golf Ball Drop. “Fundraising in the non-profit world is always challenging, and we needed a creative way to draw attention to our causes. This was our most successful year so far.”

“We were thrilled to be included in this year’s fundraiser and share the work our farmers are doing on behalf of so many children and families struggling with hunger, “ said John Burt, executive director of Farmers Ending Hunger.

About Agri-Business Council of Oregon/Adopt a Farmer

This private, non-profit volunteer membership organization founded in 1966, preserves and enhances the vitality of Oregon agriculture. The Adopt a Farmer program launched in 2011-2012 in three Beaverton School District middle schools and allows students to connect with an Oregon farmer for an entire school year to experience life on a farm. The Agri-Business Council hopes to expand this program into more middle schools in Albany, Beaverton, Eugene, Salem and Silverton to reach more than 1,200 students. For more information, please visit www.aglink.org.

About Farmers Ending Hunger

Eastern Oregon resident Fred Ziari created the non-profit Farmers Ending Hunger in 2004 when he learned that Oregon was one of the hungriest states in the country. Farmers Ending Hunger gathers Oregon’s agricultural resources to help feed the hungry. Local family farmers, ranchers and growers donate a portion of the food crops they raise. Adopt-an-Acre, a supplementary program seeks the operating funds necessary to harvest and process those same crops into frozen and canned food products that are easily stored and utilized and distributed to the hungry through Oregon Food Bank’s regional network. For information on how to contribute to Adopt-an-Acre, please visit www.farmersendinghunger.com or call Executive Director John Burt at 503-931-9232. Follow us on Facebook at Farmers Ending Hunger for news and events.

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Plate & Pitchfork tackles serious food issues during 2013 farm-to-table season

PORTLAND, Ore. – October 2013 – For the past decade, Plate & Pitchfork has been connecting urban food lovers with local chefs, winemakers and family farmers to experience Oregon’s bounty with a farm tour followed by a gourmet meal. Always eager to support local food and farm programs, Plate & Pitchfork founder Erika Polmar chose Farmers Ending Hunger as the sole beneficiary for the 2013 summer season, raising more than $22,000 for the organization’s work with local hunger relief.

“Plate & Pitchfork has a long history of supporting numerous community organizations each season, but we wanted to make a more significant impact this year and that meant finding just one,” said Polmar. “Farmers Ending Hunger has a creative solution to eradicating hunger in Oregon by working directly with farmers who are growing and harvesting food for donation and utilizing the distribution systems of the Oregon Food Bank. They’ve created a very efficient and effective system to feed the hungry. Although our guests were keenly aware of the hunger problem in Oregon, they were not aware of the impressive efforts by Oregon’s farmers to solve the problem.”

This year, 2.1 million pounds of fresh food will be harvested in Oregon and donated to Farmers Ending Hunger, a 9-year-old nonprofit created to bring nutritious food to those who need it most. Funds raised by its Adopt-an-Acre program are used to harvest, process, store and distribute fresh food donated by dozens of family farms from the Columbia River Basin to the Willamette Valley to Southern Oregon. Once it is processed and packaged into products like frozen and canned vegetables, ground beef and pancake mix, the food is delivered to the Oregon Food Bank’s regional network for distribution in their food relief boxes, along with fresh fruit and vegetables like pears, cherries, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and winter squash.

“Oregon is one of the most productive growing regions in the country and also one of the hungriest,” said Farmers Ending Hunger Executive Director John Burt. “In an average month, 84,000 children in Oregon eat meals from emergency food boxes. Farmers Ending Hunger finds another use for Oregon’s bounty by asking farmers to provide fresh, nutritious food to those who need it the most.”

About Farmers Ending Hunger

Eastern Oregon resident Fred Ziari created the nonprofit Farmers Ending Hunger in 2004 when he learned that Oregon was one of the hungriest states in the country. Farmers Ending Hunger gathers Oregon’s agricultural resources to help feed the hungry. For information on how to contribute to Adopt-an-Acre, please visit www.farmersendinghunger.com or call Executive Director John Burt at 503-931-9232. Follow us on Facebook at Farmers Ending Hunger for news and events.

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